EVENEMENTS
Sept.
21
SME FINANCE FORUM
Online
Add to Calendar
2021-08-31 20:00:00
2021-08-31 20:00:00
Open Webinar: Making Digital Financial Services Work for Women – A Focus on Digital Adoption
In 2019, Women’s World Banking conducted research in India and Indonesia on an emerging business model known as social commerce entrepreneurship with enterprises blending social media, e-commerce, payments and delivery platforms. One of the findings of the study is that, despite adopting digital platforms, women are not yet fully utilizing them. “Digital adoption means achieving a state in which users gain the ability to use digital tools as they are intended and to the fullest extent.”
The topic of digital adoption is especially relevant as the world moves towards a digital future with the economy driven by digital commerce and enabled by digital finance. We aim to raise awareness on what prevents the adoption of DFS; and, what FSPs can do to drive adoption, especially as they actively leverage digital finance for women’s financial inclusion. On September 1st, 2021 at 8:00 AM EDT, Women’s World Banking (WWB) and its project partners, will share learnings from their work in wage digitization and digital account activation highlighting digital adoption insights from Wing Bank (Cambodia) Plc, Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL) Bangladesh and DANA Indonesia, as well as from WWB’s research in a joint effort with the ILO, published in March 2021.
What you will learn
• What trends are we seeing in the ecosystem that hinder or facilitate digital adoption
• What the challenges and barriers are both Financial Service Providers (FSPs) and their women customers face with digital adoption
• What the solution components in digital financial services (DFS) are that drive adoption and usage among women customers
• What role MSMEs can play in supporting adoption of digital financial services, e.g., digital payments
Host
Matthew Gamser, CEO, SME Finance Forum
Speakers
Manu Rajan is the Division CEO at Wing Businesses that includes Wing Bank (Cambodia) Plc. He brings over two decades of hands-on learning across an interestingly diverse blend of advertising, analytics, telecom, and consumer finance & fintech. He has been passionately consolidating all that learning to drive financial inclusion in developing markets across geographies including Africa, Asia & the Pacific. He has been a techno-marketer over 22 years and had worked with companies in the USA, Asia, Pacific and Africa that blended technology and finance that are relevant to the poor. Manu has an MBA in Marketing from the Cochin University of Science and Technology.
Md. Abedur Rahman Sikder is the Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL) Bangladesh. He has been with DBBL for almost 5 years now. He had been Chief Retail Banking Officer before his new assignment as COO this January 2021. Prior to joining DBBL, he was EVP at BRAC Bank in Bangladesh and prior to that, CEO at BRAC Lanka Finance in Sri Lanka. Sikder has a Master’s Degree in Governance Studies from the University of Dhaka and has two Post Graduate Diplomas, one in International Relations and the second in Business Management, Marketing and Related Support Services.
Agustina Samara is the Chief People and Corporate Strategy Officer at DANA in Indonesia. She has been with DANA since July 2018. Tina has 24 years of working experience in multinational and local companies playing various roles as banker, executive of a conglomerate company, owner of a consultant firm and executive of a start-up. At DANA, her passion is to find great talents to develop digital money and build a cashless society for Indonesia. She earned an Industrial Engineering degree from the Universitas Trisakti and deepened her leadership skills through INSEAD Leadership Executive Program. She is a certified international trainer and coach.
Elwyn Panggabean is the Director for Advisory Services at Women’s World Banking. With 14 years of experience working in financial industry and development sector, Elwyn leads the advisory projects, research and business development in Southeast Asia. He was a senior banker at one of the largest state-owned Banks in Indonesia. Prior to joining Women’s World Banking, Elwyn was a Manager at a consulting firm that focuses in financial inclusions, to assist the development of digital financial and socio-economic inclusion in Indonesia. His areas of expertise and interest include research, strategy, business development, and evidence-based policy analysis. Elwyn holds an MA in Development Studies from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Nithyasri Sharma is a Manager for Strategy at Women’s World Banking. She is a seasoned strategy professional focused on inclusive finance, fintech strategy, and digital innovation. She currently leads the strategy function at Women’s World Banking where she is responsible for driving the development and implementation of the organization’s strategic plan to reach 100 million women, as well as country strategies in each of the organization’s key priority markets. She also has expertise in human-centered research and product design for inclusive finance institutions from banks to fintechs, across digital credit, savings, and mobile payments. Nithyasri received her BA in Economics and English Literature from Dartmouth College, her MBA from the Yale School of Management, and her MA in International and Development Economics from Yale University.
About
Wing Bank (Cambodia) Plc is the bank for every Cambodian. Since introducing instant, secure, and convenient fund transfers in August 2008, Wing Bank has revolutionized the way Cambodians access mobile financial services. Wing Bank serves the entire Cambodian population through our innovative Wing Money App, nearly 10,000 Wing Cash Xpress agents, over 55,000 participating merchants, and partnerships with industry giants. Wing Bank provides an array of advanced financial products (loans, deposits, micro savings, credit referral services, money transfers, utility and insurance payments, phone top-ups) both for individual and corporate customers. In addition, Wing offers retail payments via “WingPay”, and has the “WingMall” e-commerce platform. Small and large companies alike are also using Wing’s payroll and disbursement services. Wing Bank is committed to improving financial inclusion for the unbanked and the under-banked, allowing every Cambodian to enjoy convenience and security when it comes to financial services.
Dutch-Bangla Bank is Bangladesh's first joint venture bank between local shareholders spearheaded by M Sahabuddin Ahmed (founder chairperson) and the Dutch company FMO. From the onset, the focus of the bank has been financing high-growth manufacturing industries that exports Bangladeshi products worldwide. The bank has also won numerous international awards because of its unique approach as a socially conscious bank. Dutch Bangla Bank was the first bank in Bangladesh to be fully automated. The Electronic-Banking Division established in 2002 undertook rapid automation and bring modern banking services into this field. It now provides unrivaled banking technology offerings to all its customers.
DANA is a technology company that supports one of the pillars of a digital economy in Indonesia. As a Fintech, it aims to bring inclusive financial services to empower people for a better way of life by enabling the society to transact seamlessly. It offers a highly secured and scalable payment service platform that connects everyone based on world-class technology. DANA’s goal is to provide Indonesia with a trustworthy and convenient mobile payment system that caters to the needs of their customers, and that is a sustainable and profitable business for their stakeholders. They want to build Indonesia as a cashless society.
Women’s World Banking designs and invests in the financial solutions, institutions and policy environments in emerging markets to create greater economic stability and prosperity for women, their families, and their communities. With a global reach of 56 partners in 31 countries serving more than 70 million women clients, Women’s World Banking drives impact through its scalable, market-driven solutions; gender-lens private equity fund; and leadership and diversity programs.
Relive the session here>
For more information, please contact us at smefinanceforum@ifc.org
By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
Online
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Aoû
21
SME FINANCE FORUM
Online
Add to Calendar
2021-08-03 20:00:00
2021-08-03 20:00:00
SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - Third Session - Fintechs
The “SME Finance Virtual Marketplace” is an online match-making platform that promotes partnership and collaboration between members of the SME Finance Forum, especially financial institutions, fintech companies and development finance institutions/ investors. The virtual Marketplace is powered by GlobalLinker, an AI powered ‘Digital Ecosystem’ offering SMEs a range of services to build digital presence including e-commerce.
How does the Marketplace operate?
To participate in the marketplace session, each member of the SME Finance Forum must have 1) an institutional profile (company profile) and personal profiles (individuals representing the companies) set up on the marketplace. Institutional profile shall also include products/services being offered by the members. With institutional profile and personal profile, representatives of member institutions will be able to explore different offerings by other members such as investment products, advisory services, technology solutions...etc. The virtual platform will enable members to reach out to one another to discuss potential collaboration and partnership at their own convenience.
Third Marketplace Session
This third marketplace session, scheduled on Wednesday, August 4th from 8 am - 9:00 EDT, will feature a series of fintechs who will present their products/services. Following the presentations, participants will have the opportunities to reach out directly to the presenting fintech to make inquiries or explore partnership opportunities based on their interests.
Featured Fintechs
Arctic Intelligence
Rosie Davitt is the Director NA/EMEA at Arctic Intelligence. Rosie has over 10 years’ experience selling data and technology into businesses to improve the way they manage regulatory compliance. Starting her career at WorldCheck and continuing into Thomson Reuters where she worked as a Screening specialist, working with both Financial and corporate clients to implement appropriate, scalable solutions to comply with their regulatory obligations and ensure best practice in line with their specific risk based approach.
AML Benchmarking Report. This report is a combination of qualitative and quantitative data from customers and non-customers.
Dakko
Maria Messina is the CEO & CoFounder of Dakko, a one-stop platform dedicated to improving access to Health & Financial Wellbeing services for employees and their families in Emerging Markets. Throughout her career, Maria has demonstrated an outstanding level of business achievement and has shown a strong interest in Fintech, Digital Technologies, Innovation, Financial Inclusion, ESG and Sustainability. Previously, Maria was a Business Developer and marketing associate at Spiber Inc., a Japanese biotechnology startup utilizing cutting-edge synthetic biology, polymer, and material science for the development of sustainable materials. Prior to this, Maria was a Business Strategy Consultant at ICM Advisors, an independent and specialized firm in Europe that supports Companies and Investors in maximizing the strategic and financial value of their technology, brand and investments portfolio. Maria holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and ICT Management and Bachelor’s degree in ICT Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin.
FintechOS
Catalin Dediu is the VP of Product Management of FintechOS. Catalin Dediu is the VP, Product Management at FintechOS. Previous to FintechOS, Catalin has led transformation projects in Financial Services working for consultancies like The Boston Consulting Group and Roland Berger, across Europe.
Kountable
Chris Hale is Founder and CEO of Kountable, Inc., a revolutionary startup and Market Maker that is building the world's most inclusive supply chains. Its cloud-based, global trade platform delivers unprecedented transparency in trade by connecting the biggest sellers on the globe with the most qualified buyers in emerging economies. Hale has over a decade of demonstrated success in the financial services sector. He has a deep understanding of capital markets and how performance, audit and governance work. This expertise has been the foundation of creating an environment where data transparency and auditability can be brought to market. While developing and championing the vision that became Kountable , Hale built one of the fastest growing RIAs in the US. As the COO of Perigon Wealth Management, a RIA serving approximately 100 families and managing over $1 billion USD in assets, Hale doubled its headcount and grew its assets under management nearly six-fold and lead Perigon to be among the top 5 fastest growing RIAs in the country in 2015. Hale has also consulted some of the top Silicon Valley technology startups, targeting the financial services sector in the areas of asset management and reporting, CRM, programmatic trading and digital advisory services. Hale earned his Bachelor's degree in Biology and English from Williams College .
Lucy
Debbie Watkins is the CEO and co-founder of Lucy. She has 20+ years of experience in technology for finance, mobile-enabled products and services, and business and strategy consulting. working in over 35 countries. She has led customer-centric market research and product development engagements; supported clients in technology platform needs assessment and implementation; managed multi-million-dollar projects in Asia and Africa; and built multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams in a number of countries. She has lived in Asia since 2000, and is based in Singapore where she is the CEO and co-founder of Lucy. Lucy is a neobank built to help women who are overlooked, underestimated, and underbanked become unstoppable by levelling the financial playing field. Lucy aims to empower women from all walks of life, by equipping them with the financial services, growth tools and peer support that they need to grow and thrive.
Video Presentation => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDTE97d68y4
nanopay Corporation
Kevin Wallace is the Director of Partnerships at nanopay, a company that offers innovative payment and treasury solutions that empower businesses and banks to scale. Kevin has 10+ years of FinTech experience, specializing in strategic partnerships and business development, with a special interest in payment innovation, embedded business banking technology, and increasing accessibility to financial services. Prior to joining nanopay, Kevin lead business development at multiple high-growth financial tech companies in Canada and the US, delivering domestic, xborder, and POS payment solutions to SMBs across a wide range of industries. While continuing to also leverage his early experience in the blockchain space, he is now focused on bringing nanopay's vision of frictionless(R) payments to everyone.
For more information, please contact us at smefinanceforum@ifc.org
By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
**
Core Features & Capabilities of the SME Finance Marketplace
Access the Marketplace Platform: As representatives from member institutions, you can access the Marketplace via your personal LinkedIn or Google accounts or simply by signing up via your work email address here> smeff-marketplace.globallinker.com/
Onboarding: Once the personal account is created, you will be guided through an onboarding process to set up the company profile.
Overview: Company Name, selecting head office from Google Maps, selecting member type, uploading logo.
Company Profile: to have a rich company profile, it’s recommended that you provide a brief description about the company. It’d be helpful to indicate what your company offers or what it’s looking for from potential partner institutions. It’s advisable to add digital addresses like website, company’s LinkedIn profile or FB business page links if available.
Marketplace Offerings/Listings: Creating service listings across 8 categories, adding a brochure, video links, cover image etc., if available.
Individual User Profile: as representatives of your institution, you shall have your personal profiles on the marketplace platform to enhance networking opportunities. It’s important to add your designation, job role/designation, time zone to schedule meetings, digital addresses like personal LinkedIn profile, profile photo etc. *Company profile set up is a one-time exercise and any colleague joining from the same company thereafter can simply select the company name and all the details will be prepopulated.
Marketplace: All listings on the marketplace are classified under 8 categories. You can choose to view all listings, or a particular category based on your interests/needs. You could send enquiries directly to companies that you’re interested in or schedule meetings with the key contacts/representatives of the company
Enquiries: Interested members can send enquiries directly to the company by clicking on the "Send Enquiry" button on the listing and the enquiry is sent via direct message and an email notification.
Member Directory: You can browse through the member directory to learn about their work or products/services they offer. You can filter members by their types, review offerings & requirements, visit company profiles, user profiles or listings pages to know more about the company.
Schedule meetings: You can send request for meetings on the platform by selecting the participants you wish to invite. You can upload attachments if helpful.
Messages: Members can send instant messages to other members on the platform to network or explore opportunities. If a specific member is online, their profiles will be carrying a green "Online" tag.
Invite Colleagues: you could invite your colleagues to create their profiles so to expand your company’s presence on the marketplace. While creating their profiles, they have to simply select the company they belong to and all the details set up by you will be pre-filled.
If you have any questions or to learn more, read the User Manual in this link.
Feel free to let us know should you have any questions or need any assistance to smefinanceforum@ifc.org.
Online
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
juill.
21
SME FINANCE FORUM
Online
Add to Calendar
2021-07-07 20:00:00
2021-07-07 20:00:00
SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - Second Session - Fintechs
The “SME Finance Virtual Marketplace” is an online match-making platform that promotes partnership and collaboration between members of the SME Finance Forum, especially financial institutions, fintech companies and development finance institutions/ investors. The virtual Marketplace is powered by GlobalLinker, an AI powered ‘Digital Ecosystem’ offering SMEs a range of services to build digital presence including e-commerce.
How does the Marketplace operate?
To participate in the marketplace session, each member of the SME Finance Forum must have 1) an institutional profile (company profile) and personal profiles (individuals representing the companies) set up on the marketplace. Institutional profile shall also include products/services being offered by the members. With institutional profile and personal profile, representatives of member institutions will be able to explore different offerings by other members such as investment products, advisory services, technology solutions...etc. The virtual platform will enable members to reach out to one another to discuss potential collaboration and partnership at their own convenience.
New Date! Second Marketplace Session
This second marketplace session, scheduled on Thursday, July 8th from 8 am – 9.30 am EST, will feature a series of fintechs who will present their products/services. Following the presentations, participants will have the opportunities to reach out directly to the presenting fintech to make inquiries or explore partnership opportunities based on their interests.
Featured FIntechs
Apoidea
Hardy Liu is a co-founder of Apoidea. He is also a Managing Partner and Responsible Officer of Altive. Prior to his role in Apoidea and Altive, Hardy was the Investment Analyst responsible for China Equity at Macquarie Asset Management. Hardy was the primary lead on Internet, Industrial and Auto, and secondary lead on Telecom, Utility. As the top alpha generating analyst in the team, Hardy was promoted to co-manage with discretion the China portfolio. Hardy was also part of the investment committee, which made investment decisions and portfolio adjustment decisions, including, without limitation, those relating to China and ASEAN portfolio. Hardy was also an investment analyst from the hedge fund LST Capital Partners Limited and a trader at ICBC (Asia). Hardy obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Information Systems from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and attended an exchange program in the University of Virginia.
BizCapital
Francisco Ferreira is the Founder and CEO of BizCapital, a small business digital bank disrupting the Brazilian market. BizCapital helps micro and small entrepreneurs with resources to thrive. The company has raised US$ 22.6mn in equity and US$ 50mn through loan funding vehicles, backed by local and international investors like monashees, Chromo Ventures, Quona Capital, DEG, and OikoCredit.. Before founding Biz, Francisco co-founded Affero Lab, Brazil's leading edTech platform, acquired by german media group Bertelsmann in 2015. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering and a M.Sc. Degree in Software Engineering.
Fern Software
Eamon Scullin is the CEO & Founder of Fern Software. Before setting up Fern Software, Eamon's previous employers included PwC, General Electric, Fujitsu and ESCO - all of whom provided useful experience in running an international network of offices, financial control, recruitment and business development. Eamon has spoken at many international conferences on how best technology can serve the objective of poverty alleviation and economic development through the promotion of social enterprise. Fern Software is now internationally recognised as a key provider of the highest quality banking solutions at a reasonable cost to MFIs, Credit Unions, Development Banks, Low Income Social Housing Funds, National Banks, National Credit Associations, Social Enterprise Funding Foundations, Village and Rural Banks.
Fidor Solutions, Sopra Banking Software Company
Matthew Nicholls is the Head of Sales at Fidor Solutions, Sopra Banking Software Company. Matthew has empowered several existing financial, retail, and telecom institutions, and start-up to bring Digital Banking technology to the heart of their businesses; helping them to shape customer centric value propositions.
Having been in the Digital Banking industry for several years, Matthew has worked for industry leading banking technology providers where he learned to dominate business challenges and approach several markets spanned across different geographical environments.
Rong360 Jianpu Technology Inc.
Daqing (David) Ye is the Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rong360 Jianpu Technology Inc. David Ye is an entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in Internet and Financial Technology in China, Southeast Asia, and the United States. He is the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Rong360 Jianpu Technology Inc. (NYSE: JT), a leading independent open platform for discovery and recommendation of financial products in China and Southeast Asia. Before founding Rong360 in 2011, he had leadership roles with PayPal, American Express, Capital One Financial Corporation, and America Online in the United States and China. Mr. Ye was awarded "Entrepreneur of the Year" by The Founder in 2015. He sits on the Consumer's Financial Rights Protection and Education Committee under the National Internet Finance Association of China. He sits on the advisory board of Stanford University Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a mentor of Tsinghua PBCSF Global Entrepreneur Leadership Program. Mr. Ye received a B.S. in engineering from Hunan University, a M.S. in finance from the George Washington University, and an EMBA at the People's Bank of China School of Finance, Tsinghua University.
Waynbo by PaperSoft
Daniel Filipe Ribeiro Alves is the CEO at, Papersoft. For more than a decade, Daniel Alves, CEO of Papersoft, provides the vision that has propelled the company to its continuing goal: developing a multi-service platform for the Agents Channel - the backbone of the digital identity initiatives financial services delivery in the emerging markets. Daniel and his team lead projects worldwide, including Nigeria, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. He has been a leader in the drive for financial inclusion in Africa, is frequently quoted and widely sought after as a speaker at industry gatherings. Daniel makes his home in Lisbon.
Fintech Group
Samuel Ouko is the Business Development Manager at Fintech Group. Samuel has experience within the Banking Solutions Group of Fintech Group in delivering strategic Consultancy for clients in MFIs, Banking & Finance Industry across Africa. Fintech Group has Provided technology solutions to 200+ financial institutions in 16 African countries. The Fintech Group systems have facilitated seamless integration and inter-operability to promote payment systems, digitalization, e-commerce and open banking. Samuel has engaged clients in value proposition for projects ranging from Digital Innovation, Business Intelligence & Analytics, Banking Systems, Regulatory Reporting, and Data Reconciliation to help clients explore unseen innovative and process automation opportunities. He is a Co-founder and former chairperson of the local chapter of the International Software Testing Qualification Board ISTQB, Regional Chair for the Foundation for International Blockchain and Real Estate Expertise FIBREE and a Speaker/Panelist on digitization trends with a focus on emerging technologies adoption including Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence for Financial Services Industry. He holds a technology degree and was in the pioneer Masters of Business Administration class of Strathmore University in Kenya.
A summary of the session and the recording will be posted soon.
For more information, please contact us at smefinanceforum@ifc.org
By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
**
Core Features & Capabilities of the SME Finance Marketplace
Access the Marketplace Platform: As representatives from member institutions, you can access the Marketplace via your personal LinkedIn or Google accounts or simply by signing up via your work email address here> smeff-marketplace.globallinker.com/
Onboarding: Once the personal account is created, you will be guided through an onboarding process to set up the company profile.
Overview: Company Name, selecting head office from Google Maps, selecting member type, uploading logo.
Company Profile: to have a rich company profile, it’s recommended that you provide a brief description about the company. It’d be helpful to indicate what your company offers or what it’s looking for from potential partner institutions. It’s advisable to add digital addresses like website, company’s LinkedIn profile or FB business page links if available.
Marketplace Offerings/Listings: Creating service listings across 8 categories, adding a brochure, video links, cover image etc., if available.
Individual User Profile: as representatives of your institution, you shall have your personal profiles on the marketplace platform to enhance networking opportunities. It’s important to add your designation, job role/designation, time zone to schedule meetings, digital addresses like personal LinkedIn profile, profile photo etc. *Company profile set up is a one-time exercise and any colleague joining from the same company thereafter can simply select the company name and all the details will be prepopulated.
Marketplace: All listings on the marketplace are classified under 8 categories. You can choose to view all listings, or a particular category based on your interests/needs. You could send enquiries directly to companies that you’re interested in or schedule meetings with the key contacts/representatives of the company
Enquiries: Interested members can send enquiries directly to the company by clicking on the "Send Enquiry" button on the listing and the enquiry is sent via direct message and an email notification.
Member Directory: You can browse through the member directory to learn about their work or products/services they offer. You can filter members by their types, review offerings & requirements, visit company profiles, user profiles or listings pages to know more about the company.
Schedule meetings: You can send request for meetings on the platform by selecting the participants you wish to invite. You can upload attachments if helpful.
Messages: Members can send instant messages to other members on the platform to network or explore opportunities. If a specific member is online, their profiles will be carrying a green "Online" tag.
Invite Colleagues: you could invite your colleagues to create their profiles so to expand your company’s presence on the marketplace. While creating their profiles, they have to simply select the company they belong to and all the details set up by you will be pre-filled.
If you have any questions or to learn more, read the User Manual in this link.
Feel free to let us know should you have any questions or need any assistance to smefinanceforum@ifc.org.
Online
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
juill.
21
SME FINANCE FORUM
Online
Add to Calendar
2021-07-06 20:00:00
2021-07-06 20:00:00
Open Webinar - Fundraising for SMEs and Startups: DeFi vs. CeFi
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is usually considered as a blockchain-based form of financial technology (FinTech) that removes intermediaries when offering financial instruments such as loans, securities and commodities. Centralized finance (CeFi), on the other hand, is another form of FinTech that requires users to trust a party to manage their financial transactions. According to CoinGecko, the total market cap of DeFi has reached USD 128 billion and 1-2 million users are interacting with DeFi protocols.
Since late 2018, DeFi has attracted a rapidly increasing number of FinTech startups, venture capitalists, traders, and even traditional financial institutions. At the same time, it raises a series of questions: What is it? How does DeFi differ from previous forms of FinTech applications using smart contracts (CeFi)?
Expanding financial services for small businesses and underserved entrepreneurs is an urgent issue for achieving UN SDG goals. DeFi’s model of de-intermediation and peer-to-peer transactions on a global scale has created enormous opportunities for financing early-stage projects that are oftentimes ignored by banks or traditional VCs. On Wednesday July 7th, 2021 at 8:00 am EDT, financial industry executives and practitioners with background on DeFi, will share lessons learned from the boom of this nascent industry, and how DeFi modules could support real world assets (RWAs) in the context of SME finance.
What you will learn
● What are the driving forces behind the DeFi boom? How much is its future growth potential?
● With more RWAs being added to the DeFi market, how will DeFi play a crucial role in raising capital for entrepreneurs and startups?
● What are the lessons learned when trying to integrate RWAs into DeFi protocols?
● Will regulated financial institutions eventually adopt DeFi? What are the roadblocks?
● How’s the current regulatory environment?
Host
Matthew Gamser, CEO, SME Finance Forum
Moderator
Lechi Zhang is a consultant at the SME Finance Forum of IFC. He has extensive experience assisting various fintech and blockchain companies in devising their business strategies. Prior to IFC, Lechi worked briefly in investment banking and private equity. He holds a Master's degree in Financial Policy from Cornell University and has acquired certified skills of developing blockchain network from IBM.
About the Speakers
Martin Quensel is the Co-founder of Centrifuge. Martin started his career at SAP in the mid-90s as a developer and architect, where he built payment infrastructure, supplier collaboration, and procurement solutions. In the new century, he moved on to co-found several successful startups, the latest before Centrifuge being Taulia, the leading bank agnostic supplier financing network. Taulia provided in the last year $30bn of funding to its network of 2 million suppliers in around 160 countries. His expertise lies in Supply Chain Financing, Purchase-to-Pay, Order-to-Cash, and how to decentralize it. His current project Centrifuge is all about providing decentralized credit to the world.
Radoslav Albrecht is the Founder & CEO of Bitbond, a financial technology company that utilizes blockchain to provide innovative financing solutions. In 2019 Bitbond conducted Germany’s first regulated security token offering (STO). Before founding Bitbond, Radoslav worked for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and Deutsche Bank London in sales & trading. Bitbond radically improves the issuance, settlement and custody of bonds with the help of blockchain technology and tokenization. In 2019 Bitbond received regulatory approval by BaFin to run Europe’s first Security Token Offering (STO). The company makes its tokenization expertise and software and credit solutions available to banks and other intermediaries.
Gloria WU is the Chief of Ecosystem Partnerships at Ontology, the high performance, public blockchain specializing in decentralized identity and data. With a wealth of experience ranging from consultancy and product marketing, to operations and social enterprise, Gloria previously served as VP Investment and Accelerations at Blue Elephant Capital, a leader in marketplace lending investing, where she focused on early stage EdTech incubation, acceleration, and seed investment. Gloria has also held senior roles at DHL, the world's largest logistics company, and AIESEC, the world's largest youth-run organization, where she served as Director Global Experience Product Management and Marketing.
Wes Geisenberger is the Director of Business Development at Hedera Hashgraph. Wes has over five years of enterprise blockchain and DLT experience. In his work in business development Wes leads sustainability & markets strategy at Hedera. In his role Wes oversees grants, use case development, and research targeted towards innovation and disrupting how real world assets are stored on ledger, tokenized, and traded in a publicly auditable way. Wes previously worked in Emerging Technology for Oracle Corporation and has a passion for smart city and transportation use cases in DLT.
A summary of the webinar will be posted soon.
For more information, please contact: Lechi Zhang or send us an email to smefinanceforum@ifc.org.
By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
Online
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Juin
21
SME FINANCE FORUM
Online
Add to Calendar
2021-06-23 20:00:00
2021-06-23 20:00:00
Open Webinar - Directed Lending for SMEs: How to Make It Work
This webinar has been rescheduled to June 24th, 2021 - 8 am EDT. Please use the same link to register.
One way of targeting investment to the businesses that need it the most is through an approach known as ‘directed lending’. It’s an approach increasingly used by development finance institutions (DFIs) in recent years and involves lending to financial institutions so that they lend to specific types of customer. This might include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well businesses with a focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy or that are women-owned .
It is achieved by providing funding to a local financial institution so they then in turn lend to eligible projects or customers. At times it involves building capacity within the financial institution so that it can provide the finance required by the target projects or customers. Directed lending may also include the use of incentives.
The purpose of the webinar is to share the findings from a CDC/GBRW study in Directed Lending practices across the DFI community, and to stimulate discussion on an activity that is widely practiced in the hopes of sharing best practices. The CDC/GBRW study can be found here: Direct-Lending-Current-Practices-and-Challenges.pdf (cdcgroup.com)
Host & Moderator
Jessica Alfaro is a financial sector specialist at the SME Finance Forum. She has over 10 years’ experience working with MSMEs and is an expert in lending, entrepreneurship and finance. Based in Madrid, she is currently a consultant with the World Bank Group and a Visiting Lecturer in the School of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. Previously, she has led and backstopped onsite technical needs assessments at banks in Africa and Asia, sourced and managed financial institution relationships for an international network of small business banks, and organized in-person and elearning training opportunities for bankers across a number of emerging markets as a Manager at CapitalPlus Exchange. She has been an Associate Director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a Senior Loan Officer at ACCION Chicago and on the MSME lending team at Ithala Development Finance Corporation in Durban, South Africa. Committed to economic and financial inclusion, she has served on community Boards and committees, and volunteered with organizations that focus on improving access to finance for consumers and business owners.
About the Speakers
Wasim Tahir is the Financial Institutions Sector Strategist at CDC Group. Wasim is responsible for developing the investment and development strategy of CDC’s largest sector by Assets under Management. Wasim’s role covers CDC’s target geographies in Africa and South Asia with a product scope covering Equity, Debt, Guarantees and Funds. Wasim gained his experience in the sector through roles at Credit Suisse and Lloyds Banking Group, and through 20+ projects with Oliver Wyman and Boston Consulting Group. Wasim graduated from the University of Oxford and is a CFA® charterholder.
Thomas Girod is the Financial Services Debt, Investment Director at CDC Group. Thomas is an Investment Director in CDC’s Financial Services Group, focusing on debt financing to financial institutions in Africa. He has 20 years of banking experience in the fields of mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and development finance, of which over 15 years covering the financial sector. Prior to CDC, he worked at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, investing in
financial institutions in North Africa and carrying out policy dialogue with financial sector regulators. Thomas is a graduate of HEC Paris.
Paul Rex is the Managing Director at GBRW. Paul has had wide exposure to both developed and emerging markets, having spent 18 years in management positions with two major banks (Chemical Bank, now JP Morgan Chase, and Crédit Agricole) followed by 27 years consulting on banking and financial sector assignments in more than 30 countries. His areas of specialisation include banking strategy, enterprise risk, credit, investment management and specialised lending across a wide range of sectors. Paul has an MA from The Queen’s College Oxford and is a Fellow of the Academy of Experts.
Philippe Belot is a Director at GBRW. Philippe has 35 years of banking and corporate finance experience. His career was mostly spent abroad, in particular in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. For 18 years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, he carried out complex financing transactions in the corporate, banking and infrastructure sectors, and participated in the building of market economies after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since then, he has been advising commercial and development. Since then, he has been advising commercial and development banks with their lending and investment activities. Philippe is a graduate of HEC Paris.
Mariana Chamorro is an Investment Manager at DEG, focusing on long term debt financing solutions for financial institutions in the region of Mercosur. Based currently in DEG’s Representative Office in São Paulo - Brazil, Mariana has 10 years of banking experience mainly in emerging markets. Prior to DEG, she has worked at a commercial bank in Brazil carrying out relationship management with correspondent banks. Mariana is a graduate of social sciences from University of São Paulo, international relations from ESPM and a master of economics from University of Brasilia.
Missed the webinar? Watch the replay here> https://vimeo.com/567228985
A blog summarizing the main points and answers to some of the unanswered questions from the chat will be available on our website: https://www.smefinanceforum.org/blog
For more information, please contact: Khrystyna Kushnir or send us an email to smefinanceforum@ifc.org.
By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
Online
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Juin
21
SME FINANCE FORUM
Online
Add to Calendar
2021-06-22 20:00:00
2021-06-22 20:00:00
Member Only Webinar - Innovations and Technology Disrupting SME Insurance
by invitation only
In this webinar, you will hear from companies focused on providing insurance solutions to SMEs in different countries. We will discuss how recent developments in technology are impacting the insurance market for SMEs and how insurtechs, insurance companies and other financial services providers are working together to serve SMEs. We will also discuss the opportunities and challenges around SME insurance.
What you will learn
How different insurers are approaching the SME market
The opportunities and risks in SME insurance market
How start-ups and insurance companies are partnering to serve SMEs
What mature and emerging markets can learn from each other
Host
Matthew Gamser, CEO, SME Finance Forum
About the Moderator
Susan Holliday is a Senior advisor at IFC. Susan is part of the financial institutions group at IFC. She acts as an expert on investments and advisory work in insurance, both mature companies, and insurtech, in developing countries. She has over 30 years’ experience in insurance in a variety of different roles, as a board member and an advisor to Eos Venture Fund and several start-ups. Prior to joining IFC, Susan worked at Swiss Re, where she was a Managing Director and Head of Strategy for the reinsurance business worldwide and a member of the executive team. In this capacity she worked on all aspects of life and health and property-casualty re/insurance; headed a global team; and led the strategy work for emerging markets and for Fintech. Susan also held the positions of CFO of Reinsurance Client Markets and Head of Investor Relations at Swiss Re. Before Swiss Re, Susan worked in equity research and equity sales covering the insurance industry at UBS, JP Morgan, and Paribas. Susan is a UK Chartered Accountant, a member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers.
About the Speakers
Jackson Theuri is the Director of Corporate Business, Britam Holdings Plc and Principal Officer of Britam General Insurance Kenya Ltd. Britam is a leading diversified financial services group listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange with a presence in seven countries. Jackson is an experienced business leader with over 20 years working experience in Strategy, Governance, Operations, Finance, Insurance, Audit and Consulting. He is currently an independent director of Medsource Group, a Kenya based health sector Group Purchasing Organization(GPO) and the Chair of the Board at Voltic Kenya Limited, a transport technology firm. Jackson’s previous roles include Group Chief Executive Officer, Hanvard Africa; Chief Executive Officer, OptimaCap Africa; Deputy Group Managing Director-General Insurance, UAP-Old Mutual Group; Group Chief Finance Officer, UAP Holdings and Senior Manager, PwC (Kenya and UK). He has also held various other board positions in Insurance, Financial Services, Health and Technology Industries. Mr. Theuri holds an MBA in Global Business Management from United States International University, Bachelor’s Degree Commerce (Accounting) from Kenyatta University and is a Member of the Institute of Public Accountants of Kenya (CPA(K)).
Khue Dinh is the Country President of Chubb’s general insurance operation in Vietnam. Ms. Dinh has two decades of experience in the insurance industry, having held various leadership positions with international insurers and brokers. Prior to joining Chubb, she was Director of Emerging Customers with AXA Insurance and represented the company on the Board of Directors of Bao Minh Insurance. She has a deep understanding of the consumer as well as small, mid-market commercial segments given her experience in both the Life and General Insurance businesses. Ms. Dinh’s breadth of expertise gives her a strong foundation to manage strategic partnerships and affinity relationships. Before AXA Insurance, Ms. Dinh gained extensive experience in health and employee benefits insurance from her years with Lockton, AIG and Aon. Ms. Dinh holds a Bachelor of Science in Honours from Vietnam National University in Hanoi as well as a Diploma in Financial Services – Insurance from ANZIIF (Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance).
Douglas Franklin, is the Chief Executive Officer at Digital Fineprint. Franklin previously held the position of Commercial Director. Franklin joined DFP in 2019 and has spearheaded major strategy and technical shifts across the company’s portfolio of products and services. Previously at RSA, Franklin held a variety of roles focused on improving business performance and delivering value. Founded in 2016, Digital Fineprint is at the forefront of enabling precision underwriting at scale for SME insurers.
A blog summarizing the main points and answers to some of the unanswered questions from the chat will be available on our website: https://www.smefinanceforum.org/blog
For more information, please contact us at smefinanceforum@ifc.org.
See other recent resources on the topic, below:
How Can Insurance Support the Recovery and Resilience of MSMEs?
Member Only Webinar - Insurance for SME Resilience and Recovery
Virtual Roundtable Series on COVID-19 Mitigation Efforts #11 - Insuring SMEs
A wakeup call to expand insurance services to SMEs
By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
Online
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public