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Inaugural Information Session on Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs, Global SME Finance Awards 2025
BE RECOGNIZED, SHARE IMPACT IN SME FINANCE
The SME Finance Forum organizes the Global SME Finance Awards (The Awards) as a core part of its mission to create a unique platform for peer connections, knowledge dissemination, and innovations in SME Finance. The Forum’s extensive 300+ global network, crowds in financial institutions, fintech companies, development banks, policymakers, and industry experts from across the globe, fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and partnership building on a global scale. Hence, the Global SME Finance Awards has evolved into a pinnacle of global recognition for those making a real impact in the SME finance landscape.
We are rolling out a series of Information Sessions during the 2025 Awards Season to share with Financial Service Providers (FSPs) and Industry Stakeholders the role and importance of The Awards in showcasing remarkable achievements and impact in the industry. The sessions also aim to provide information on the application process, respective awards categories, and related information on the awards. Speakers include industry leaders and practitioners from the Forum’s global network, as well as past applicants and winners.
This inaugural information session will focus on the entire Awards Program, its role, importance, and value to Financial Service Providers (FSPs). Winners and applicants from prior years will also discuss their innovations, impacts, and application experience. The session will include a moderated Q&A to address specific questions from entrants.
Objectives:
• Share the role and importance of the Global SME Finance Awards in facilitating impact and spurring innovations in SME Finance
• Entrants Incentives and Benefits
• Provide information on respective Award Categories, Application Process and Judging Criteria
• Highlight What’s New in the 2025 Season
• Share experiences and highlight innovations and achievements of Past Winners/ Applicants
• Address specific questions from existing and prospective entrants.
Moderator:
BERNARD AYITEY-ADJIN | Lead, Access to Finance, Mastercard Foundation
Bernard began his career at the Ministry of Finance in 2007 as a key research analyst with the Budget Implementation Support Team (BIST). He contributed immensely to the 2007 budget statement of the economy of Ghana. During this period, he also consulted for Beekman management on various surveys.
He joined HFC Bank in December 2007 as a Strategic Planning and research officer. Whilst at HFC he provided corporate strategy support; conducted opportunity studies, macroeconomic research and analysis of competitor markets, etc. At the bank, Bernard was one of the key persons on Investor Relations. He singled handedly conducted in-depth studies on various sectors of the economy. Being the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Housing Finance Association, he was consulted by Finmark Trust, a research Firm in South Africa to provide his expertise on Ghana’s macroeconomic and housing finance situation.
He also provided input in to the publication of the 2010 African Housing Finance Year Book. He gave his expertise on Ghana’s housing finance sector during the Financial Sector Assessment Programme Update (FSAP 2010) by the World Bank/IMF and to strengthen polices for housing finance industry.
Bernard has a Master of Philosophy Degree in Economics from the University of Ghana (MPHIL Economics). Bernard has over 14 years’ experience providing expert advice on the development of financial services, trade, private sector and MSME development, strategy development, digital finance, risk mitigation instruments, agriculture insurance, payments systems, financial inclusion, financial infrastructure, and loan programs within local and international organizations.
He served as the Financial Sector Specialist for USAID Ghana for six years providing expert advice on Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) agriculture finance, microfinance, increasing access to capital and credit, loan guarantee programs and promoting venture capital to support market development activities and issues for the USAID Mission.
He currently serves as Lead, Access to finance for the Mastercard Foundation. His role at the Foundation is primarily to engage other foundation staff, partners, consultants, and key stakeholders for successful country strategy development, program design and implementation. He further provides technical expertise in the development of programs and interventions, help partners build a shared understanding of key issues and opportunities related to unlocking growth and job creation through MSME development and finance in the country, and contributes to the Foundation’s learning agenda. Over the past five years Bernard has successfully developed and managed a portfolio of programs estimated at $242 million.
Speakers/ Discussants:
ABIODUN OLUBITAN, Head | SME Banking, Access Bank PLC
Abiodun Olubitan is a seasoned banking professional with over 20 years of experience spanning Retail, Commercial, and Private Banking. She currently serves as the Head of SME Banking at Access Bank, where she drives strategic initiatives to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. Under her leadership, the SME Banking division fosters economic growth by delivering innovative banking solutions, enhancing business banking services, and creating sustainable financial opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Prior now, she was the Head of the W Initiative, where she spearheaded programs that empowered women entrepreneurs by improving access to financing, capacity-building resources, and new market opportunities. She also oversaw the strategic deployment of Women Banking across 12 African subsidiaries of Access Bank, building sustainable initiatives for women’s economic empowerment, in line with best practice.
Abiodun holds an MBA in Management from the University of Port Harcourt and a Chartered Banker MBA from Bangor Business School, UK, along with a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and has completed various Executive Management Development Programmes in leading institutions, strengthening her credentials in the banking sector. Through her strategic leadership at Access Bank and innovative initiatives, she remains a pivotal figure in enabling women across the continent to achieve financial inclusion, independence, and entrepreneurial success.
Ezgi Toyran, SME Marketing Manager, Akbank
Ezgi Toyran is an experienced SME Banking and Marketing professional with a strong background in developing financial solutions, managing international funding projects, and leading strategic partnerships. Currently serving as SME Marketing Manager at Akbank, she has held key positions at Garanti BBVA, Alternatif Bank and Sony Eurasia. Ezgi holds a master’s degree in Business Information Systems from Boğaziçi University. She is also a passionate advocate for animal rights and women’s empowerment, actively supporting various initiatives in these fields.
João Pedro Stephanou, Manager of Finance Institutions of Sicredi
With a degree with honours in Business Administration from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BRA) and a Specialization in Finance from the same university, João Pedro has been working at the Sicredi Cooperative Bank since 2018, working on topics such as Corporate Finance, Sustainable Finance and Institutional Funding.
Junayed Bin Rashed - Product Manager | Business Transformation Specialist | City Bank PLC, Bangladesh
Junayed specializes in product development, process reengineering, digital transformation and strategic partnerships in MSME and Consumer finance. With more than seven years of experience in banking, fintech, and financial advisory, he helps design technology- and partnership-driven financial and non-financial solutions that empower Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs).
At City Bank PLC, Junayed is leading initiatives aimed at enhancing access to finance for CMSMEs, leading product development and business transformation journeys, strategic partnerships, and aiding data-driven decision-making. Previously, he played a key role in launching Bangladesh’s first BNPL Banking app at IPDC Finance and lead SME-Banking transformation projects at BRAC Bank.
Hosted by:
Qamar Saleem, Global Head of The SME Finance Forum
Qamar Saleem leads the world’s most prominent SME Finance center for knowledge exchange, solution building, innovation, best practice transfer and public-private dialogue. Prior to this role, Qamar was heading Financial Institutions Group Advisory Services for Asia and Pacific aimed at providing integrated investment/advisory client solutions across MSME finance, Gender, Climate, Digital, Housing, Trade, and Supply Chain Finance. Qamar has been with IFC since 2012 and had also served as global technical lead for SME and Supply Chain Finance. Qamar has 30+ years of global financial services experience having worked across 80+ countries, advised more than 300 financial institutions internationally in scaling SME Finance. Prior to joining IFC, Qamar was associated with international organizations like HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank as well as large regional banks while serving in several emerging markets and had launched numerous new business lines, including SME banking, in his banking career.
