The Committee is the key strategic advisory body for the Fund Management and will provide with guidance on strategic decisions and grantee selection. It will approve service providers cooperating with the Fund, ensure Fund supervision and review of Fund results against stated objectives and targets in reaching its final goal of scaling up SPM.
Ranya Abdel-Baki
Sanabel – The Microfinance Network of Arab Countries, Egypt
Ranya Abdel-Baki is an economist by education and is currently the Executive Director of Sanabel – the Microfinance Network of Arab Countries. Prior to working at Sanabel, Ranya has worked as a credit analyst and supervisor for 5 years at National Société Générale Bank and as an Urban Economist & Development Specialist in an environmental consultancy firm. She has undertaken a number of consultancy assignments assessing the social impact and financial sustainability of development projects in Egypt. Experience in microfinance includes the co-writing of the Arab Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report for the past three years, training on financial analysis for microfinance, and lecturing on microfinance in the American University in Cairo. Ranya holds a MSc. in Urban Economic Development from University College London.
Jack Burga
CRS/Mission & Imp-Act Consortium, Peru
Jack Burga is the Director of the MISION II Project for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and is the Director of the MISION Program in Latin America. The program specializes in helping to develop the social performance management of MFIs in Latin America. He is also a university lecturer and advisor in micro, small, and rural business, small business management, and social performance management at Peruvian Catholic University, San Marcos First National University, and La Molina Agricultural University. He holds degrees in Chemical Engineering and Business Administration from the University of Lima, Peru.
Laura Foose
Social Performance Task Force, USA
Ms Foose has seventeen years of experience in policy design and advocacy promoting microfinance development and poverty alleviation in developing and transitional countries. She has also designed microfinance projects and conducted evaluations of MFIs. As Secretariat of the Microenterprise Coalition for five years, Ms. Foose represented microenterprise practitioner and advocacy organizations to donor agencies, the US Administration, and members of Congress. For 6 years, Ms. Foose was a working group facilitator for the SEEP Network, the MF industry association, and worked extensively in the areas of poverty assessment/outreach. Since 2005 she has been the Coordinator of the global Social Performance Task Force. Ms. Foose is a professor of microfinance at Georgetown University. She is a co-founder Woman Advancing Microfinance; she is on the Social Performance Advisory Board of KIVA; and the Taxonomy Committee of “The Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) project” of The Global Impact and Investing Network.
Cara S. Forster
SEEP Network, USA
Cara Forster is currently a Program Manager for SEEP Network Development Services. Prior to joining the NDS/SEEP Network team, she worked as an independent consultant on the topics of consumer protection and social performance. From 2008-2010, Cara was the Program Manager for the Double Bottom Line at the Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION International. Her work there centred on consumer protection research, coordinating the Beyond Codes project, and managing tool creation for The Smart Campaign, including a client protection assessment methodology for MFIs. Before her work with ACCION, she spent 4 years in environmental consulting, designing performance measures and conducting project evaluations for several EPA programs. Her interests in microfinance began 10 years ago with her Peace Corps service in Nicaragua where she coordinated a small savings and loan cooperative for single mothers. She has a Bachelors in Environmental Science from Harvard College and a Masters in Sustainable Development from Duke University.
Jhale Hajiyeva
Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA), Azerbaijan
Jhale Hajiyeva is the Executive Director of Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association. She has worked in microfinance since 1999 and has microfinance experience from the microfinance programme of International Organization for Migration and UNDP. Mrs. Hajiyeva established a successful strategic partnership with government authorities and several international organizations including, USAID,BP & it’s co-venturers, MIX, CIPE and ACDI/VOCA. She has been a Board Member of the MFC since May 2008 and effective May 2010 Ms. Hajiyeva is Chair of MFC Board of Directors. Since November 2009 Jhale has been on SEEP Network Board of Directors.
Allan Robert I. Sicat
Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc., The Philippines
Allan has been with MCPI since 2004. He started as MCPI’s Performance Analyst and handled the performance monitoring and benchmarking activities of the network. In 2008, he managed MCPI’s Network Strengthening Program, a 3-year program by Citi Foundation and the SEEP Network which aimed at strengthening the network’s operational, technical, and financial capacities. Allan earned his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the De La Salle University-Graduate School of Business in 2008. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Applied Economics and Commerce, major in Management of Financial Institutions from the De La Salle University.
Jackie Mbabazi
The Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda, Uganda
In AMFIU, Jackie works as a Research and Advocacy Officer.
Micol Pistelli
MIX, USA
Micol Pistelli is the Manager of the Social Performance Program at MIX. At MIX Micol is responsible for leading the strategy of MIX’s social performance program, managing the team of social performance analysts, performing analysis, and training stakeholders on MFIs’ social performance. She is also a steering committee member of the Social Performance Task Force, where she coordinates the efforts to standardize social performance indicators for the microfinance industry. Micol began working in international development in 2003 for the Department of Development Cooperation at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has since worked as a microfinance consultant at the Italian Embassy in Egypt, Fundación Paraguaya in Paraguay, and the Microfinance Management Institute in Washington, DC. Micol holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Bologna in Italy and a M.A. in International Economics and International Development from SAIS-Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC.
Katarzyna Pawlak
Microfinance Centre, Poland
Katarzyna Pawlak, Deputy Director of the Microfinance Centre, is an MBA with ten years of practical experience in microfinance related to organizational management, program design and implementation. Since 2001 Katarzyna has been actively engaged in advancing Social Performance Management in ECA and globally through implementation of global and regional programs, engagement in a wide range of promotional activities, leadership and participation in various Social Performance related initiatives. She sits on the Social Performance Task Force and Imp-Act Consortium Steering Committees. She authored or co-authored various publications, tools and training courses related to Social Performance Management including the Imp-Act/MFC Social Performance Management Guidelines and From Mission to Action Management Series promoting Strategic Management for Double-bottom Line and Quality Audit Tools.
Tony Sheldon
Ford Foundation, USA
Tony Sheldon is Executive Director of the Program on Social Enterprise at the Yale School of Management. In addition to his work at the Yale, Tony is the founder and principal of Bering Consulting. Since 1990, Bering Consulting has been working with microfinance institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, primarily in the areas of financial management and business planning. Tony has also worked with several development finance networks and funders, including the Ford Foundation, ShoreBank International, the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion Network, Women's World Banking, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), and the World Bank. His publications include CGAP's Handbook on Business Planning and Financial Modeling for Microfinance Institutions, the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion Network's Financial Ratio Analysis of Microfinance Institutions, and Women's World Banking's Principles and Practices of Financial Management.
SP Fund Staff
Ewa Bańkowska
SPM Programme Manager at Microfinance Center, Poland
Ewa is the program manager for the SPM, managing action research projects on social performance innovation and customer protection. She works with a wide range of stakeholders on developing and pilot testing new tools and solutions, setting standards and documenting the experience of practitioners in attempts in delivering on microfinance promise in the CEE and NIS regions and beyond. With a background in market research, her previous professional experience covered marketing research in the banking sector and market analysis for the B2B service global alliance. Ewa holds an MSc in Quantitative Methods and Information Systems from Warsaw School of Economics and a postgraduate diploma from Warsaw University in psychology of consumer’s behaviour.
Kinga Dąbrowska
Senior Project Coordinator at Microfinance Center, Poland
Kinga has been working in MFC since September 2011. Prior to that, she worked in Technical Secretariat for Cross-Border Cooperation Program Poland – Belarus – Ukraine and Pontis Foundation, Slovakia where she was responsible for managing projects related to development assistance, democracy promotion and development education mostly in the Western Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe. She has been also providing trainings and workshops to partner organizations covering topics such as fundraising, strategic and project planning, introduction to corporate social responsibility, cross – sector cooperation between NGOs and business, advocacy campaigning. Over the years she conducted several organizational audits and trainings on board staff relations. In MFC Kinga works in Social Performance Management program. Kinga holds a Master’s degree in sociology from Warsaw University.
