Tag: Value chain finance

Bart graduated in applied Economics at the University of Antwerp (1997) and in Development Studies in Louvain-la-Neuve (1998). He worked for over 15 years on improving rural access to microfinance. For TRIAS based in Tanzania and for ICCO/Terrafina based in Mali, he developed rural finance products in the field, through various approaches such as rural solidarity lending, warehouse receipt lending, and value chain finance.  In the last three years, Bart has worked as an independent consultant (and as an associate consultant for FSAS Advisory Services) further deepening his insights into rural finance.

Recent experiences have reaffirmed that working through farmer associations and cooperatives is a high potential approach for reaching out to smallholder farmers.  Although significant barriers remain, such as cooperative governance and market risks, these can be managed through solid risk analysis and risk mitigation. Join the webinar to find out more about this compelling subject.

Mariel Mensink has over 25 years of work experience in microfinance and rural finance in Tanzania, India, Bhutan, and Uganda. She is now working as a Senior Program Officer with Terrafina Microfinance.

Michael Kortenbusch is the Principal Founder and Managing Director of Business & Finance Consulting (BFC). With 18 years of experience in banking and development finance, and 13 years as the Managing Director of BFC, Mr. Kortenbusch has guided and backstopped most of the 138 BFC projects, with a specific focus on the NIS and Eastern European regions. Over the last 5 years, Mr. Kortenbusch has been actively involved in agricultural, rural, and value chain finance, studying the increasing support provided to the development of this sector. Mr. Kortenbusch is leading and backstopping BFC’s implementation projects on value chain finance, agricultural insurance, financial product development, and innovative delivery channel mechanisms; current projects include: Financial Sector Program Value Chain Agro-finance and Kyrgyz Rural Finance Program in Kyrgyzstan, Support for the Financing of the Agriculture Sector in Armenia, Strengthening Core Functions of Strategic Planning and Credit Process for an MFI in Tajikistan, Agricultural Finance Programme in Georgia, Promoting Access to Finance and Agri-insurance for Agricultural Value Chain Actors in Georgia, Development of Financial System in Rural Areas in Serbia, etc.

Also, Mr. Kortenbusch has more than 10 years of training design and delivery expertise, in topics including agriculture and MSME finance, strategic planning, and risk management. He is a prolific public speaker and contributor at international conferences, having attended over 50 conferences. Mr. Kortenbusch has authored numerous reports and publications on microlending, feasibility studies, institutional assessments and due diligence reports, as well as organized and delivered trainings and workshops on related topics.

Mr. Kortenbusch holds a Masters of Business Administration degree, he is native in German, and speaks fluent English and Russian.

Value chain finance case studies from Georgia. Includes description of VCF tools along with challenges and solutions from recent experiences of implementing VCF.

Tyler Green is a Project Coordinator with 7 years of professional experience in community development, accounting, communications, public relations, and project management. He has been a member of BFC since 2015; since then, Tyler has been involved as a project coordinator for the PAFAI (Promoting Access to Finance and Agricultural Insurance) project in the Republic of Georgia, where he specializes in the development of Value Chain Finance partners and products. Tyler holds a MA from George Mason University (USA) and is fluent in English and Romanian.

Value chain finance case studies from Georgia. This will include descriptions of VCF tools along with challenges and solutions from recent experiences of implementing VCF.