Author: BFC

Session Description: Rural microfinance in Pakistan has been increasing in terms of numbers but the proportion of loans being given for women centric businesses are abysmally low. Kashf Foundation which is a pioneer in women centric urban microfinance has undertaken a detailed scoping of women led sectors in the rural economy along with MEDA to create a suite of products and services which can work for rural women in Pakistan. The speaker will present facets of women centric product development and preliminary outcomes and challenges from the pilot.

Bio: Ms. Zainab Saeed is the Head of Research and Development at Kashf Foundation. She has been working in the sphere of pro-poor economic development and sustainable livelihoods since 2008 and has extensive experience with understanding the needs of low-income women micro-entrepreneurs and translating lessons from the field into policy making and product development.
Ms. Saeed has been involved in multiples facets of Kashf Foundation’s work ranging from research and product development, business management, human resource development, grant raising and business development for Kashf. Ms. Saeed has also been an adjunct faculty member at the Lahore University of Management Sciences and a visiting faculty member the Lahore School of Economics. She has a post-graduate degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences from the Lahore University of Management Sciences. She has also been part of the ACCION Strategic Leadership Training in Financial Exclusion at the Harvard Business School, and the Boulder Microfinance Training Course in Turin, Italy.

Session Description: In this session Justin McAuley will detail a product that VisionFund has implemented to automate the application process for loan officers in the field. Drawing on data from over 80 sources, the technology uses an algorithm to create loan terms appropriate to the financial situation of individual clients.

Bio: Justin has 30 years’ experience creating, selling and implementing FinTech solutions to solve retail banking problems. For the last 13 years he has focused on mobile banking and payment technologies, starting in 2004 as CTO of a mobile banking joint venture between Nokia, Accenture and a Nordic bank. He has worked extensively with banks in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. While working with banks in India he decided to devote his time to working with financially underserved communities, and has been working on digital technologies for Financial Inclusion ever since.

Session Description: Join Marina has she explores the most effective ways to facilitate communication across cultures and nurture communities that support green development. Building on her experience of establishing the BFC Green learning and communication platform, Marina will share insights into building networks, suggestions for tapping into social media, and lessons for the future.

Bio: Marina has over 20 years of business experience, and is driven to develop innovative solutions to deep-seated educational and business challenges.

Success factors in her professional life:

• Operating within a positive atmosphere with great teams
• Freedom of thought and encouraging creativity
• Readiness to lead in challenging situations

Marina’s passion is lifelong learning. She is inspired by great dreamers, entrepreneurs, visionaries, teachers, scientists, artists, and children.

Session Description: Join Ndumiso Mpofu as he describes market solutions which were used to increase the speed of recovery for communities affected by El Nino. Ndumiso will also present a summary of findings from recovery lending in fragile African states from November 2015 to June 2017.

Bio: Ndumiso Mpofu is an agricultural economist and microfinance specialist with extensive experience in the use of financial products and services to enhance the economics of rural agricultural farmers across Africa. Most recently, Ndumiso has led VisionFund’s pan-Africa response to the El Nino disaster, using insurance tools and techniques to mitigate the effects of climate change. Ndumiso’s work focuses on the application of specialized techniques that are used to adapt lending methodology to allow clients affected by disasters to rebuild their businesses and repay loans without becoming over-indebted.

Session Description: Join Birgit Galemann as she shares her experiences of using new methods of communication to facilitate more effective engagement with partners based around the world. Focusing on a recent project based in Uganda, Birgit will provide insights into establishing long-term, valuable relationships without the need for a continuous on-site presence.

Bio: Birgit has served as an advisor to microfinance institutions in rural Uganda since 1994. In 2007, she became an independent consultant developing tailor-made quantitative management tools for microfinance banks and SACCOs based in a variety of countries. Birgit has also worked towards the establishment of a self-dependent, 3-level cooperative network of Savings and Loan Associations. This network is strengthened by tailor-made tools which allow continuous internal auditing and accounting to be performed on a primary, secondary, and tertiary level.

Prior to concentrating on microfinance, Birgit gained 13 years of experience in international finance through working in risk management while being based in New York, London, and Frankfurt. In her latest role she was responsible for the methodological development and implementation of Deutsche Bank’s global credit exposure system for trading books.

Birgit holds a diploma in mathematics and economics from Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.

More about Birgit’s work can be found on her website: International Finance Development (IFD).

Session Description: Join Johanna Ryan as she presents the Women’s Empowerment Fund. According to the World Bank, 42% of women across the world are outside the formal financial system. This statistic encapsulates the impetus for VisionFund’s new initiative, which is expected to impact two million women and six million children annually by 2021. Johanna will describe the fund’s goals and the six key pillars of activity which will be integral to successfully tailoring financial services to the needs of women in emerging economies.

Bio: As part of WorldVision, VisionFund’s staff are motivated to create hope for the most vulnerable children in the world. As Director of Social Performance, Johanna measures and evaluates VisionFund’s products and services, making sure provision is focused to maximise real transformation of communities and individuals.

Through over 1.2 million clients, VisionFund impacted the lives of 4.4 million children in 2016. This is measured through child wellbeing benefits such as sufficient food, improved education, additional clothes/shoes, and covering health costs. Johanna leads efforts to measure and report this impact.

With VisionFund since 2009, Johanna has had a wide-ranging career that includes a stint as a tutor at Oxford, lecturing at a university in Texas, and 18 years in global banking operations.

Session Description: Technology is transforming rural finance. Join Etienne Mottet as he explores innovative services being delivered through tech, the rise and limitations of the smartphone, and the rapidly evolving future of rural finance.

Bio: Etienne Mottet has 10 years of experience managing financial operations and FinTech projects in Central Asia and beyond. He began his career with OXUS development network, a French microfinance group, where he was in charge of implementing open-source microfinance software into the operations of a group based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. He later joined OXUS Afghanistan as Chief Operations Officer, where he helped the company become the most successful microfinance organization in the country. He went on to create OPENCBS, an open-source software for microfinance which targeted fast growing small and middle-sized financial institutions. The system is now used by dozens of financial companies in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. At the end of 2015, Etienne joined Business and Finance Consulting (BFC) to take charge of the company’s digital and FinTech development.

Session Description: Join Leigh Marwick, an education professional based in New York, as she speaks about her experience leading a food education and gardening initiative. The programme aims to improve knowledge of food, deepen local communities, and develop entrepreneurial experience. Leigh will share insights into the widespread benefits of getting teenagers interested in growing food, running a successful gardening group, and how to facilitate community development.

Bio: Leigh holds an MSc in teaching methods and an MPhil in education theory. She is an alumna of the Teach For America programme, which places top-level graduates into schools based in disadvantaged American neighbourhoods.