Assessing the Future of Microfinance as a Development Tool: Continuing the Conversation

Greta Bull is the Director of Women’s Economic Empowerment at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She leads the Foundation’s work on Women’s Economic Empowerment, where she oversees a portfolio of investments covering gender data and evidence, women’s economic collectives (WECs) and livelihoods development for poor women. Prior to joining the foundation, Greta worked for 15 years at the World Bank Group, where she served for six years as the CEO of CGAP. 

Upoma Husain is the CEO of BRAC Rwanda Microfinance Company PLC. Prior to her current role, she held multiple senior positions at BRAC International Microfinance (BI MF), where she provided strategic leadership in social performance and impact management, product innovation and knowledge management across all BI MF’s entities in Asia and Africa.

Andrée Simon is the President and Global CEO of FINCA International. From 2016 to 2023, Andrée served as President and CEO of FINCA’s global network of community-based microfinance banks and institutions known as FINCA Impact Finance (FIF). Most recently, Andrée led the transformation of FIF’s business model during the global pandemic toward digitization and optimization, creating better value for customers and resilience for the network.

Sophie Sirtaine is the CEO of CGAP. She has dedicated her professional career to the development of inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystems around the world, with more than twenty years of experience at the World Bank, where she has held different positions, including Director of Strategy and Operations at the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) and Director for the Caribbean region. Previously, Sophie worked as an expert in financial sector development and stability in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. 

Tim Ogden is Managing Director of the Financial Access Initiative, a research center exploring how financial services can better meet the needs and improve the lives of poor households. He also serves as the managing director of the Small Firm Diaries project, and was the managing director of the US Financial Diaries project. He is a co-founder of Sona Partners, a thought leadership communications firm. He is the author of Experimental Conversations, a collection of interviews with leading development economists, and co-author of Toyota Under Fire.