FIDES aims to contribute with reliable sustainable solutions to the key issue of facilitating economic development by creating access to financial services for micro entrepreneurs who are excluded from the formal banking system.
FINANCIAL SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
AG has an international team of highly qualified staff
members. The team covers all fields of competence necessary for
greenfield creation of microfinance institutions. Backstopping is
done out of Fribourg (Switzerland). Each field staff member has
the possibility to mobilize high level support in all relevant
fields if required. Greenfield creations are generally
implemented through permanent staff located in each country,
supplemented by short-term support in specific fields like IT,
HRM and Research.
SHORT PROFILES OF FIDES STAFF MEMBERS
Markus SCHÄR is Co-Director of FIDES. He is a business- economist and has been working for 10 years in the field of organizational development with leading financial institutions in Switzerland and Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore). Between 2004 and 2006, he was living and working in New York, where he was engaged as a management consultant for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Markus Schär was born in 1968 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia and grew up in Cameroon and Switzerland. He is highly tuned into cross-cultural communication and management concerns.
Thi Hanh CAO is the Operations Manager of FIDES. She has been working for more than 10 years in the field of microfinance. She has successfully managed several microfinance institutions in Africa and in Eastern Europe. Before joining FIDES, she worked in Afghanistan supporting 5 new MFI in their development and expansion. Her key tasks involve the technical backstopping of four FIDES programs, insuring the sharing of technologies, experiences and information, revising work plans and providing technical support on a day to day basis.
Evriviadis CABIOTIS is an Economist and has already built up sustainable microfinance institutions in five countries. He is based at the headquarter in Fribourg and is in charge of the "backstopping" of several projects. Until recently, Evri was responsible for the transformation of the successful pilot program of FIDES into the fifth commercial bank of the country. He is a specialist for product development and also intensively involved in staff training.
Christian BARON, is an Economist from the University Paris I Sorbonne and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. He has been involved on development of rural and urban SME's in developing countries for more than 20 years. He has first worked as an expatriate adviser on the implementation of a village saving and credit bank network in Mali. Thereafter, he joined the main office of the International Centre of Research and Development (CIDR), where he was responsible for the "Financial Decentralized Systems" department for more than 10 years. Then, he joined the Groupe de Recherche et d'Echanges Technologiques (GRET) in 2003 as Program Manager in the "Microfinance and SME's" department. Besides the promotion of microfinance activities in Africa and Asia, he has developed several programmes aiming to facilitate SME access to support, advice and training services. He has also been a director and Member of the Audit Committee of Amret, a leading Cambodian MFI between 2005 and 2010. Christian has joined FIDES in November 2010 as a microfinance expert.
Kathryn IMBODEN began work in the field of economic development with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Chad, followed by the OECD Development Centre, the Club du Sahel and the US Treasury Department. Over a long period of time, she was responsible for SDC's economic work (macroeconomics and financial sector), during which she chaired the Executive Committee of CGAP. She served as Policy Change Manager with Women's World Banking (WWB),, overseeing a program of policy analysis, legal, regulatory and supervisory work and advocacy work. Kathryn was with UNCDF to lead the policy work program for the 2005 International Year of Microcredit. Kathryn joined FIDES in 2009, working on policy issues, funding issues and on the preparation oand launching of microinsurance initiatives.
Katherine FOSTER, formerly with the Canadian Foreign Service worked for twelve years on trade, environment and human security issues at the international level. Since moving to Switzerland in 2005, she has made a career transition into communications working for the Swiss National Fund, the EPFL and numerous National Centres for Competence in Research (NCCRs). Katherine joined FIDES as the communications manager in April, 2011.
Aissata BARRY has a master of science in development studies with a specialization in microfinance. She also holds a degree in sociology. Aissata Barry has worked in microfinance on the ground in West Africa for about ten years. After extensive field research activities, she built up and headed FIDES Mali, a microfinance institution based in Mopti that is now covering a large region and targeting rural women for savings and credit services. FIDES Mali has been designed as an investment since its start and has never benefited from substantial donor support. Aissata Barry is now working out of the FIDES head office in research and development activities. She is one of the founders of FIDES.
Thomas LENDZIAN has spent several years in the Microfinance and Commercial Banking sectors with focus on institution building, as well as in the Development sector with focus on vocational training. During these years he has been setting up and managing new microfinance Institutions, giving training on SME lending etc. He is now in charge of SNE lending activities of FIDES Bank Namibia.
Philippe COUTEAU has nearly twenty years of experience in financial services, of which nine in microfinance and two in microinsurance. His first six years of professional experience in world-class financial institutions brought him solid expertise in various fields of the bank management: risk management, bank transactions organization, procedures writing, team management and audit. During his long and varied experience in Microfinance, in field positions as well as research and development positions, he has built a sound understanding of numerous areas: creation and development of new MFIs, MIS, audit and regulations, product design as well as training and development. He has a solid understanding in various methodologies such as village banking, group lending, individual credit, SME lending and improved "merry-go-rounds".
Modou DIOP has developed a sound expertise with regards to rural Senegal including of the target areas of operations for St. Louis Finances (River Area, Matam, Podor, Kaolack, etc.). Prior to joining FIDES, he held long-term responsibility for the structures supporting the development of agriculture in these areas. In this capacity he frequently had to allow access to credit for groups of producers and small businesses in the region. As such he organized numerous feasibility, organizational support and institutionalization missions for microfinance institutions. In addition, Modou Diop has a vast experience in training and human resources development.
Hansjorg KESSLER is a trained German lawyer. He started banking in Frankfurt, Germany in 1984. He held various positions namely in the International Trade Finance divisions in German and South African Banks in Frankfurt and London until 2009. All involved financing Emerging Markets and mend travelling and extensive trips to Africa, the Middle East and former CIS countries.
During these journeys he developed an interest in Microfinance.
In 2000 he founded a German Microfinance fund for Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Namibia and other African countries. Today Hansjorg is a director of swiss microfinance holding s.a.
In this capacity he is also on the board of FIDES Bank Namibia Ltd. Other activities in Social Business involve being on the Board of the Gum Arabic Fund, Amsterdam and the Social Business Fund eG, Hamburg.
Guillaume MICHEL is an agronomist specialized in rural development. Guillaume Michel has spent several years in Africa as a technician but also facilitator and trainer, as well as project manager. He was also responsible for research in Rwanda for the Swiss Cooperation on rural banking system and also support to local business associations.
Sundui ENEBISH is a Mongolian citizen and is the IT manager of FIDES Bank Namibia. He has over 7 years of experience in charge of selecting, configuring and deploying adequate IT solutions for management information systems (MIS) for Banks. He also has sound experience in testing, implementing and reengineering MIS as well as improving banking services and productivity, secure IT solutions, and in the launching of mobile banking services.
Romain TEVELS has been working for many years in emerging countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa and has accumulated operational experience in microfinance. The constant contact with customers of local MFIs has offered him the opportunity to develop a sound understanding of their problems and to offer them a range of targeted and tailored services. Romain has developed a wide range of expertise, including strategic issues, team leadership and field management, management of human resources, MIS, accounting and operations management.
MANAGMENT TEAM IN FRIBOURG AND MONTPELLIER
Konrad ELLSÄSSER is President and Managing Director of FIDES. He is a former researcher and has worked in the creation of microfinance institutions for the last twenty years. The concepts of some of the most successful microfinance institutions in Eastern Europe and in Africa have been developed by him. He has been working long-time as an expatriate in developing countries when building microfinance institutions. He has also been intensively involved in the development of legal and regulatory frameworks for microfinance in Eastern Europe when after the fall of communism regulations for banking in market conditions had to be developed. Beside this, he has worked as a university teacher in microfinance (Development of a Master of Science in Montpellier) and as an expert for organizations like the World Bank, IFAD, CGAP, and the main European bilateral donor organizations.Markus SCHÄR is Co-Director of FIDES. He is a business- economist and has been working for 10 years in the field of organizational development with leading financial institutions in Switzerland and Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore). Between 2004 and 2006, he was living and working in New York, where he was engaged as a management consultant for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Markus Schär was born in 1968 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia and grew up in Cameroon and Switzerland. He is highly tuned into cross-cultural communication and management concerns.
Thi Hanh CAO is the Operations Manager of FIDES. She has been working for more than 10 years in the field of microfinance. She has successfully managed several microfinance institutions in Africa and in Eastern Europe. Before joining FIDES, she worked in Afghanistan supporting 5 new MFI in their development and expansion. Her key tasks involve the technical backstopping of four FIDES programs, insuring the sharing of technologies, experiences and information, revising work plans and providing technical support on a day to day basis.
Evriviadis CABIOTIS is an Economist and has already built up sustainable microfinance institutions in five countries. He is based at the headquarter in Fribourg and is in charge of the "backstopping" of several projects. Until recently, Evri was responsible for the transformation of the successful pilot program of FIDES into the fifth commercial bank of the country. He is a specialist for product development and also intensively involved in staff training.
Christian BARON, is an Economist from the University Paris I Sorbonne and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. He has been involved on development of rural and urban SME's in developing countries for more than 20 years. He has first worked as an expatriate adviser on the implementation of a village saving and credit bank network in Mali. Thereafter, he joined the main office of the International Centre of Research and Development (CIDR), where he was responsible for the "Financial Decentralized Systems" department for more than 10 years. Then, he joined the Groupe de Recherche et d'Echanges Technologiques (GRET) in 2003 as Program Manager in the "Microfinance and SME's" department. Besides the promotion of microfinance activities in Africa and Asia, he has developed several programmes aiming to facilitate SME access to support, advice and training services. He has also been a director and Member of the Audit Committee of Amret, a leading Cambodian MFI between 2005 and 2010. Christian has joined FIDES in November 2010 as a microfinance expert.
Kathryn IMBODEN began work in the field of economic development with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Chad, followed by the OECD Development Centre, the Club du Sahel and the US Treasury Department. Over a long period of time, she was responsible for SDC's economic work (macroeconomics and financial sector), during which she chaired the Executive Committee of CGAP. She served as Policy Change Manager with Women's World Banking (WWB),, overseeing a program of policy analysis, legal, regulatory and supervisory work and advocacy work. Kathryn was with UNCDF to lead the policy work program for the 2005 International Year of Microcredit. Kathryn joined FIDES in 2009, working on policy issues, funding issues and on the preparation oand launching of microinsurance initiatives.
Katherine FOSTER, formerly with the Canadian Foreign Service worked for twelve years on trade, environment and human security issues at the international level. Since moving to Switzerland in 2005, she has made a career transition into communications working for the Swiss National Fund, the EPFL and numerous National Centres for Competence in Research (NCCRs). Katherine joined FIDES as the communications manager in April, 2011.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Sabrina BEELER STUECKLIN is heading the research and development team at FIDES. She has a PhD in Social Anthropology and is currently finalizing her Postgraduate Degree in Development and Cooperation studies. Prior to her PhD she focused her studies on Economic Anthropology and gained in-depth experience in field research and development. Sabrina spent two years in Mali on extensive field research focused on rural areas. In this context, she gained extensive insight into the views of local rural actors, their coping strategies and organization of economic activities. During and after her studies, Sabrina worked as a lecturer at the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Zurich. Later work experience includes project coordination for African countries at MIVA Switzerland and independent consultancy for various projects in development work.Aissata BARRY has a master of science in development studies with a specialization in microfinance. She also holds a degree in sociology. Aissata Barry has worked in microfinance on the ground in West Africa for about ten years. After extensive field research activities, she built up and headed FIDES Mali, a microfinance institution based in Mopti that is now covering a large region and targeting rural women for savings and credit services. FIDES Mali has been designed as an investment since its start and has never benefited from substantial donor support. Aissata Barry is now working out of the FIDES head office in research and development activities. She is one of the founders of FIDES.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS IN THE FIELD
Michel ARNOULT is an Agro-economist and specialized in creating step by step tailor made institutions adapted to the local conditions and thus with a strong growth potential. Beside conceptual tasks his main challenge is capacity building. Michel Arnoult has been working in several African countries and in Eastern Europe. He has been leading the greenfield creation of an institution for FIDES in Moldova that has now become the biggest microfinance institution in Eastern Europe with more than 100 000 clients. Michel is currently the General Manager of FIDES Bank Namibia.Thomas LENDZIAN has spent several years in the Microfinance and Commercial Banking sectors with focus on institution building, as well as in the Development sector with focus on vocational training. During these years he has been setting up and managing new microfinance Institutions, giving training on SME lending etc. He is now in charge of SNE lending activities of FIDES Bank Namibia.
Philippe COUTEAU has nearly twenty years of experience in financial services, of which nine in microfinance and two in microinsurance. His first six years of professional experience in world-class financial institutions brought him solid expertise in various fields of the bank management: risk management, bank transactions organization, procedures writing, team management and audit. During his long and varied experience in Microfinance, in field positions as well as research and development positions, he has built a sound understanding of numerous areas: creation and development of new MFIs, MIS, audit and regulations, product design as well as training and development. He has a solid understanding in various methodologies such as village banking, group lending, individual credit, SME lending and improved "merry-go-rounds".
Modou DIOP has developed a sound expertise with regards to rural Senegal including of the target areas of operations for St. Louis Finances (River Area, Matam, Podor, Kaolack, etc.). Prior to joining FIDES, he held long-term responsibility for the structures supporting the development of agriculture in these areas. In this capacity he frequently had to allow access to credit for groups of producers and small businesses in the region. As such he organized numerous feasibility, organizational support and institutionalization missions for microfinance institutions. In addition, Modou Diop has a vast experience in training and human resources development.
Hansjorg KESSLER is a trained German lawyer. He started banking in Frankfurt, Germany in 1984. He held various positions namely in the International Trade Finance divisions in German and South African Banks in Frankfurt and London until 2009. All involved financing Emerging Markets and mend travelling and extensive trips to Africa, the Middle East and former CIS countries.
During these journeys he developed an interest in Microfinance.
In 2000 he founded a German Microfinance fund for Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Namibia and other African countries. Today Hansjorg is a director of swiss microfinance holding s.a.
In this capacity he is also on the board of FIDES Bank Namibia Ltd. Other activities in Social Business involve being on the Board of the Gum Arabic Fund, Amsterdam and the Social Business Fund eG, Hamburg.
Guillaume MICHEL is an agronomist specialized in rural development. Guillaume Michel has spent several years in Africa as a technician but also facilitator and trainer, as well as project manager. He was also responsible for research in Rwanda for the Swiss Cooperation on rural banking system and also support to local business associations.
Sundui ENEBISH is a Mongolian citizen and is the IT manager of FIDES Bank Namibia. He has over 7 years of experience in charge of selecting, configuring and deploying adequate IT solutions for management information systems (MIS) for Banks. He also has sound experience in testing, implementing and reengineering MIS as well as improving banking services and productivity, secure IT solutions, and in the launching of mobile banking services.
Romain TEVELS has been working for many years in emerging countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa and has accumulated operational experience in microfinance. The constant contact with customers of local MFIs has offered him the opportunity to develop a sound understanding of their problems and to offer them a range of targeted and tailored services. Romain has developed a wide range of expertise, including strategic issues, team leadership and field management, management of human resources, MIS, accounting and operations management.
© 2007 FIDES | FINANCIAL SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AG
