Agenda und Abstracts Retreat Financial Systems Development

GIZ Global Retreat 2016
Retreat on Financial Systems Development and Insurance:
‘Partnering for Sustainable Development’
Meeting of the Sector Network Working Groups
04 September 2016
Dorint Hotel, Bad Neuenahr
Program overview
Sunday 4 September 2016
Meeting of Sector Network Working Groups on Financial Systems Development and Insurance (GIZ staff only)
(tbd)
Rhein
Meeting ‘Network for Economic Development for Africa - Financial System Development
12:00 – 17:00
Mosel
Meeting ‘Sustainable Economic Development in the MENA Region - Financial System Development’
14:00 – 17:00
Ruwer + Saar
Meeting ‘Sector Network for Sustainable Economic Development in Asia / Assets for Asia’- Financial Sector Development’
2
GIZ Global Retreat 2016
Retreat on Financial Systems Development and Insurance:
‘Partnering for Sustainable Development’
05 September 2016
Dorint Hotel, Bad Neuenahr
Monday 5 September 2016
08:30 – 10:00
Conference lobby
10:00 – 10:30
Congress hall, section A
Registration
Welcome remarks
By Roland Gross, Head of Competence Center Financial Systems Development and Insurance, GIZ
Panel Discussion
Moderated by Klaus Maurer
Panel 1: FSD is dead – long live FSD
This session will reflect the evolving role and modes of delivery of GIZ’s FSD interventions in the context of our
partners’ demands, political priorities and international agendas.
10:30 – 12:30
Congress hall, section A
Discussants:
• Dirk Steinwand, Head of AGRUFIN Program, GIZ Uganda
• Thorsten Giehler, Head, Strategy and Policy, GIZ
•
Wolfgang Buecker, Head of FSD Sector Program, GIZ
Panel 2: What is new about “new” partnerships?
Successfully delivering on the Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement requires strong partnerships. This session will
explore the characteristics of the new partnerships and shed light on the requirements from a public and private
sector perspective.
Discussants:
• Carsten Schmitz-Hoffmann, Director, Economic and Social Development, GIZ
• Christopher Flensborg, Head of Sustainable Products and Product Development, Fixed Income and DCM, SEB
• Selwyn Moons, Deputy Director of the Department for Sustainable Economic Development, DGIS
• Catherine Burger, Head of Growth Market Networks, Swiss Re
12:30 – 14:00
Lunch break
2
14:00 – 16:45
Parallel breakout sessions
Agricultural and disaster risk insurance
Congress hall, section A
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, which increases the risk of disasters and associated
losses and damage to people and assets. Poor and vulnerable communities in low-income and least developed
countries are most affected, facing the risk of having their livelihoods eroded. By integrating risk transfer solutions,
such as insurance, into disaster risk management and climate adaptation strategies, governments and individuals are
able to (1) access timely finance after a disaster, (2) plan preventive measures that reduce risk levels and (3)
embark on more productive and sustainable economic development pathways due to improved ex-ante budget
allocation and better ex-post risk coping and can thereby avoid potential poverty traps.
Highlighting the role of governments, the first part of the session aims to enhance the understanding of how risk
transfer solutions can reach households for both disaster relief and agricultural insurance purposes. The second part
emphasizes the role of public private partnerships and their potential and limitation to finance adequate risk
transfer solutions
Part 1:
Facilitator: Ulrich Hess, Sector Program Global Initiative for Access to Insurance
Speaker
• Bahar Pirmadjid, Allianz
• Philine Oft, GIZ Peru
• Susan Gille, RIICE Project GIZ
• Volker Hey, BMZ Referat 114
Part 2:
Facilitator: Michael Anthony, RIICE Program Director, sarmap SA
Speaker
• José Miguel Solana, ILO's Impact Insurance Facility
• Michael Hamp, IFAD
Behavioral economics and responsible finance
Bonn
To foster responsible finance, actors are very eager to strengthen (self-) regulatory frameworks and to empower
financial consumers through increased education. All too often, however, consumer protection regulations do not
resolve the symptoms and financial education initiatives do not reach as far as to actually affect financial behavior.
Starting off with providing an understanding of the key differences between ‘mainstream’ economics and ‘behavioral
economics’ this session aims to further explore the relevance of putting on a behavioral lens with regards to responsible finance. Using practical examples, the audience can expect to gain insight into applied behavioral research for
an effective consumer protection policy making and design of financial literacy initiatives.
Facilitator: Timothy Lyman, Senior Policy Advisor, CGAP
Speaker:
• Prof. Dr. Marc - Oliver Rieger, Chair of Banking and Finance, University Trier
• Alexandra Fiorillo, Principal, GRID impact
• Anna Mostetschnig, GIZ Namibia
3
Digital finance ‘Future perspectives on digital financial services’
Köln
The ongoing rapid development of digital technologies impacts our lives – it changes the way we work, the way we
socialize and communicate, and the way we receive and search for information. And it has a vast impact on the
approaches of the “Financial Inclusion Community”: new players entering the market, new business models and
instruments emerging.
Digital Financial Services have already successfully improved access to finance for un- or underserved customer
segments, but what are the promising cases and what comes next? What is the “Modelo Perú”? Why is the provision of financial services in rural areas still a difficult task? How does an investor see recent developments? And
what is the role of GIZ?
This session aims at answering all these questions and discussing current experiences and possible scenarios for the
future evolution of Digital Financial Services and their potential for achieving Financial Inclusion in the spirit of the
2030 Agenda. Finally, the role of GIZ as a technical assistance provider in the field of Digital Financial Services and
future forms of cooperation will be discussed.
Facilitator: Jeffrey Bower, Bower & Partner
Speaker:
• Vincent van Dugteren, Oikocredit International
• Michael Rothe, Managing Partner, Smartmoney International
• Florian Henrich, GIZ Uganda
• Lara Ana Chhatwal, GIZ Uganda
• Rainer Schliwa, GIZ Near Middle East, Jordan
Green finance ‘Different shades of green (finance)’
Ruwer-Saar
Green Finance has become an important concept in the financial industry and in international development cooperation to factor in environmental concerns in financial decision making. But what exactly is “green” finance and how
does it differ from conventional finance? This session aims to present different concepts and instruments of green
finance and discuss GIZ’s current and potential future role in this field. Following an overview presentation, participants can chose to attend one of two parallel sub-sessions.
Overview presentation: Different shades of green (Finance)
Intro and presentation by Makaio Witte, Advisor, Sector Program FSD, GIZ
Miniraum 1, 3rd floor
Sub-group I: “Building a project pipeline of renewable energy projects ready for financing”
This group will focus on the challenges in financing small and medium sized renewable energy projects in developing
countries and discuss good practice solutions.
Facilitator: Sebastian von Wolff, Advisor, Sector Program FSD, GIZ
Speakers:
• Tomas Adcock, Director, Kenergy
• Michael Franz, EU Energy Initiative Partnership Dialogue Facility
Sub-group II: “Developing green bond markets” is about learning how green bonds work, how GIZ supports the
development of these markets and discussing where the limits for this promising instrument are.
Ruwer-Saar
Intro and presentation by Yannick Motz, Emerging Markets Dialogue, GIZ
Speaker: Christopher Flensborg, SEB
4
16:45 – 17:15
Congress hall, section A
Wrap-up session
Moderated by Klaus Maurer
Market Place
17:15 – 19:00
Congress foyer,
1st floor
Evening
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Access to Finance for the Poor – Laos
Agricultural and Disaster Risk Insurance
AGRUFIN Uganda
Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii)
Climate finance readiness program – Peru
Financing for Sustainable Development
GIZ – Regulatory Framework Promotion of Pro-Poor Insurance Markets in Asia (RFPI)
Private Sector Adaptation to Climate Change (PSACC)
Promotion of the Microfinance Sector in the MENA Region
Responsible Enterprise Finance (REF) – India
RIICE – Remote Sensing-based Information and Insurance for Crops in Emerging Economies
Support to the Partnership: Making Finance Work For Africa
SEWOH/ProCiva – Benin
Get together - Barbecue
5
GIZ Global Retreat 2016
Retreat on Financial Systems Development and Insurance:
‘Partnering for Sustainable Development’
06 September 2016
Dorint Hotel, Bad Neuenahr
Tuesday 6 September 2016 (GIZ staff only)
09:00 – 09:30
Congress hall, section A
Opening: recap of day 1 and introduction to day 2
09:30 – 10:00
Discussion with Kerstin Nagels, Division Director, Economic and Social Development, Employment, GIZ
10:00 – 10:30
Introduction to knowledge management
10:30 – 11:00
Coffee break
11:00 – 13:00
Parallel breakout sessions
Moderated by Klaus Maurer
By Saliya Kanathigoda, Advisor, Competence Center Financial Systems
Development and Insurance, GIZ
Agricultural finance ‘Farmer meets banker’
Congress hall, section A
& Miniraum 2, 3rd floor
What do a farmer and a banker have in common? Both do not have the single answer to the challenges in agricultural finance. The farmer is looking for tailor-made, affordable financial services close to his/her home. In principal,
the banker agrees to this view, yet, the alternative business options are often more profitable and less risky.
In our session we will discuss the challenges of agricultural finance from two angles: the farmer and the banker
perspective. In two very brief (5 min) statements, an agricultural expert is explaining her experience with agricultural training for bankers and a finance expert is presenting an example how digital solutions can foster the access to
financial services.
With the whole audience we will than dig deeper into the problems of agricultural finance. In two groups we will
discuss with the participants how the “ideal” agricultural project should look like. What is necessary to reach
agricultural smallholders in the context of developing countries? We will carry out the exercise without any budgetary or other limitations. There will be no BUT in the discussion, every idea is welcomed.
At the end of the session, the idea of an agricultural finance community of practice will be discussed. In which
formats can agriculture and finance work closer together?
Speaker:
• Annemarie Matthess, GIZ Nigeria
• Lara Chhatwal, GIZ Uganda
Climate adaptation finance ‘Demystifying climate adaptation finance’
Ruwer
Mobilizing at-scale private finance for adaptation investment in developing countries is a key to building climateresilient economies. Current flows, however, fall dramatically short of what is needed. This break out session takes
the perspective of individual commercial actors to design potential public policies or finance interventions to move
adaptation forward.
SMEs have to face climate change and to perform adaptation measures in order to remain competitive and to stay
innovative. This generates an increasing demand from SMEs for financial products and services designed in accordance to their needs in times of heavy impacts caused by climate phenomena.
This session will focus on how adaptation finance for SMEs in developing countries can be established. It intends to
identify the barriers and to demystify why private finance is flowing towards adaptation in some cases and is
inhibited in others. It will present the results of the “Demystifying Private Finance Study” which was elaborated by
UNEP FI in collaboration with Frankfurt School of Finance and Management on behalf of the BMZ.
Furthermore, it will show some best practices and offer the floor to the audience for a fruitful and in-depth discussion. Key questions will be discussed in line with the products and services for adaptation finance through the Green
Climate Fund (GCF) or new bankable projects for adaptation.
Speaker:
• George Scott, Consultant on climate change, UNEP FI
• Laura Druce, Adaptation finance expert, Frankfurt School of Finance
• Angelika Frei-Oldenburg, Global program on private sector adaptation to climate change, GIZ
2
Inclusive insurance ‘The future of (micro) insurance in GIZ – a cross-cutting instrument?’
Köln
The Inclusive Insurance Session “The future of (micro) insurance in GIZ – a cross-cutting instrument?“ brings together experts to discuss and clarify the role that insurance can play in various development agendas. The session
should serve as an eye-opener as participants will get an insight into the linkages of insurance to different development agendas apart from financial systems development. The relevance of insurance-related aspects within the
Sustainable Development Agenda as well as in specific cross-cutting topics will be presented. Experts will especially
address the following critical questions:
• In which development agendas can insurance play a role?
• How can insurance-related aspects be integrated into existing or envisaged projects?
• Which expertise does GIZ offer to support the inclusion of insurance in projects with no specific focus on
financial systems development?
Facilitator:
• Dr. Brigitte Klein, Head of Sector Program Global Initiative for the Access to Insurance, GIZ
Opening presentation:
• Solveig Wanczeck, Project Advisor, Sector Program Global Initiative for the Access to Insurance, GIZ
Market stand facilitators:
• Dr. Antonis Malagardis, Program Director RFPI Asia, GIZ Philippines: SME development
• Martina Wiedmaier-Pfister, Policy and Regulatory Consultant: Gender
• Dr. Philine Oft, Senior Insurance Expert: Technology & Food Security
Panel discussants:
• Branko Wehnert, Head of Financial Systems Development Unit and Team Leader ICRM, GIZ Ghana
• Dante Portula, Senior Advisor Regional Policy Asia, GIZ Philippines
• Stefanie Zinsmeyer, Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii)
SME Finance and Employment
The SME panel session will deal with the topic of financing for small and medium enterprises (SME). SME often have
no access to financial services as they are either too big for microfinance institutions or too small and opaque for
commercial banks. The session will focus on latest global trends as well as practical experience on how to promote
SME finance in developing and emerging economies. How does global best practice compare to practical experience
within GIZ projects? Which way forward to go, in particular with some of the more recent trends such as crowdfunding or Fintechs? Are our classical development approaches still up to date? The session will try to find answers
to some of these questions. Panelists will consist of practitioners on the ground, international researchers and other
international development agencies.
Bonn
Key questions:
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Which global trends do we observe in SME finance?
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What are the lessons learned in implementing SME finance policies?
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How can we measure employment effects?
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What can GIZ offer?
Facilitator: David Bartocha, Advisor, Competence Center Financial Systems Development and Insurance, GIZ
Discussants:
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Thomas Förch, FSD Programm leader, Myanmar
Onur Azcan, FSD Component leader, Marokko
Hayder Al-Bagdadi, FSD Programm leader, Egypt
Hasitha Wijesundara, FSD Component leader Sri Lanka
Two German start-ups
3
Financial sector stability ‘Financial sector development in a conflict environment – technical assistance on
macro and micro level’
Saar
The core competence of GIZ lies in the development of customized solutions in developing countries which find
themselves very often in a conflict or crisis situation. What influence does such conflict environment have on the
financial system and how can GIZ offer technical support towards financial stability and financial inclusion? This
session presents different GIZ projects from Ukraine, Palestine and Jordan, shares experiences and discusses ways of
interventions on macro level with financial regulators and supervisors as well as on the micro level with financial
institutions and market participants like refugees and other vulnerable people. Can we expand our work on international lessons learned; are there best practice solutions available, what role can cash assistance, digital finance
instruments and remittance payments play and which additional instruments and capacity development may be
needed?
The session will comprise of short project introductions, a panel discussion and the possibility for the audience to
join into an open and fruitful discussion.
Facilitator: Christoph Schroer, Advisor, Competence Center Financial Systems Development and Insurance, GIZ
Discussants:
• Axel Sauer, CIM Expert National Bank of Ukraine
• Thomas Rahn, GIZ Expert Near Middle East, Palestine
• Rainer Schliwa, GIZ Expert Near Middle East, Jordan
13:00 – 14:30
Lunch break
14:30 – 17:00
Knowledge Café
Developing agent banking networks in a Sub-Saharan Country: the case of Mozambique
Köln
In this session the participants will learn about the experience of ProEcon in Mozambique supporting initiatives of
private banks to develop agent networks. In Mozambique as in most of the Sub-Saharan countries is still a challenge
finding suitable ways to deliver financial services for the low-income population and particularly in rural areas;
microfinance and mobile money models have not achieved the success shown in other countries. That is why the
agent banking appears as a solution for tackling these challenges.
During the session will be discussed the relevance of agent banking, demonstrated through the experiences in several
countries around the world, and particularly will be presented the challenges to apply this concept in Mozambique.
Building solid partnerships with private banks is a key piece in the Mozambican context in order to achieve the
ambitious goals. The session will allow the participants to actively interact with the speaker to find the emerging
lessons and the elements for the sustainability of this experience.
Facilitator: Martina Wiedmaier-Pfister, Policy and Regulatory Consultant with a focus on rural finance and inclusive
insurance
Speaker: William Díaz, Senior Advisor of GIZ, Team Leader of the FSD component in the ProEcon programme in
Mozambique
Agricultural and disaster risk insurance
Mosel
Because of the physical base of climate risk (different physical magnitudes of climate events have different effects)
and the resulting accumulated loss, traditional approaches to cost benefit analysis have proven to be cost intensive
and cumbersome. Unlike many existing cost-benefit methodologies, ECA (Economics of Climate Adaptation) provides a
quantified and timely constrained outcome of high relevance to policy and decisions makers. A probabilistic model –
climada - has been developed to efficiently (and automatically) deliver reliable results fully integrated in ECA. This
programme regroups the four main components of the ECA approach (hazards, assets, damage functions, and adaptation measures). Consequently, ECA proposes a unique approach to climate change adaptation, introduces averted
damage as a benefit, and allows for a quantitative comparison between selected adaptation measures.
Originally developed by SwissRe in collaboration with ETH, it was applied for the first time by KfW in El Salvador
and Bangladesh in 2015. This presentation will show the main outcomes of the El Salvador feasibility study and
reflect on the potential of the ECA as tangible approaches for climate adaptation in vulnerable regions.
Speaker: Dr. Maxime Souvignet, Project Coordinator for MCII
4
Gender toolbox
Rhein
Gender inequality remains a major global barrier to human development. Whether in developed or emerging countries, girls and women are still facing disadvantaged which form a major source of inequality. All too often, women
and girls are discriminated against in health, education, political representation, labour market as well as access to
financial services. In order to address these issues GIZ takes various initiatives internationally to help smoothen the
way and support girls, female workers and entrepreneurs as well as pupil and students in order to overcome the
known barriers and hurdles and help to develop towards equality.
Two projects from Uganda and Lao will give us information on their work and allow us insight into gender disaggregated finance and financial education. Florian and Dennis will talk about their initial implementation difficulties,
their experiences as well as the lessons learnt in order to implement a successful and sustainable gender project.
The project from Lao introduces ‘Empowering Women through Microfinance!? Providing access to finance for the
poor’ and the MY World project from Uganda shares its experience in ‘Mentoring Young Women: Road to Leadership
Development’.
Facilitator: Christoph Schroer, Advisor, Competence Center Financial Systems Development and Insurance, GIZ
Speaker:
• Dennis Fischer, Advisor to programme “Access to Finance for the Poor” (AFP) in Laos
• Florian Henrich, Advisor to the programme “Agricultural Rural Finance Program”, Advisor to Bank of Uganda
Impact of Financial Systems Development: Facts, Figures and a Recent Approach to Estimating Employment
Effects
Bonn
In an environment where we notice a strong trend towards a more sectoral approach of international development
cooperation, we need to be able to know and communicate our impact, not only on the financial sector but also on
other pillars of the economy.This Knowledge Café provides key facts and figures on the impact of financial systems
development in the areas of income and economic growth, and employment. In the focus of this Knowledge Café is
a new Excel-based instrument developed by the MENA sectoral working group on estimating employment effects.
Participants will learn how financial sector projects can measure employment effects in a cost-efficient manner in
line with the expectations of our commissioning party. In particular, it presents an approach that is applicable to a
context where both monitoring data are absent and the general availability of data is weak.
Facilitator: Anja Erlbeck, Advisor, Competence Center Financial Systems Development and Insurance, GIZ
Speaker: Onur Azcan, Coordinator working group FSD, Sector Network MENA
Impact Investing: The What, the Why and the How
Rhein
Impact Investing is not the new kid on the block anymore: Mainstream investors, philanthropists and international
development actors alike are becoming increasingly involved in the growing market for investments seeking to
generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. With the adoption of the SDGs and the Addis
Ababa Action Agenda as the associated financing framework, impact investing has moved further centerstage. It bears
the potential to contribute to greater effectiveness, innovation, accountability and scale for addressing social, economic and environmental challenges.
However, many questions remain: What exactly is impact investing? What is its potential and what are its limitations? And how can we contribute to building the market infrastructure for the market to move from niche to
mainstream?
This session will explore those questions and provide practical insights from India. The Responsible Enterprise Finance
project has been involved in nurturing the Indian impact investing market since 2013. It has contributed to providing market information and transparency through research as well as the development of a reporting tool for impact
funds, supported the set-up of the Indian Impact Investors Council, the first national industry association of impact
funds, assisted the set-up of the first Angel Network dedicated only to investments in impact start-ups, facilitating
debt financing for social enterprises as well as worked towards creating a pipeline of investible companies through
the support of the local incubation ecosystem and the development of a virtual incubation platform.
Speaker:
• Diana Hollman, Advisor, Financing for Development and Impact Investing, GIZ
• Katharina Kuehn, Advisor, Private sector development, GIZ India
5
Private sector development, financial literacy and access to finance for Syrian Armenian refugees in Armenia: Supporting entrepreneurial skills and financial inclusion
Mosel
Participants will gain insights into FSD interventions that have refugees as target groups. The speakers will share
hands-on implementation experiences from the GIZ project “Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees in Armenia”
(EISRA - within GIZ PSD South Caucasus), which promotes entrepreneurship, business development and employment
among Syrian Armenian refugees in Armenia. Its implementing partner Savings Bank Foundation for International
Cooperation (SBFIC) conducts trainings and t-o-t in the field of financial literacy and supports an enhanced access to
finance for these refugees. The input will be followed by a group discussion to allow participants to discuss the
potential and challenges faced, reflect on linkages to their own projects and identify possible options of including
refugees in their activities.
Facilitator: Onike Shorunkeh-Sawyerr, Junior advisor, Sector project migration and development, GIZ
Speaker:
• Anja Deinzer, Regional director for the southern Caucasus, German Savings Banks Foundation for international
Cooperation (SBFIC)
• Hans Joachim Zinnkann, Team leader Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees in Armenia (EISRA), GIZ Armenia
Bonn
Responsible Finance ‘Evaluation Methods for Financial Capability Programs’
The knowledge café on Evaluation Methods for Financial Capability Programs aims to give a brief and interesting
glimpse of how financial capability and financial education programs are being measured and evaluated internationally and also aims to provide first pragmatic recommendations for conducting financial education program evaluations touching topics such as theory of change development, results-based monitoring and evaluation framework
implementation, and capability baseline methodologies. Three questions will lead the way - What are the key
concepts for effective evaluations and what is their importance? From the most commonly used impact evaluation
methodologies, which is the most rigorous financial education impact evaluation methodology? Taking into account
specific constraints GIZ programs might face, what are recommendations for GIZ financial education programs evaluations regarding the application of the before mentioned key concepts and impact evaluation methodologies?
Speaker:
• Gerda Piprek, Director, Marketworx Africa
• Marc-André Zach, Advisor, Assess to Finance for the Poor, GIZ
Köln
Crowdfunding - Universal remedy for SME finance? A reality check.
A robot to help with your cooking, the latest fitness device, a new smart watch or a sequel to your favorite TV
show – crowdfunding gathers global momentum quickly and the variety of projects to invest in is sheer endless. In
2015 alone, the estimated volume of total fundraising in the crowdfunding industry was 34 billion US-Dollars, more
than the global venture capital industry. Crowdfunding, an alternative form of finance that emerged outside of the
traditional financial system, now attracts the attention of the international development community. Its promise to
connect investors to small businesses and thus offer cost-efficient, quick credits for new business ideas, all while
ensuring a good return for the lender, sounds like the perfect opportunity to overcome bottlenecks in SME finance
all over the world, doesn’t it?
The knowledge café will provide a reality check of this assumption and discuss the question in what way / whether
crowdfunding could supplement SME finance. Participants will learn about the general concept of crowdfunding and
discuss its relevance to international development cooperation.
Facilitator
• David Bartocha, Advisor, Competence Center Financial Systems Development and Insurance, GIZ
• Maria Behr, Intern, FSD sector program, GIZ
Speaker: Florian Sigmund, Junior advisor, Promotion of Access to Finance for SMEs in Egypt, GIZ
17:00 – 17:45
Wrap-up session and closing remarks
Congress hall, section A
6
Short CV’s of the speakers
Onur Azcan joined GIZ in 2011 as a Technical Officer to support the Secretariat of the Access to Insurance
Initiative (A2ii) where he was involved closely in activities of the Initiative for Africa and Asia.
Since 2015 he is working as Technical Advisor for the project “Promotion of MSME in Morocco – Taahil al
Moukawalat (TAM III)“ where he is responsible for the intervention area “Financial Systems Development”. In
May 2016 he took over the coordination of the Working Group “Financial Systems Development” within the
Sector Network MENA - Sustainable Economic Development in the MENA Region. Before joining GIZ he was a
research assistant and lecturer for International Finance at Science Po, Paris.
Wolfgang Bücker is Head of Sector Programme Financial Systems Development at GIZ. He has been working
for GIZ since August 2008 in the field of financial inclusion as well as financial sector stability. He headed
the Competence Center of GIZ for seven years. Since September 2015, he has been responsible for the
Sector Programme of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). His main
focus is on financial sector regulation and supervision as well as SME and green finance. He has wideranging financial sector expertise in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Middle East/North Africa. Before
joining GIZ, he was a consultant to banks in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe in the field of risk
management and treasury. From 1998 to 2003 he worked as an expert for micro, SME and housing loan projects in the Balkans and in
Turkey. He holds a Master degree in Economics from the Free University of Berlin.
Catherine Burger rejoined Swiss Re in 2011 to set up the Growth Market Networks, after three years at
Credit Suisse, where she built up and managed the Credit Suisse Research Institute and led Credit Suisse's
Senior Advisors network for their Chairman of the Board. When she first joined Swiss in 2002 (-2008) she
was Head of Networks & Research at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue, where among others, she
developed and managed Swiss Re’s strategic partnership with the World Economic Forum. Prior to Swiss Re,
Catherine worked for the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum in London on a Corporate
Social Responsibility campaign with business leaders and media and the World Economic Forum in Geneva,
where she developed and headed the Global Leaders for Tomorrow (now Young Global Leaders) network
(1997 – 2000). Catherine was a lecturer on Corporate Social Responsibility at the faculty of Economics and Business Administration at
the University of Applied Sciences in Northwestern Switzerland from 2003-2013. She obtained a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Harvard
University and a Master of Science in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Jeffrey Bower is a digital payments innovation specialist, particularly for the unbanked. As founder of Bower
& Partners, Jeffrey and his team work with national payment platforms, global corporations and
governments around the world to design and launch digital payment ecosystems that enable the sustainable
and profitable use of payments to achieve financial inclusion. Jeffrey previously worked with Transparency
International and the United Nations Development Programme, implementing successful development
programs in the Middle East, East Asia and Africa. He is trilingual and has a Masters in International
Relations from the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for Global Affairs.
Lara Chhatwal is specialized in Global Economics and Advisor to the GIZ Agricultural and Rural Finance
Progamme in Uganda since 2013. In this function she is managing various development partnerships projects
with the private sector in East Africa. The main focus of these projects is on providing sustainable digital
financial services, strengthening the financial capabilities of smallholder farmers, as well as on innovative IT
solutions to increase the transparency and traceability of agricultural value-chain
Anja Deinzer works as Regional Director for the Southern Caucasus for German Savings Banks Foundation for international Cooperation
(SBFIC). A senior German banker with an impressive track record of managing multi-country advisory projects and an expert in MSME
lending and retail banking, she is currently responsible for implementing SBFIC’s “Responsible Finance” project in the Caucasus. Within
the framework of this project, the joint GIZ-SBFIC programme “EISRA” is put into effect. Anja holds a Diploma in Business Studies,
English and Russian from Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen and an MBA from Vienna University of Economics and Business. Prior to joining
SBFIC in 2014, Anja was a member of the board at a German Savings Bank.
William Díaz is a Senior Advisor of GIZ with twenty four years of professional experience in financial systems
development. He holds a Master Degree in Economics and since 2011 is the Team Leader of the FSD component
in the ProEcon programme in Mozambique; responsible for designing, implementing and monitoring the Program
interventions enabling access of MSME and low income population, in urban and rural areas, to financial services
such as savings, payments, credit. The intervention in Mozambique considers three dimensions: a) enabling the
supply side: This includes the design of partnerships with private financial institutions (commercial banks, mobile
money operators); b) enabling the demand side: through the linkage model create the connection between low
income population in Mozambique to financial institutions and; c) enhancing the regulatory framework through
technical support to Bank of Mozambique, the country's central bank, on relevant topics of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and
regulatory framework for the financial sector infrastructure (private credit bureaus, movable collateral regime).
Previous to this assignment he has carried out several assignments in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Alexandra Fiorillo serves as Principal of GRID Impact, a collective of researchers and designers committed to
social innovation and impact in the international development space, and also as Senior Consultant to CGAP /
World Bank. She is a behavioral science and human centered design expert with over 14 years of experience
in innovative product and service design, training and facilitation, and international development. Alexandra's
areas of expertise are in digital financial services for the poor, financial education, and consumer protection.
Her work with CGAP / World Bank focuses on how to use insights from behavioral science and design to
improve consumer protection practices, digital finance services, and customer centric product design
processes. She has worked in over 40 countries on five continents, and has collaborated with diverse partners
ranging from grassroots organizations in the Amazon jungle to banking regulators in Zambia. She works to bring empathy and creativity
to all development challenges and particularly loves to lead behavioral design workshops in unexpected places, like on airplanes and in
remote rural villages. Alexandra holds degrees in development economics from Columbia University and Connecticut College.
Dennis Fischer is Advisor to the GIZ programme “Access to Finance for the Poor” (AFP) in Laos. He has
more than 9 years of expertise in banking and financial sector development, with a special focus on financial
inclusion and rural finance.
Dennis’ work with AFP concentrates on building a network of microfinance institutions (MFI) that create,
support and supervise community-managed saving and credit institutions (village banks), strengthening gender
mainstreaming and women economic empowerment, and providing advice to the Bank of the Lao PDR on a
variety of financial inclusion policy topics.
Before he joined the AFP team in Vientiane, Dennis has worked with a MFI in rural Laos on sustainable
organizational development, building a strong village bank network, and enhancing financial literacy of rural population.
Prior to joining GIZ-AFP, Dennis has worked with the UN-led Pacific Financial Inclusion Project (PFIP). Dennis has started his career as
bank business management assistant at Sparkasse Dortmund. He holds a master’s degree from University of Auckland, New Zealand, and
completed his Bachelor studies in Germany and Spain.
Christopher Flensborg, Head of Climate and Sustainable Financial Solutions at SEB. Christopher is one of the
original architects of the green bond and has been a thought leader in green bond market development
over the last eight years.
Michael Franz is a senior adviser for energy in international cooperation for sustainable development,
working for the EU Energy Initiative Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF), based in Brussels. He
coordinates the Africa-EU Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme (RECP), a European platform for
promoting private sector participation and investment in renewables in Africa. He holds an MA degree in
political science and geography from University of Trier, Germany. Over the past 10 years his work and
interests have evolved around the nexus of energy project development, policy frameworks, and financing,
towards mobilizing private and public investment in renewable energy and energy access projects in Africa.
In previous functions, he worked for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on a
number of energy initiatives in East Africa.
Thorsten Giehler is Head of Corporate Strategy and Policy of the German Agency for International
Cooperation (GIZ) and member of the board of the Sino-German Center of Finance and Economics. From
2006 to 2013 he was based in Beijing, China heading the Sino - German Financial Sector Reform
Programme of GIZ. This intergovernmental programme funded by the German and Chinese Government
included projects with the People’s Bank of China, CSRC, CIRC, Tianjin municipal Government, Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region Government, Postal Savings Bank of China and other on financial sector reform issues.
He is born nearby Düsseldorf and agricultural economist by training. After his university studies in Bonn
and Venezuela he joined the German Development Institute in Berlin and carried out research on foreign direct investments in China. In
1997 he became Rural Finance Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. From 2000 until
his move to Beijing in 2006 he was Financial Sector Specialist for micro & agricultural finance in the Headquarter of the German Agency
for Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
Susan Gille has ten years of professional experience in the field of finance, (agricultural) insurance and
international development cooperation. Susan joined GIZ in 2010 and spent the first three years in Ghana
as an Advisor for the Ghana Agricultural Insurance Programme. After returning back to Germany in 2013
she joined GIZ head office and took over the role as a Project Manager for the RIICE project which deals
with satellite-supported crop production monitoring and related insurance solutions in Southeast Asia. Prior
to joining GIZ, Susan worked with private sector companies in the field of corporate finance, auditing and
(micro-) finance consulting with regular missions to other European and Asian countries. She holds a
Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Hamburg.
Roland Gross is a specialist on development finance with particular focus on financial inclusion,
particularly Microfinance, SME finance, agricultural finance and more recently green finance. He started
his professional career as a rural finance expert at FAO in Rome. Since 1993 Roland Gross has been
working for GIZ in various functions, both in Head office as well as a field expert. Roland Gross was the
chief technical advisor of a project implementing SME policies in Namibia. He held key functions to
design GIZ field projects in private sector promotion and financial inclusion. Roland Gross has vast
experience in the field of financials inclusion in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He has a degree
as Agricultural Economist and worked for some years in a cooperative apex bank in Germany. At present he is heading the Competence
Centre Financial Systems Development and Insurance in GIZ overseeing 12 staff in Head office and a portfolio of about fifty field projects
representing a project volume of approx. 150 million euros.
Florian Henrich is a financial sector specialist with over eight years of experience. Before he came to
Uganda in March 2015 to work for the Agricultural Rural Finance Program, he worked for GIZ Headquarter
in the competence center financial systems development. There, his job was to provide support to various
GIZ projects in the area of financial systems development in different regions of the world, including Asia,
Africa and the Middle East. Currently he is an advisor to Bank of Uganda with a focus on credit reference
bureau, mobile money, agent banking and tier 4 regulations. His grass root involvement in microfinance
and economic development began in 2007 when he started to work for IPC in Albania (ProCredit Bank
Albania), followed by a two-year assignment in Sierra Leone (ProCredit Bank Sierra Leone).
Florian is a graduate in the field of economics from the University of Heidelberg and a certified expert in risk management by the
Frankfurt School of Finance.
Volker Hey is an officer in the BMZ Division “Cooperation with the Private Sector; Sustainable Economic Policy”. Currently he is working
on the topic of insurance (with a focus on microinsurance) and the upcoming German G20 presidency. Prior to joining the BMZ he
worked as a consultant within the German Parliament and for a public affairs company. Volker Hey obtained a master’s degree in
History from Humboldt University Berlin and studied in Münster, Paris and Florence.
Diana Hollmann joined GIZ in 2012 and is an advisor to the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development (BMZ) on Financing for Development and Impact Investing. Supporting the Social Impact
Investment Taskforce established under the UK G8-presidency, she has been a member of the German
National Advisory Board and the taskforce’s international Impact Measurement Working Group.
Diana started her career in international marketing with Philips Medical Systems prior to working on the
advancement of inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurship. She has worked and lived in Latin America, the
MENA-region and South Africa supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses e.g. working with WRI New
Ventures, Ashoka, and UNDP.
Diana holds a graduate degree in business administration from FH Nordakademie with studies in Germany and Chile. Attending the
Maxwell School of Syracuse University as a Fulbright scholar, she earned a master’s degree in International Relations with studies in the
US and South Africa.
Katharina Kuehn joined GIZ in 2011 and currently works as an advisor in the private sector development team
of GIZ India. Here, she is in charge of the activities related to social enterprises and impact investing within
the framework of the Responsible Enterprise Finance Project and looks at corporate engagement in start-up
incubation and womens' entrepreneurship. Previously she worked for GIZ in Germany in the environmental
policy programme and co-founded a social start-up in Berlin. Before joining GIZ, Katharina worked for the EU,
the European Chamber of Commerce and Baker & McKenzie in Vietnam. Katharina studied European and
International Law with a focus on business and environmental law in Bremen, Barcelona and Rome.
Dr. Brigitte Klein heads the Sector Project Global Access to Insurance Initiative at Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) in Eschborn. On behalf of the Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) she is member of the Governing
Council of the Access to Insurance Initiative. Her key qualifications are in the field of financial
system development, with focus on micro and rural finance as well as inclusive insurance.
During her tenure with GIZ, Ms. Klein was based in India for six years. As team leader and
principal advisor to the NABARD-GIZ Rural Finance Programme she led the German international
cooperation contribution in the areas of self-help group linkage banking and the revitalisation of rural cooperative banks. Prior to this
assignment, she held positions in GIZ Headquarters in Eschborn. She was further seconded as GIZ young professional to the FAO, Rome in
the field of agricultural finance.
Before joining GIZ, she was lecturer and research associate at Humboldt University of Berlin on agricultural market development and
freelance consultant in the field of Rural und Microfinance. She earned her Ph.D. in economics from the Free University in Berlin,
conducting empirical research on rural financial markets in Colombia. She also holds a master’s degree in economics from the Free
University of Berlin.
Dr. Antonis Malagardis joined GIZ in 2009 as Program Manager of the Microinsurance Innovations
Program for Social Security (MIPSS) in the Philippines. In January 2013, he was named Program Director
of a BMZ-funded regional Program on Regulatory Framework Promotion of Pro-poor Insurance Markets in
Asia (RFPI Asia), which aims to advise insurance regulators and supervisors in selected countries in Asia
on inclusive insurance strengthen the capacity development of their staff and enhance knowledge sharing
on insurance for low-income persons.
Dr Malagardis’ assignments as advisor in 22 countries cover risk management, social insurance, pension
finance, health finance, public-private partnerships, microfinance and microinsurance and lately, disaster
risk finance schemes at the policy design, supervision as well as product development level.
Born in Athens, Greece, Dr Malagardis studied law and economics at the University of Athens and received his PhD in Berlin in the field
of Institutional Economics on the topic of “Sovereign Risk and Insolvency of States” in 1989.
Dr. Annemarie Matthess is agricultural economist (Ph.D.) graduated from Hohenheim University in Germany. She
has over 25 years’ work experience as GIZ resident advisor and project manager in Africa with focus on rural
development, innovation systems, research management and private sector development in agriculture.
As Senior Planning Officer at GIZ-HQ Division Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, she supported programs in Africa,
Latin America and Central Asia in concept and capacity development and during evaluations from 2005 to 2009.
During this time, she covered issues related to value chain promotion, strengthening of professional organizations
in agriculture and agricultural innovation systems. She contributed to the GIZValueLinks Manual and trained GIZand partner staff on this methodology for value chain promotion.
Annemarie Matthess coordinates since 2009 the Sustainable Smallholder Agri-Business Programme with operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Côte
d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo. Together with her team and partners she developed the Farmer Business School Approach and scaled it up for
over 300,000 smallholders mainly operating in cocoa producing zones.
From 2012 to 2015 she was spokeswoman of the GIZ Sector Network Rural Development Africa. Since 2015 she coordinates the Nigeria
country module of the global programme Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food Sector.
Klaus Maurer (Moderator) has more than 30 years of work experience in financial systems development in
46 developing and transition countries, with particular focus on microfinance, rural and SME finance. Most
of his professional career he worked as an independent consultant for multilateral and bilateral
development organizations such as ADB, GIZ, IFAD, KfW, SDC, Sida, World Bank and others, primarily in
Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
He is Chairman of the Board of Finance in Motion (FiM), an alternative asset management company based
in Frankfurt/Germany. FiM advises and manages microfinance investment funds in Eastern Europe, the
Middle East and North Africa. In previous functions, he has been instrumental in developing and building
the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) as a flagship fund in micro and small enterprise finance, initially as a Senior Advisor
(1998-2004) and later as Chief Investment Officer (2005-2008). Prior to that, he worked as project manager at KfW Development Bank
and later served GIZ as advisor to the Central Bank of Indonesia. He holds a doctorate in Financial Economics from the Free University
Berlin.
Selwyn Moons is deputy director of the Sustainable Economic Development Department. Within the
Sustainable Economic Development Department management team he is responsible for financial sector
development and the Dutch Good Growth Fund, a focal point for the new Aid and Trade policy of the
Dutch Government. He is also responsible for the Dutch national effort to improve the availability of
finance for small and medium sized enterprises with the ambition to invest in developing countries. In his
previous occupation within Foreign Affairs he was co-author of the “A world to gain” and
“Entrepreneurship for development” policy briefs. Before joining Foreign Affairs Selwyn held several
positions within the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the domain of, competition policies, trade policy,
economic diplomacy and international entrepreneurship.
Next to his work in government Selwyn holds a PhD position at the Erasmus University. Topic of his PhD is the role of government in
international economic transactions.
Anna Mostetschnig holds a BA and MA degree in Sociology (2007 & 2010, University of Graz, Austria), a BA
degree in Slavic Philology (2014, University of Graz and Zagreb) and a MA in European Interdisciplinary Studies
with a focus on European law and economics from the College of Europe (2011). She has worked with the
OSCE and the European Commission in the Western Balkans, focusing on projects in the area of rule of law
and human rights. In 2012 she co-founded the social business "Three Coins" which develops FinTech products
to improve financial capability among the young, based in Vienna. Anna joined GIZ in 2015 where she is now
heading the financial systems development component of the “Promotion of Competitiveness” project in Namibia
Dr. Philine Oft specializes in disaster risk management, adaptation to climate risks and innovative insurance
solutions. Currently she is working as a technical advisor in the GIZ Project „Integrated Financial Management
of Climate Risks - CAT” financed by the German Federal Ministry of Environment (BMUB) in Peru.
She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from McGill University in Montreal, a Master of Arts
degree in Local and Regional Development from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague and holds a PhD
in Human Geography form the University of Bonn in cooperation with the United Nations University for Human
and Environmental Security (UNU-EHS) and the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII).
Gerda Piprek is a well-known strategist, researcher and M&E specialist in the financial sector. Before starting
her own economic development consulting firm in 2008, Marketworx Africa, she held senior positions at
commercial banks in South Africa (Standard Bank and Nedbank), at the World Bank in Washington DC, and at
Deloitte Consulting and DAI Africa in Johannesburg.
Gerda has harnessed her in-depth understanding of the financial sector and consumers to support the
governments of about 15 countries over the past couple of years in promoting their financial education
agendas. Among others, she has developed national financial education strategies and frameworks for Tanzania,
Lesotho and Nigeria; and has designed and implemented national financial capability surveys in Tanzania,
Rwanda and Nigeria. She has also implemented financial education and consumer protection-related projects in South Africa,
Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Kenya; and is currently assisting the Bank of Tanzania with setting up a Financial Education
Secretariat.
Gerda holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) and an MBA from Georgetown, Washington, DC.
She lives in Cape Town with her two children.
Dante Portula has more than 18 years of Microfinance and SME finance experience in the Philippines and
countries in Southeast Asia. In 2005 to 2009 in GTZ, he led the capacity building of rural banks and NGOs
in the Philippines on SME finance. In 2001, after 9 years stint as a Regional Manager in Catholic Relief
Services Philippines, he worked as Microfinance consultant in Cambodia where he was responsible in providing
Village Banking trainings and coaching to officers and staff of four national MFIs.
He got his training in Frankfurt School of Finance and Management on SME Finance. He has Masters in
Management and Business Management (MMBM) at the University of the Philippines, and Bachelor of Science
in Education Major in Mathematics at Philippines Leyte Institute of Technology.
Prof. Marc Oliver Rieger studied mathematics at the University of Konstanz and obtained his PhD from
the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Leipzig. He worked for three years as research scholar at
Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, USA) and at the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa, Italy), before
moving to Zürich where he started working behavioral finance at the University of Zurich. Since 2010 he
is professor at the University of Trier. His research focuses on behavioral finance, individual decision
making and the influence of cultural differences. Prof. Rieger has published more than 40 research
articles and books.
Michael Rothe, SmartMoney and Freelance Consultant, London is a financial inclusion specialist with
comprehensive experience spanning the private and public sectors, and a core expertise in digital finance.
Michael started his career at Citi Microfinance – Citigroup’s global industry specialist group, where he
supported investments into microfinance institutions across the world. After that, he joined GIZ and as an
advisor to the Central Bank of Uganda (BOU), providing advisory services for the implementation of its
financial inclusion project, focusing on digital finance regulation.
In early 2015 Michael joined SmartMoney International, an innovative rural financial service which pioneers a
globally unique digital finance model. Michael also works as a freelance consultant in the areas digital finance
and financial inclusion.
Carsten Schmitz-Hoffmann is Director of the Division Economic and Social Development at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. His responsibility covers the global programmes and advisory projects in the thematic areas of health,
education, social security, sustainable economic development, financial systems, technical & vocational training and private sector
cooperation.
Carsten has been working with GIZ for 15 years. Prior to his current position, he was Executive Director for Private Sector Cooperation
at GIZ and has served as Head of the Section Trade and Standards, as well as Senior Project Manager, responsible for tropical
agricultural products like coffee, cocoa and tea.
Regarding his academic background, he holds a diploma in Political Science and Governance from the University of Marburg.
He serves in a number of advisory boards and represents GIZ in some national and international boards such as the German Global
Compact Network’s steering committee.
George Scott, UNEP FI, is consultant of climate change at UNEP Finance Initiative where he works with
adaptation finance. Previously George worked in direct investment, working for environmentally focused
growth-capital fund and rural micro-energy finance. George has a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Master's
degree in Environmental Technology, from Imperial College London.
Dr. Maxime Souvignet is a Project Coordinator for MCII since June 2016. He holds a PhD. in
Climatology and Hydrology from the University of Leipzig in Germany. He worked in various academic
institutions and he was a senior scientist at the University of Bristol, School of Geography. Dr.
Souvignet has a broad interest in climate change adaptation, climate risk modelling and uncertainties
related with natural catastrophes. Much of his work focuses on developing concepts and methods for
the spatial assessment of risk in the context of climate change and natural perils.
Dr. Souvignet has previously worked as a consultant for different bi-lateral donors such as the KfW, the GIZ or the African Union (AU).
He was a key expert in the KfW pilot feasibility study in collaboration with SwissRe. This project adapted the Economics of Climate
Adaptation (ECA) methodology and its modelling tools (Climada) in order to assess climate adaptation potential in poor urban areas in
San Salvador. Currently he is working for the project Agriculture and Climate Risk Insurance Plus (ACRIplus) in the overall programme
Promoting Integrated Climate Risk Management funded through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Ministry of
Environment (BMUB) and implemented by GIZ and the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative e. V. (MCII).
Dirk Steinwand holds a doctorate in finance and banking, and a M.A. in developing sociology, both from Free University Berlin. Over
more than 23 years he worked in development finance in various parts of the world. Most of his field experience he gained Asia and
East Africa.
Presently Dirk Steinwand works for German International Cooperation (GIZ) as Head of the Agricultural and Rural Finance Program in
Uganda.
Prior to this position Dirk Steinwand worked in Germany, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia for KfW and GTZ in the field of Financial Systems
Development.
Dirk Steinwand started his career in development finance with research on the informal financial sector in Thailand in 1990.
Vincent van Dugteren is a Business Development Specialist at social impact investor
Oikocredit International, based in the Netherlands. Oikocredit provides debt & equity
investments to partners in over 70 countries across the themes inclusive finance, fair trade,
agriculture and renewable energy. Vincent’s work focuses on finding innovative and scalable
business models for MSME finance in developing countries, including opportunities in FinTech.
Before joining Oikocredit he started his career working in business development in banking
& insurance at ING in South East Asia, Netherlands and Eastern Europe. This was followed
by a stint as an independent consultant, which included 3 years working in East Africa with
multiple MFIs and startups in that region, while being based out of Uganda. Vincent holds a MBA from Heriot-Watt University’s
Edinburgh Business School in the UK.
Sebastian von Wolff has more than 12 years of experience in development and financing of renewable
energy projects in Europe and Africa and is currently an Advisor at the Financial Systems Development
Team in the Economic and Social Development department of GIZ. Before joining GIZ, he was heading the
Energy Finance Team at Finance in Motion, an impact investing advisor exclusively focused on development
finance in direct investments and via the financial sector. There he was involved in project finance deals in
the renewable energy sector as well as the governance of structured investment funds such as the Green
for Growth Fund (GGF).
Sebastian holds a degree in engineering (Dipl.Ing.) from the University of Stuttgart and obtained an MBA
from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.
Solveig Wanczeck works as project advisor for GIZ in the field of Financial Systems Development and Insurance
since October 2011. Her work focuses on topics related to inclusive insurance, such as financial literacy,
development impact of insurance projects and consumer protection, for which she advises the German Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and Development. She is further engaged in managing a development partnership with the
private sector on insurance and holds a master degree in development finance (M.Sc.) from Frankfurt School of
Finance & Management.
Branko Wehnert leads the component “Financial Systems Development” in the Programme for Sustainable
Economic Development (PSED) in Ghana, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ). The programme supports the regulators, financial services operators and relevant service
providers in the area of microfinance and insurance in Ghana to increase the usage of responsible financial
services.
He furthermore heads the project “Promoting Integrated Mechanisms for Climate Risk Management and Transfer”
(ICRM), funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety
(BMUB). The project supports the development of integrated climate risk management approaches in Ghana,
China and other countries. Direct and indirect insurance solutions – to adapt to adverse consequences of climate change and adequately
manage calamities – are considered to be essential solutions for government and companies in various contexts, like e.g. urban
resilience, agricultural adaptation to climate change, etc.
Martina Wiedmaier-Pfister is a Policy and Regulatory Consultant with over thirty years of professional experience
in financial systems development. She holds a Master Degree in Business Administration and advises national,
regional and global projects, as well as microfinance institutions, central banks and supervisory authorities.
Martina has carried out numerous assignments in Africa, Latin America and Asia, many of which in the
regulatory sphere. She has worked as long-term expert in Asia and Latin-America, and consulting development
projects and national governments.
She has authored policy papers for government and international studies for example on responsible finance,
regulatory frameworks and consumer protection and is a member of the Consumer Protection Task Force of the
Microinsurance Network.
Makaio Witte is a financial sector specialist working in GIZ’s Sector and Global Programs Department. In
his current position in the Sector Program FSD he advises the German government on a wide range of
financial sector issues including green finance, sustainable/impact investment and long-term finance. In a
previous position as part of a team supporting the Partnership “Making Finance Work for Africa”, a multistakeholder initiative hosted at the African Development Bank, he focused on banking regulation and
supervision. Prior to joining GIZ, Makaio worked as a Junior Professional Associate at the Finance and
Private Sector Development Department of the World Bank's Africa Region. Makaio’s research and work has
concentrated on the impacts of the Global Financial Crisis on developing countries, international regulatory
reform, prioritization and sequencing in implementing international regulatory standards in less developed financial systems, cross-border
banking and long-term finance with a strong regional focus on Africa. Makaio holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Hertie
School of Governance.
Marc-André Zach, Advisor, Microfinance in Rural Areas – Assess to Finance for the Poor, GIZ
After graduating with a master’s degree from the Freie Universität Berlin, in Sinology and Economics,
Marc-André Zach has worked as an advisor for the GIZ project Financial Sector Reform in Beijing, China.
In his function he mainly focused on the topic investor protection in securities markets, where he
helped to facilitate a dialogue between the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the German
financial regulatory authority BaFin as well as other stakeholders in both countries. During his
assignment in China he also supported the secretariat of the GIZ sector network Assets for Asia. Since
January 2014 he manages the work on financial literacy and consumer protection together with the
Laotian central bank for the project Access to Finance for the Poor in Vientiane, Laos.
Hans Joachim Zinnkann works as team leader in the GIZ project “Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees in
Armenia (EISRA)”, which is attached to the GIZ programme “Private Sector Development in South Caucasus” and
its country component in Armenia. He joined GIZ in 2008 and, since then, has been working in different
projects in Germany and abroad as portfolio manager, advisor to the managing board and advisor on Green
Economy and PSD. Whilst obtaining his university degree in economics and Eastern European studies, he
worked in an economic research institute. Prior to this, he was trained in and worked in the hotel and
hospitality industry.
Stefanie Zinsmeyer is a technical officer at the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii). The A2ii is a global
partnership with the mission to inspire and support supervisors to promote inclusive and responsible insurance.
Stefanie joined the A2ii Secretariat in 2011 and currently focuses on the topic of digital financial inclusion, on
the G20 policy dialogue and fundraising amongst other things.
Stefanie has 10 years of experience in international development cooperation. She has worked in the areas of
private sector and financial systems development for GIZ. From 2008 to 2011 she worked in Germany’s
Development Ministry BMZ as advisor to the Africa Personal Representative of the German Chancellor, where she
prepared the German G8-Africa agenda and supported negotiations with African, G8 and G20 partners. She was
also part of the team preparing Germany’s G8 presidency in 2007. Stefanie worked as strategy advisor to the
program head of GIZ International Services in Ethiopia. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Economics and is currently finalizing her
MBA.