Let's Talk Microfinance

Herjola Spahiu started her career at Emporiki Bank, Albania, which was acquired by Crédit Agricole Albania, and where she ended up as Head of Retail Banking. She then became CEO of NOA, Albania's second largest non bank financial institution. She also served as chair of the Albanian Microfinance Association and is a member of the board of directors of the European Microfinance Network.In this episode, Herjola gives valuable advice on best practice for MFIs managing relationships with their funding partners.Herjola can be contacted via LinkedIn or via NOA's website (https://noafin.al/eng/).This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies.FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer.You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com.

Jonas Enrico Luini started his career at Credit Access Grameen, and after roles at various other institutions, for the last five and a half years he has been a vice president at The Currency Exchange Fund (‘TCX'), founded in 2007 by a group of development finance institutions (DFIs), specialised microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) and donors.TCX offers solutions to manage currency risk in developing and frontier markets. These solutions consist of financial instruments – swaps & forward contracts – that enable TCX's investors and clients to provide their borrowers with financing in their own currency, while shifting the currency risk to TCX. They are therefore protected from any currency volatility.In this episode, Jonas describes clearly and simply how hedging for MFIs works, what TCX does, and discusses market conditions. Further descriptions of cross currency hedges can be found in TCX's last annual report (https://www.tcxfund.com/reports/).Jonas can be contacted via LinkedIn or at TCX's website (https://www.tcxfund.com/).This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies.FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer.You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com.

Youssef Fawaz is CEO of the Lebanese Association for Development – Al Majmoua, of which he was a founding Board Member in 1996. He is also one of the founding members of Sanabel, the Microfinance Network of Arab Countries, and served twice as Chairman of the Board in 2008 and in 2015. He is a Member of the Steering Committee of the MicroFinance Network, and a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering at the American University of Beirut.In this episode, Youssef describes the onset and unfolding of Lebanon's economic crisis, and deep challenges of managing a MFI through volatility and challenging economic, political and social conditions. This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies. FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer. You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com. 

Currently based in Ibiza, Spain, Matteo Marinelli is the former CEO and Board member of Maha Agriculture Microfinance, an agri-focused-fintech-oriented-MFI based in Yangon, Myanmar, owned by Myanma Awba Group, and the International Finance Corporation. He began his career with Grameen Bank, in Dhaka, Bangladesh and after short term consulting assignments in Tanzania, Afghanistan, Serbia and Thailand, moved to Blue Orchard in Geneva. He then joined a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, Fullerton Financial Holdings, first as a Project Manager based out of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, responsible for the start-up phase of a greenfield MSME banking co-investment between Fullerton and Canadia Bank which led to the creation of Cambodia Post Bank, and then later as the Country Rep based out of Yangon, Myanmar, responsible for the set-up and launch of Fullerton Myanmar.  Here, he became interested in and familiar with the challenges faced by agri-businesses and small-scale farmers who lacked access to capital and markets, which led him towards Maha.Born and educated in Italy (Economics from Bocconi University in Milan), Matteo had academic exchange programs at the University of Niigata in Japan, at New York University, at the London School of Economics, and at the University of California in Berkeley. He also has an executive management diploma from INSEAD and speaks fluent English, Spanish and some French.In this episode Matteo describes in graphic and sometimes harrowing detail the genesis of the coup d'état in Myanmar, the true complexities of the socio-political situation and what it was like to manage an MFI under extreme crisis conditions. This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies. FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer. You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com. 

Based in Amsterdam Barbara Wasmus, is a senior MSME banker with over 15 years of experience. She is a Certified Expert in Risk Management and has a strong affinity with the design and implementation of operational and internal control systems in the context of greenfields, turnarounds, and major technological innovations in banks/MFIs. Barbara held senior executive positions in financial institutions (founding-CEO of ProCredit Bank Angola, deputy-CEO of ProCredit Bank Kosovo) and implemented various short-term consultancy assignments. Barbara also gained significant experience in investing in development as former senior investment officer at Triple Jump. Aside from her consulting work, Barbara holds non-executive directorships in inclusive finance institutions and she serves as an investment committee member of US-based Developing World Markets. Currently she is a partner in Wasmus Consulting (https://www.wasmus-consulting.com/). She received an MA in International Relations from the University of Groningen.In this episode Barbara, provides fascinating insights into why implementation of IFRS9, and in particular over-reliance on Expected Credit Loss (ECL) models, could be dangerous.  This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies. FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer. You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com. 

Based in Paris, Sébastien Boyé is co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Investisseurs & Partenaires - I&P. In this episode, Sébastien discusses COVID19 and its impact on Africa, regional private equity and the resilience of African SMEs, along with opportunities for investment in the sector.You can learn more about I&P at https://www.ietp.com/ and contact Sébastien on LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies. FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer. You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com. 

Based in Stockholm, Viktor Andersson, is Head of Microfinance at Nordic impact fund manager Trill Impact. In this episode, Viktor looks at the current state of the microfinance industry and breaks down drivers behind microfinance credit investing by Nordic investors. You can learn more about Trill Impact at https://www.trillimpact.com/ and contact Viktor Andersson on LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies. FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer. You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com. 

Sahib Sharma is based in Bengaluru and works in the investor relations department at CreditAccess Grameen, and is an Inclusive Finance professional with more than half a decade's experience covering microfinance sector both as a consultant and journalist across Asia including India, Cambodia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. In this episode he discusses the outlook for Indian microfinance. Sahib can be reached on LinkedIn or at sahibsharma028@gmail.com. This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies. FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer. You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com. 

Based in Brussels, Daniel Rozas is an accomplished microfinance commentator and analyst, the author of multiple reports and books on the sector. In this episode Daniel gives a fascinating view of current conditions in microfinance and then discusses his ground-breaking work "Weathering the Storm II," a guide to how MFIs can reduce their vulnerabilities to crisis ahead of time, and the best ways to navigate their way out of crisis. Daniel's work can be found at http://www.danielrozas.com/ and he can be contacted on LinkedIn, or on Twitter (https://twitter.com/danrozas). This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies. FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer. You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com. 

Based in Lima/Peru, Erik is Deputy Chair of the board of Banco D-MIRO in Ecuador and a financial inclusion consultant for several MIVs and DFIs. On our inaugural podcast Erik gives us an excellent view of current developments in the microfinance sector along with insights into the importance of corporate governance for MFIs. A fascinating discussion which we hope you'll enjoy! Erik can be reached on LinkedIn or at egeurts.consulting@gmail.com. This podcast is brought to you by Financial Due Diligence Associates, a multilingual consulting partnership founded by Guy Rodwell and Zinaida Vasilenko, specialised in holistic, relevant and concise analysis of financially inclusive companies. FDDA also helps impactful asset managers access French institutions through an alliance with Oxondo, a leading Paris-based third party marketer. You can reach FDDA by contacting Guy Rodwell or Zinaida Vasilenko on LinkedIn, or by emailing us at info@fdda-consulting.com.