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Virtual Roundtable Series on COVID-19 Mitigation Efforts #18 - Going Beyond Finance
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06 August 2020
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9 : 30
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WebEx
By invitation only
COVID-19 pandemic brought disruptions to operations of many SMEs. In these challenging times, financial institutions and FinTech companies are helping their SME customers navigate the market not only by providing core financial services, but also through non-financial services, by supporting SMEs’ business development.
On Thursday, August 6, 2020, at 8 a.m. EDT, senior executives from TBC Bank, the largest bank in Georgia; the African Management Institute Initiative, a social enterprise for managers and entrepreneurs across Africa; member Ecobank, a modern pan-African financial institution; and KIU Global, a fintech providing inclusive technology to enterprises in the ASEAN region; will discuss new non-financial services and initiatives launched to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and support their SME customers.
About COVID-19 Roundtable Series
In times of crisis, accurate and timely information is key. Sharing knowledge and practical experience are proven forms of investment that pave the path to success. With the purpose of helping our members build their own knowledge advantage, the SME Finance Forum facilitates activities and learning opportunities with the strategic approach of collecting and disseminating the best practices, while connecting SME finance experts and practitioners within our global network. Starting in late March, the Forum hosts weekly virtual roundtable sessions focusing on mitigation efforts used to cope with COVID-19, sharing those experiences in a continuous and real-time basis. Learn more>
What you will learn
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What are the beyond finance services panelists’ institutions provide?
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What adjustments they made during COVID-19?
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What new initiatives have they launched since or in response to COVID-19?
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What is the business case for going beyond finance? How do they monitor costs and benefits?
MAIN HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS SESSION
NEW: Extra Time with Speakers!
Want to learn more about an institution or speak directly with a panelist from the roundtable? Join our new Roundtable – Extra Time! This is 30-minute breakout session with one or two of the presenters from the roundtable. Microphones will be unmuted and participants can speak more conversationally, and ask direct questions to the presenters. Each session will be chaired by a SME Finance Forum moderator.
Speaker Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Ecobank and Steve Landman, Kiu Global with SME Finance Forum moderator Matt Gamser, staying in the main room.
Speakers Natia Vacharadze, TCB Bank, and Rebecca Harrison, African Management Institute, with IFC moderator, Olena Prokopovych register here>
Host: Matthew Gamser, CEO, SME Finance Forum
Moderator
Joanna Romero is Global Non-Financial Services Specialist in SME Banking and Banking on Women based in Washington, DC. Over the last eight years, she advised banks across Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa on a variety of topics in SME banking including non-financial services as well as strategy, segmentation, customer value proposition and sales effectiveness. Her most recent clients include key players in the banking sectors of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Prior to her current role, Joanna was Regional SME Banking and Gender Finance Specialist based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Before joining IFC, Joanna worked in management consulting and private sector development focused on SMEs in Asia and Europe. She has a Master’s degree in International Trade and Investment Policy with a concentration on Finance from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.
About the Speakers
Natia Vacharadze is the tribe lead of business segment management in TBC Bank – the largest bank in Georgia. In Agie structure her team is responsible for the development of products, processes and digital channels (internet and mobile bank) for busines customers as well as for MSME segment value proposition and sales. For last 11 years Natia is working for MSME segment in TBC bank. Prior to joining MSME team, she was a corporate banker in TBC and Procredit Bank Georgia. Natia holds an MBA degree and is a Master of Modern Art History.
Rebecca Harrison is the Co-Founder and CEO of the African Management Institute (AMI), a pan-African company that enables ambitious businesses to thrive through practical tools and training. Under Rebecca’s leadership, AMI has trained over 25,000 people in 15 countries, leveraging a tech-supported blended learning approach. AMI has secured several rounds of investment from African and international impact investors and worked with a range of prestigious clients such as the Mastercard Foundation, DfID, Uber, Shell Foundation, KLM and many others. AMI has been featured by international media including CNN Marketplace Africa, Financial Times and Euronews, and was the only African finalist in the 2014 Wharton global Reimagine prize for innovation in higher education. Previously, Rebecca worked as a foreign correspondent and manager for Reuters News Agency, where she led business coverage in Africa and reported on politics, markets and development from 13 countries in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Rebecca completed her MBA (cum laude) in Entrepreneurship at South Africa’s Gordon Institute of Business Science, where she graduated first in her class and was awarded a Kellogg Foundation grant to conduct research into innovation in low-income markets. She also has a BA (Hons, 1st class) from the UK’s University of Manchester. Rebecca lives in Nairobi, Kenya with her husband and two young sons.
Josephine Anan-Ankomah is currently Ecobank’s Group Executive for Commercial Banking, which means from the Group Office in Lomé, Togo, she heads and runs the entire commercial banking operation of the Ecobank Group in 33 countries across Africa. Her work also focuses on creating relevant solutions to help build African SMEs and Local Corporates, and position them to become viable and sustainable. She is a well-rounded and highly experienced banker with almost three decades’ experience in treasury management, strategy implementation, investment banking and commercial banking. She has held various senior positions within Ecobank such as as Chief Operating Officer for Ecobank West African Monetary Zone/East & Southern African where she supported the expansion of the Ecobank Group into West, Eastern and Southern Africa. In her role as Regional Treasurer covering Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and The Gambia she managed a total balance sheet of over $2.7billion. Before taking up her current role, she was the Managing Director of Ecobank Gambia, where she worked with the team to position the bank as number one bank on the market. Josephine has a BA and an MBA from the University of Ghana and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. She is passionate about seeing women excel. As Managing Director of Ecobank Gambia, she set up a scholarship scheme for young women going to high school and university. She also mentors several young women. Josephine is also a music hobbyist who has helped shape the Ghanaian gospel music scene and continues to inspire several young singers.
Steve Landman is the Founder and CEO of Kiu Global. Steve is a parallel entrepreneur and angel investor. Prior to Kiu, in his role as the Managing Partner of Lotus Impact, Steve is an enthusiastic pioneer in investing in South East Asia startup ecosystem with technological and financial insight from Silicon Valley. A digital transformation expert, he was one of the first members of Oracle. He has founded and sold over 17 profitable companies. Currently, Steve is the CEO of Kiu Global. Kiu developed a cloud-based business management platform (Kiu BMP), similar to ERP but without the complexity and high cost. Kiu BMP comes with a built in AI credit scoring engine to help SMEs and MSMEs (who are traditionally rejected by traditional financial institutions) gain easier access to loans and credit.
Registration is open for members here.
For more information: please contact: Khrystyna Kushnir.
