Client Voices: The Past, Present and Beyond
Carmen provides a range of project operations, communications, and web research support for The Smart Campaign team, and project management support for the Responsible Microfinance Facility, with a focus on sub-Saharan African (SSA) and the North Africa (MENA) regions. Her work focuses on increasing the awareness of the Smart Campaign among stakeholders, improving the ecosystem for client protection through intensive engagements in select African countries, and supporting financial consumer protection regulation and supervisory efforts. Previously, Carmen worked at the Investment Promotion Center in Cote d’Ivoire where she was a Fulbright-Clinton Fellow assisting in the organization of international economic forums. She also conducted market research and drafted proposals for economic missions abroad to strengthen economic relations between Côte d’Ivoire and other countries. She worked at DHL in Chicago as a Client Relations Specialist and at Yunus Social Business in Haiti. Carmen holds a master’s degree in International Trade Policy and Development from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and a bachelor’s degree in French from DePaul University in Chicago.
Straton is the Senior Program Manager for the Responsible Finance through Local Leadership and Learning (RFL3) Program, based in Kigali, Rwanda. Prior to joining SEEP, Straton has led programs focusing on capacity building for local development actors in East and Central Africa (Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia). In his 30 years of experience, Straton has worked for many international NGOs where he contributed to poverty reduction through microfinance, agriculture value chain development, and organizational development. He has also worked as an independent consultant, providing technical support to public and private institutions. Straton has completed his MBA (Project Management) from the Maastricht School of Management outreach program in Kigali, Rwanda; holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Kigali Independent University, and an Associate Bachelor’s degree in Microfinance and Community Economic Development (Uganda Martyrs University). He is fluent in English and French.
James Kwezi is Digital Financial Services expert in the Rwandan financial inclusion space. He is the project officer of digital financial services at Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) and has been involved in designing digital products for low income people, mainly saving groups. Understanding the needs of the underserved is today’s biggest challenge and finding solutions is his passion.
The Enabling Environment for Responsible and Inclusive Finance
Ross Nathan is an accomplished Senior Executive in the development sector specialized in sustainable development and poverty reduction. He has over 20 years of hands-on experience in Development Finance. He has developed policy & procedure manuals and business strategies for programs in five countries and effectively lobbied for the development sector. This includes setting up development finance Institutions, Banks / Co-operatives in India, Zambia, Rwanda and Tanzania. He played a key role in setting up the Urwego Opportunity Bank in Rwanda in 2006 and served as consultant to USAID /AED project, which recommended setting up of Sacco’s in Rwanda, resulting in increasing financial inclusion in Rwanda up to 80%, especially to the small holder farmers, youth Savings groups & rural communities. He took over Visionfund Rwanda (Subsidiary of World Vision International) in 2014, turned it around successfully in 15 months and in 2015, it was awarded the Best Performance in the African Region by VFI network and the 1st runner up in Rwanda as ‘ The Best MFI in Client protection and Social Performance.
Umma Aminu Dutse has three decades of work experience in banking and financial services regulation. She is currently the Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) where she is responsible for regulating the conduct of financial service providers and improved consumer confidence in the financial system towards financial system stability. Under her leadership, the CBN has developed and issued various policies and guidelines to strengthen and enforce the regulation of conduct in the Nigerian financial system including the Consumer Protection Framework and the National Financial Literacy Framework. Ms. Dutse holds a degree in Economics and a Masters of Business Administration from Bayero University, Kano. She is a member of the Bankers Committee subcommittee on ethics and professionalism and serves on the Nigerian Electronic Fraud Forum and the National Financial Inclusion Technical Committee.
Rebecca Rouse leads IPA’s Financial Inclusion Program, overseeing a portfolio of research initiatives and randomized evaluations to find effective solutions to help the poor manage and grow their money. Before joining IPA, she was Coordinator of the Regional Facility on Remittances and Savings of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group. Prior to joining the MIF, Rebecca served as IPA’s United States Household Finance Initiative Program Manager from 2010 to 2013. Rebecca also worked at the Inter-American Dialogue, the International Organization for Migration, FINCA Peru, Banco de Ahorro y Crédito Unión in the Dominican Republic, and as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Philadelphia. Rebecca holds an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a BA in political science from Bryn Mawr College.
Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa is Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, formerly Minister of Trade and Industry and Minister of State for Economic Planning, and currently chairs the Board of the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. Monique holds a PhD in Economics, a Doctorate of Commerce, honoris causa and a Cum Laude Masters in Economics from Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She is a Fellow of the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Education in Public Financial Management, a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI) East Africa and the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN), and a member of the African Leaders Network. She is 1st Vice Chairperson of Unity Club, a non-government organization composed of former and current cabinet members and spouses, whose common goal is to promote unity as a foundation of Rwanda’s sustainable development. She is also a member of the African Advisory Council of Women’s World Banking, a global nonprofit organization that promotes banking solutions for low-income women. Monique is a founding member of New Faces New Voices Rwanda Chapter, a Pan-African movement that aims at empowering women in finance.
Gian Boeddu is a Senior Financial Sector Specialist in the Responsible Financial Access team within the Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice at the World Bank, based in Washington DC. Gian’s work at the World Bank focuses primarily on financial consumer protection and market conduct regulation. He has worked with regulators in a range of countries, including Rwanda, on implementing consumer protection reforms. Prior to joining the World Bank Gian was a Special Counsel in financial services regulation at the law firm of King & Wood Mallesons, based in Australia. Gian has also worked as a senior lawyer advising on financial services regulation at a major bank. Gian has a Masters of Laws and a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce.consumer protection and market conduct regulation. He has worked with regulators in a range of countries, including Rwanda, on implementing consumer protection reforms. Prior to joining the World Bank Gian was a Special Counsel in financial services regulation at the law firm of King & Wood Mallesons, based in Australia. Gian has also worked as a senior lawyer advising on financial services regulation at a major bank. Gian has a Masters of Laws and a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce.
Mr. Jean Bosco Iyacu is the Director of Programs at Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) promoting Financial Sector Development and facilitating financial inclusion of low income people for the last four years. He was CEO of the Rwanda Business Development Center, an entrepreneurship and business incubation facility under auspices of the Rwanda Business Development Board (RDB), Regent University, Virginia (USA) and the International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) based in Sweden. He also served in various leadership capacities in some of the Rwanda’s leading Financial Institutions such as KCB Bank and Banque Populaire du Rwanda/Atlas Mara. He holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a Certified Expert in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) financing from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany. He is also Certified Expert in Digital Financial Services from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, USA.
Responsible Digital Payments: Making it Meaningful for Clients
Oswell Kahonde is the Africa Regional Lead for the UN based Better Than Cash Alliance, a partnership of governments, companies and international organisations that accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth. He has over 18 years experience in the development finance sector promoting financial inclusion work in the African region working with the private sector.
Ibrahim Umar Hassan is a Deputy Director in the Consumer Protection Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria where he heads the Market Conduct & Development Division. With over two decades of Central Banking experience covering Operations, Organization and Methods, Knowledge Management and Strategy, Mr. Hassan is currently involved in the development and implementation of a Consumer Protection Framework setting the guiding principles for financial consumer protection regulation in Nigeria. Mr. Hassan is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria and the University of Liverpool in the UK.
Ivan is currently the Deputy Director in charge of Financial Inclusion, A holder of a Bachelors Degree in Statistics from Makerere University and a Masters in Business Administration from Herriot Watt University, he has over 16 years’ experience working in the Central Bank of Uganda. He has experience working in the following areas including; payment systems operations and oversight, supervision and regulation of digital financial services, financial consumer protection, financial education and measurement of Financial Inclusion indicators.
Arthur has over 17 years of experience in the telecommunication industry, in Sales, Marketing & Customer Services and in the Mobile Financial Services. He has been involved in the development of the MTN distribution channels, and in introducing and implementing village phone program (in partnership with Graemeen Foundation USA), a public access utility created to empower rural communities to access and sell telephony services through micro credit. Arthur has also been in charge of transforming MTN Regional Contact Centers into aggressive selling centers while optimizing customer service delivery. In the last four years, he has been at the forefront of upscaling Mobile Financial Services in Rwanda as Head of MTN Mobile Financial Services
MobiCash is Digital Financial platform specialized in offering “Back End” as a Service and has partnered with government institutions such as RRA, Irembo and RSSB. As the CEO of MobiCash, Emile has worked to promote the cashless economy in Rwanda and provide P2G payments solutions to ordinary customers and institutions. MobiCash recently started a campaign with RSSB to collect CBHI premiums known as “Mutuelle de Santé” by providing Umurenge SACCOS with its solution. Before joining MobiCash, Emile worked in various industries including: Telecom, Finance, Media and Entertainment and the Airline Industry.
Faith Kobusingye has over 12 years working experience in various aspects under the Retail Banking and Product Development space. She has built her experience through various roles that include; Digital Financial Services (DFS), Product Development, Strategy development and implementation (both at Departmental & Organizational levels), Project Management, Strategic Marketing, and Retail Sales and Sales Management. She has an in-depth understanding and passion for DFS/Payments products as well as the traditional Retail Asset and Liability product propositions. Faith has developed her career experience working Retail and Product functions in; Standard Chartered Bank (Uganda) limited, Barclays Bank Uganda Limited, Barclays Bank Zambia (PLC), and I&M Bank (Rwanda) limited. Faith holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (Accounting and Finance) from Nkumba University in Uganda, an MBA from Edith Cowan University in Australia, a Certificate in Digital Money from the Digital Frontiers Institute (DFI).
The Business Case for Consumer Protection Certification of Financial Service Providers
Sarah is an experienced international development practitioner with a passion for financial consumer protection and empowering people at the base of the pyramid. Sarah manages global operations for the Smart Campaign, a global effort to create an environment in which financial services are delivered safely and responsibly to low-income clients. In addition to day-to-day management, she oversees communications, helps support the implementation of the client protection standards and manages monitoring and evaluation and global reporting for the Campaign. Prior to joining the Smart Campaign team, Sarah worked at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion where she managed the Centers core business processes, as well as the HBS-Accion Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance. Sarah has lived and worked abroad in Quito, Ecuador and Ahmedabad, India. She holds a bachelor’s in business administration from Boston University and a master’s in sustainable development from the SIT Graduate Institute.
Godwin Nwabunka is an experienced development manager with a passion for empowering the poor. He is a social entrepreneur, children and women’s rights advocate and a strong believer in balancing social, economic and cultural factors in development. He holds a Ph.D. in Development Economics from the prestigious Gregorian University, Rome and professional certifications from Harvard University, The Boulder Institute, and the Centre for Development Management, Rajendrapur. He is also a Paul Harris Fellow and a Fellow of the CFI/Accion Africa Board Fellowship. He served the United Nations System for over 18 years at various professional levels in Nigeria and abroad. He is presently the Chief Executive Officer of Grooming Centre, the first microfinance institution in Africa to be Client Protection Principle certified by the Smart Campaign. He founded it in 2006 and is dedicated to the empowerment of the poor through sustainable financial intermediation.
Tiko Okoye, who holds an MBA from University of Lagos, a B.Sc in Agric Econs from University of Ibadan, is a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow in Executive Bank Management from Boston University, MA, USA. An Alumni of Institute of Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland. Tiko underwent a robust 12-month Credit Management Development Programme run by Chase Manhattan Bank in New York and upon completion assumed the roles of Credit Analyst, Team Leader, Branch Manager, Corporate Finance Manager, Credit Training Manager at Chase/Continental Merchant Bank, between 1983–88 during his illustrious career. He is a fully certified Microfinance Practitioner who posted four distinctions to emerge Best Graduating Student in the 2013/14 annual nationwide MCP examinations superintended by the Central Bank/CIBN. In addition to developing and implementing strategies towards the growth of the bank and sub-sector, Tiko is also a national newspaper columnist whose other passion aside microfinance are football and current affairs.