Mr. Abraham Fekadu Gebre is a Principal Financial inclusion Coordinator at the National Bank of Ethiopia within the Financial Inclusion Secretariat. He has more than 18 years of work experience in finance, audit, digital financial services, and financial inclusion areas. He has played a role in the development and rollout of Ethiopia's first and second financial inclusion strategies and also in the development and implementation of state level or regional financial inclusion frameworks for the different regional states of Ethiopia. In his current capacity, Mr. Abaraham serves as a lead in the implementation of the different programs of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy II of Ethiopia specifically responsible for driving financial inclusion through digital payment. He also leads the program for driving financial inclusion in the underserved areas and regions of Ethiopia. In addition to these, he serves as a member of different technical and steering teams formed for the development and implementation of strategies and roadmaps like National Agrifinacing road map, National Digital Payment Strategy, IFB Road Map, movable collateral based lending strategy, national credit guarantee scheme etc.. Mr. Abraham commenced his career at National Bank of Ethiopia in 2006 as an auditor. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Management from Hawassa University and an MBA in Finance from Addis Ababa University, College of Business and Economics.

Aisha currently serves as CARE Senior Manager on Women Economic Growth. In this role she engages with governments, women rights organizations and CSOs to accelerate women's economic empowerment at scale and specifically women's access to and control over resources by expanding women's participation in savings groups and advance policy and advocacy goals related to women's voice and leadership and economic justice. Aisha has over 14 years of experience in regional, national and global advocacy.  She has a track record of building strong relationships with feminists and women rights organizations, governments and regional institutions to advance the adoption of progressive, gender transformative policies across the financial, social protection and gender spheres. Aisha is based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

Alh. Nura Muhammad Danmadami currently serves as the Director General of the Agency for Sustainable Microfinance Bauchi State, Nigeria. Under his leadership, he pioneered the Microfinance Institutions Building for Poverty Reduction (MIFIN) program. The program facilitates interest-free loans through Revolving Funds from Microfinance institutions for Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) groups in Bauchi state. In this course, he has partnered with development organizations to upscale VSLA in terms of impact and reach. Also promoted digital financial inclusion for VSLA group through partnership with financial institutions. Prior he had served as Director at the Debt Management Office (DMO).

Alice Hellen Owora is a highly skilled finance professional with extensive experience in financial management, consultancy, and strategic planning. Her background highlights a career dedicated to delivering innovative financial solutions and driving efficiency in both private and public sector projects. Her professional journey demonstrates her proficiency in working with cross-functional teams, delivering data-driven insights, and fostering partnerships to achieve impactful outcomes. Her experience in managing complex projects and optimizing resource use underscores her capability to guide the financial aspects of community health frameworks effectively.

Mr. Alphonse NYOBEWUMUNSI is the Head of Department in charge of supervision of Microfinance and Non-Banking Institutions. The microfinance supervision Department extends his activities to the supervision of non-bank institutions such as Post and institutions providing digital financial services. In his position, Alphonse coordinates teams in the development and updating of our various regulations, which undoubtedly contribute to the development of inclusive finance in Burundi. Since 2023, the department focuses on supervising and regulating small groups such as SILC, AVEC, VSLA, NAWE NUZE, and others and is in the process of finalizing a Decree on Savings Groups. Alphonse holds a master’s degree in management sciences from the University of Cocody in Ivory Coast and a master’s degree in Microfinance from CESAG in Dakar, Senegal. He also holds a Certificate in Law and Regulation of Inclusive Finance within the University of Luxembourg’s Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance. He has been working with the Bank of the Republic of Burundi (Central Bank of Burundi) since October 2003.

Mwaka Ambrose is a technology leader passionate about using fintech to expand financial inclusion across Africa. Growing up in northern Uganda, he witnessed the challenges of communities excluded from formal finance—an experience that fuels his mission to create transparent, scalable, and sustainable digital solutions for underserved populations. As CTO of Ensibuuko, Ambrose has spent nearly a decade designing and scaling platforms that digitize village savings groups, power alternative credit scoring, expand access to microloans, and strengthen financial resilience—especially among women and low-income entrepreneurs. He also founded Zimba, a digital-first cooperative redefining what banking for the internet generation can look like. Recognized for his leadership in leveraging technology, data, and partnerships, Ambrose envisions Ensibuuko as Africa’s leading inclusive digital finance platform—building a future where financial inclusion is a reality for all.

Anthony Kamwesigye is a Research Manager at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) with over 10 years of experience leading and supporting more than 30 research projects across multiple sectors. He specializes in managing large-scale field data collection, ensuring quality control, and coordinating complex operations. In addition, he contributes to project development, grant management, and data analysis, while also translating findings into accessible outputs for dissemination to policymakers, stakeholders, and communities. Passionate about evidence-based decision-making, Anthony is dedicated to ensuring that research informs practice, strengthens policy, and delivers meaningful social and economic impact.

Augustine Ntaganda is currently the Financial Literacy Officer at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in Rwanda. He is an experienced Educationist, Trainer, Entrepreneur and Financial Education Expert, with more than 33 years of working experience. He holds Diploma in Secondary Education from Kyambogo Institute of Teacher Education (Uganda), BBA Finance from UNILAK (Rwanda) and Master of Sciences from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Kenya). He has worked in many Schools in Rwanda and Uganda as a teacher and Head of the Departments of Geography and History. He is the founder and Managing Director of the Association for Promotion of Education and Community Development (APECD), a study Centre for Private Candidates. Since 2014 he has been working at the MINECOFIN Capacity Building and Financial Education Expert and is currently charged with financial literacy.

Colin joined CFI with a background in project design, monitoring and evaluation, and social performance management. He supports research projects as well as the implementation of data collection, management, review, and presentation; drafting blog posts and reports; planning events and workshops, among other things. Colin previously worked as the Social Performance Manager at Small Enterprise Foundation, the largest MFI in South Africa, where he led a team responsible for gathering and analyzing insights on client progress, satisfaction, and challenges. He also reviewed and developed the organization’s social performance practices, in addition to working on the design, monitoring, and evaluation of financial education and savings projects. Colin has a master’s degree in social enterprise from American University: School of International Service and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Sewanee.

Darius Golkar is a serial entrepreneur focused on building trusted financial infrastructure for underserved communities. He launched his first technology company at 18 and achieved a successful exit by 23. Since then, he has concentrated on resilient systems in fragile environments—working with refugees in Kakuma, then the world’s largest refugee camp, and designing scalable solutions for governments and banks. His global impact spans from securing land for vulnerable families to mentoring youth leaders, including a Dalai Lama Fellow. Today, Darius is pioneering the integration of digital credit and land systems to advance stability, trust, and inclusion in emerging markets.

Disan Katabalwa is a distinguished project management and financial inclusion expert with over 17 years of experience spanning Microfinance banking, product development, and program execution across Sub-Saharan Africa . His career includes leading transformative initiatives such as financial inclusion programs, core banking system implementations, and digital banking solutions to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kosovo, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. He has worked with a range of institutions including SAO Uganda, FINCA Uganda, UGAFODE Microfinance, Pride Microfinance, and various FINCA subsidiaries across Africa and Europe—namely FINCA Nigeria, FINCA Kosovo, FINCA DRC, FINCA Tanzania, and FINCA Zambia. Currently, Disan serves as the Deputy Program Manager at FINCA Uganda where he is charged with Financial Inclusion projects focused on Youth and Women. He also holds prominent leadership roles as President of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Uganda Chapter and Board Chair of the Rural Development Foundation (RDF), where he champions project management excellence and financial inclusion for bottom of the pyramid clients. His academic credentials include a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Bachelor of Commerce (BCOM) from Makerere University, a business diploma from Makerere University Business School, and a certificate in Business Management from FH Münster University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

Dr. William Derban is a seasoned financial inclusion leader with over two decades of experience across banking, NGOs, and development finance. At Opportunity International, he leads the development of partnerships to scale AI-driven solutions that leverage human-centered design to expand access to services for underserved communities. He also led the digitization of savings groups for Opportunity International. He has previously led financial inclusion initiatives, especially focused on the promotion of savings groups at Barclays, leading the Banking on Change program; at Fidelity Bank Ghana, partnering with CARE, MTN and USAID; and the GSMA working on agency networks and digital cash transfers for refugees. He sits on several boards and has contributed to national digital and financial inclusion strategies.

With over 15 years’ experience in development and social enterprise, Eric specializes in digital inclusion at the intersection of community rights, conservation, and technology. He leads initiatives that connect rural communities—especially women and indigenous land stewards—to secure land tenure, conservation agreements, and finance using blockchain-powered solutions. Eric brings a unique perspective to the blockchain discussion, grounded in both development practice and the practical realities of building scalable, market-ready infrastructure in some of the world’s most ecologically and economically fragile regions.

Frank is an Agricultural Economist with over 16 years’ experience and has deep international expertise. Prior to his transition to CARE, Frank was one of World Vision International’s global technical advisors for resilience and livelihoods. Over the years, he has piloted and scaled up inclusive models with focus on financial inclusion (VSLA and microfinance), market systems development, graduation approaches and climate smart agriculture. Frank supports CARE’s DFSA/RFSAs as well as the broader VSLA program portfolio related to Food Security and VSLAs.

Grace is a result-oriented international development leader with 20+ years of progressive leadership in advancing women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, and livelihoods across the global. Recognized thought leader on savings groups, collective-based economic empowerment, and gender-transformative programming. Experienced in global strategy development, high-level policy influence, and managing large, diverse teams. Trusted advisor to governments, multilateral organizations, the private sector, and civil society in shaping national financial inclusion strategies, feminist economic frameworks, and global programming.

Henrik Esbensen holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Computer Science, followed by post- doctoral research at UC Berkeley in advanced optimization algorithms. He spent 25 years in Silicon Valley, primarily with startups, where he built cutting-edge software systems in machine learning, data analytics, and deep learning neural networks. Driven by a passion for using technology to address global poverty, Henrik co-founded DreamStart Labs in 2016. He served as Chief Technology Officer until 2024, when he became Chief Executive Officer. DreamStart Labs’ vision is to create a world where technology transforms human talent into opportunity for all.

Julia Arnold is a senior research, learning, and evaluation (MLE) consultant with expertise in women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, and digital capability. She specializes in strategic alignment, synthesizing complex internal and project documentation into actionable recommendations to guide future investments and programming. Julia has led the development of learning agendas, integrated gender mainstreaming into research and program design, and directed mixed-methods studies across savings groups, livelihoods, and digital inclusion initiatives. She previously led the women’s financial inclusion workstream at the Center for Financial Inclusion and managed qualitative and quantitative research for ICRW’s economic empowerment and livelihoods portfolio. Julia holds a BA in International Affairs from Lewis & Clark College and an MA in International Development from American University.

Kalkidan (Kal) Lakew is a Program Coordinator at CARE, leading the Women Respond initiative to amplify women’s voices and community insights for data-driven action. She is deeply passionate about leveraging data to tell compelling stories and drive meaningful action. With 13 years of experience, Kal’s expertise includes food security programming, financial inclusion, women’s empowerment, community-led capacity building, and research. She holds a BA in Sociology and a Master’s in Human Rights from Addis Ababa University, and a Master’s in International Development Policy from Duke University.

Lisa Kuhn is currently serving as Inclusive Finance Knowledge Director for VisionFund International. She is a social impact professional and nonprofit leader with more than 25 years’ experience in multi-sectoral and sustainable solutions to development challenges such as food security, women's empowerment, access to affordable and adequate health care, financial inclusion, education, and enterprise development. Prior to joining VisionFund, she had a consulting practice focused on helping organizations deliver more effectively on their missions. She served as Executive Director for the Foundation for Sustainable Development, an organization focused on asset-based community development. She has held a number of technical, policy, and leadership positions in microfinance networks including Freedom from Hunger, Opportunity International, and FINCA International. She holds a masters degree in foreign service from Georgetown University and a bachelors from DePauw University.

Maria Paula Ballesteros is a dedicated advocate for financial inclusion, economic mobility, and resilience. With over 20 years of experience, she designs and leads scalable, high-impact initiatives across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Her work focuses on expanding economic opportunities and advancing skills development, particularly for women and youth. Drawing on insights from global programs, she integrates financial education, savings group models, and resilience-building strategies to empower individuals to confidently engage with financial systems and improve their livelihoods.

Mary Mathew Ngassa serves as the Assistant Manager of Non-Deposit Taking Microfinance Institutions at the Bank of Tanzania within the Directorate of Financial Sector Supervision. She possesses over 14 years of professional experience in on-site and off-site surveillance of banks, microfinance service providers, and bureau de change, as well as business analysis and regulatory review. In her current capacity, Ms. Ngassa oversees the performance, licensing, and compliance of the Non-Deposit Taking Microfinance Institutions portfolio. Furthermore, she advises the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) management on microfinance service operations and regulatory issues, alongside delivering capacity-building initiatives and raising awareness among microfinance service providers. Ms. Ngassa commenced her career at BOT in 2011 as a business analyst and previously served as a bank examiner at the Directorate of Financial Sector Supervision. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) and an MBA (Finance) from the University of Dar-es-Salaam Business School.

Mary Pat McVay has been engaged in microenterprise development for 35 years, with a focus on women’s empowerment through sustainable access to technology, training, markets, and finance. In Kenya in the 1980s and 1990s, she collaborated with NGOs launching Grameen-style microfinance practices. For a decade, working as an independent consultant, she supported the SEEP Network and the ILO to document and disseminate sustainable market development practices. Since 2015, she has been a Senior Research and Knowledge Manager with Opportunity International, and leads research in savings group digitization, AI for agricultural information, agricultural finance, and women’s empowerment. Her most recent publications include briefs on savings group digitization, ultra-poor graduation programs, smart subsidies and guarantees, and AI. Mary Pat is an active member of the global Savings Group Bank Linkages working group.

Mathew Kabalega, the Country Lead for Uganda and Tanzania at Viamo Inc., is slated to speak at the "Building Pathways to Formal Financial Inclusion for Savings Group Members" summit. With over a decade of experience in digital transformation & inclusion, he has a proven track record of helping organizations reach digitally disconnected communities in low-connectivity areas across various sectors, including agriculture, health, education, humanitarian, livelihoods & finance. His work champions accessible and scalable solutions that ensure no one is left behind in the digital revolution. At the summit, Mathew will share his insights on leveraging mobile technology for digital inclusion & transformation, field lessons, emerging trends, and opportunities for expanding formal financial inclusion in East Africa.

Mercy Ainomugisha is the CEO of VisionFund Uganda, with over 20 years of leadership experience in microfinance and banking. She is committed to advancing financial inclusion and promoting economic empowerment across Uganda. Mercy holds an MBA in Strategic Planning from Edinburgh Business School, a Master’s in Management Studies from Uganda Management Institute, and has completed executive programs at Harvard, Wharton, Strathmore, and the Institute of Directors (UK). She serves on the Board of AMFIU and is a member of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, The Boardroom Africa and the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda. Her passions include empowering women and youth, fostering sustainable livelihoods, and championing innovation in financial services.

Michael Ilesanmi is a Senior Social Development Specialist with the World Bank, Africa region. Michael is passionate about unlocking the potentials of women’s collectives to address social, political and economic empowerment of women and girls in Nigeria and Africa and he currently leads the World Bank’s flagship women’s economic empowerment operation in Sub Saharan Africa, Nigeria for Women Project which is aimed at improving the livelihoods of 5 million women in across the country. He is also co- Task Team Leader for the Sustainable Procurement, Environment and Social Standards Project, SPESSE aimed at developing sustainable capacity in managing procurement, environment, and social risks in the public and private sectors. Michael has worked extensively in Africa and Latin America and Caribbean Regions on broad range social development issues including women’s empowerment, gender-based violence prevention and response, community driven development, RMNCH-N and Climate Change.

Natacha Brice is a seasoned leader in international development, recovery, and humanitarian programming with over 20 years of experience driving impact across Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. She is the creator of CARE’s VSLAiE model, an innovation that has brought financial inclusion and resilience to conflict-affected and emergency-prone settings such as Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Mozambique. Natacha is passionate about integrating economic empowerment into humanitarian response, ensuring displaced and vulnerable communities can rebuild livelihoods with dignity. She has led multi-country initiatives, shaped global learning agendas, and continues to champion scalable, people-centered solutions.

Patrick Mususa is the Executive Director of The Tanzania Institute Of Bankers (TIOB). He has over 18 years professional experience cutting across the banking sector and capital markets in Tanzania where his core competencies are in Project Management, Business Development and Strategic Leadership. Patrick also has board-level experience and currently serves as a Non-Executive Director and as Chair of the Remuneration Committee on the board of directors of Bank Of India Tanzania Limited. Some of Patrick’s past roles in the financial sector include being Manager of Projects and Business Development at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange PLC; Manager of Loan Recoveries at NBC Bank Tanzania; and Head of Projects at NBC Bank Tanzania at different times during his career.

Ronald Tumwine is a seasoned Digital Change Manager at VisionFund Uganda, with over 14 years of experience in microfinance and financial services. His expertise spans banking operations, project management, and digital transformation, with a strong focus on financial inclusion and operational efficiency. Ronald holds a Master of Arts in Financial Services, a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics, and is PMP-certified. He is also skilled in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, applying advanced analytics to drive innovation and impact. Outside his professional work, Ronald is an ardent lover of Ankole long-horned cattle, reflecting his passion for heritage and sustainability

Sara leads programs and research to expand economic opportunity and access to financial services in fragile and conflict-affected communities across the globe. She has led humanitarian programs, pilots, and research in countries including Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Yemen. Her research examines the ability of digital and informal financial services to improve the lives of women at the last mile, and has included work on digital delivery of aid in the DRC, shared payment systems in Sudan, energy access through PAYGo financing for female South Sudanese refugees, and the uptake of mobile money after drought in Ethiopia’s Somali region. 

Solène Favre is Global Insurance Director for VisionFund International (VFI) since February 2019. With her team, she supports MFIs in setting up insurance operations for their borrowers and their families. More recently, VFI's insurance team has expanded its technical assistance for WV Field Offices and some other partners to protect more families and more children. Before joining VisionFund International, Solène set up and led the Cambodian subsidiary of the French insurance group, Prévoir, the first microinsurance company in Cambodia for over 6 years, reaching 300,000 insurance policies with a team of 147 people. She also worked on a pilot project to set up the Cambodia's National Social Security before it was handed over and launched officially by the Ministry of Labour in 2012. She also ran a micro-insurance program in India for 2 years providing a health and life community-based insurance for slum dwellers in Maharashtra for UpLift Mutual Association with the French NGO Inter Aide. She started her career in France working for a mutual insurance company for 10 years. Solène holds a postgraduate degree in Public Health from EHESP (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique).

Stefan Staschen has over 25 years of experience in inclusive finance, with a focus on advising regulators and supervisors on creating an enabling environment that delivers positive outcomes for low-income and excluded populations. For most of his career, he has worked as an independent consultant for clients such as CGAP/The World Bank, BFA, GIZ, and the Gates Foundation. He also spent seven years at CGAP leading its work on digital financial services regulation. Having lived and worked in the UK (where he earned his PhD), Uganda, Kenya, and Turkey, he is now based in Germany.

Stephen Mutana has over twenty years’ experience and practice in the Manufacturing, Telecom and Fintech Sector where he worked for Unilever and MTN, within in Uganda and Globally. He is currently, the Chief of Strategy and Transformation at MTN Mobile Money (U) Ltd, where he works to achieve the MTN Belief statement; “Everyone deserves the benefits of a Modern connected life”. He has held roles such as General Manager Customer Experience, MTN Uganda, MTN Group General Manager managing design and implementation of MTN’s global strategy across 22 countries. He holds a Bachelors degree (Chem, Bio Chem), Makerere University, MBA Finance (University of Leeds) and advanced leadership training from INSEAD.

Susan Mwachai is an accomplished program manager with over 13 years of experience specializing in micro-financial services and digital transformation across 10+ countries. As Savings Groups Linkages Business Development Manager at VisionFund International, she bridges informal savings groups with formal financial institutions, successfully linking and disbursing loans in markets like Eswatini and Burundi. Previously, as East & West Africa Digital Financial Services Program Manager at Wasoko Ltd, she led end-to-end launches of digital financial products across five countries, standardizing processes and transitioning users from cash to mobile channels. At Gulf African Bank, she architected the micro-lending strategy and launched Halal-Pesa, the first Islamic mobile lending platform, via a landmark partnership with Safaricom. Expert in managing regulatory and telecom partnerships, Susan holds an MBA in Leadership & Theology from Faith Leads University, a BA in Economics from the University of Nairobi, and certifications in Scrum and Strategic Program Management.

Violet Avako is a Project Officer- Women & Girl`s Economic Empowerment at Community Empowerment for Rural Development (CEFORD) Uganda under the Gender Equality and Resilience Project in Partnership with Care International. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies and currently pursuing a Master’s degree in the same field. With over 5 years’ experience in implementing gender equality and resilience programs, Violet provides technical support to women, youth in VSLA groups, digital literacy, skills development, financial linkages, resilience building and advocacy. Skilled in facilitation and community engagement, she is passionate about advancing socio-economic rights and sustainable livelihoods for women and girls.

Marc Bavois has over 20 years of experience in financial inclusion, working with savings group programs, poverty-focused MFIs, and graduation models in 30 countries. He currently leads Catholic Relief Services’ work in Inclusive Finance, where he operationalized the fee-for-service Private Service Provider model and developed the Master Trainer program that helped the SILC program grow to over 5 million members. Prior to joining CRS, he worked with Freedom from Hunger.