Gregory Thys

Gregory has been involved in the inclusive finance sector since 2002. Co-founder of Azimut in 2014, he specializes in the management of technical assistance projects in inclusive finance, with a focus on MSME finance and agricultural finance. He has been involved as a senior expert in numerous projects in over 25 countries. He has been living in Africa for 20 years and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Sciences from the Louvain School of Management and a Masters in Development Studies from UCL.

Charles Cordier

Charles has 20 years of experience in the financial sector and more particularly in the microfinance sector on the African continent. He is co-founder of Azimut and is an expert in project management and long-term technical assistance, particularly in the agricultural sector. Charles has lived in Canada, Angola, Senegal, Morocco and Rwanda. He holds a degree in accounting and management (Lycée Ozenne, Toulouse) and a diploma from the École Supérieure de Commerce d’Amiens (Master’s degree).

Bernard Tissot

After nearly 30 years of banking experience in France, Bernard became involved in Development Aid through Access to finance for the most vulnerable populations. He first managed the Crédit Mutuel du Sénégal. At the same time, he created the C.C.M.A.O. (Confédération des Caisses Mutualistes d’Afriques de l’Ouest), the first Confederation of Microfinance Institutions in Africa, as well as the B.I.M.A.O. (Banque des Institutions Mutualistes d’Afrique de l’Ouest), the first Mutualist Bank in Africa. He also created the first commercial microfinance company in Senegal (MicroCred Sénégal). Bernard brings a solid experience in MSME financing and organizational development of financial institutions. He has been based in Senegal for over 20 years.

Pierre Cuche

Pierre is an inclusive finance and entrepreneurship expert with 14 years of professional experience across different African countries.  He was the managing director of SIAD, a pioneering NGO in the field of entrepreneurship support in Africa, which created various incubation and acceleration programs, including the first business incubator in Cameroon and the first incubator dedicated to the African diaspora in France. Pierre was also the head of the economic sector at ATIA, where he oversaw technical assistance and funding programs to a network of microfinance institutions. Pierre is currently based in Kigali, Rwanda. He is a graduated engineer and holds a master’s degree in international development from IEDES – La Sorbonne, Paris.

Agnès Fall

Abdourahamane Kodo

Abdourahamane has been working in the field of inclusive finance for over 23 years in West Africa. He worked for more than 10 years as an executive in various positions for some of the leading MFIs in Niger. For the last years, Kodo has been working as an inclusive finance expert working for large-scale national projects supporting the development of the sector in Niger, such as AFD’s Financial Inclusion Support Project (PAIF). Kodo holds a graduate degree in accounting – management and a master degree in administration and management. Kodo is based in Niamey, Niger.

Max Ahouandjinou

Max brings over 30 years of experience in microfinance, including 10 years as an executive for the largest Savings & Credit Cooperative in Benin (FECECAM). Since 2008, Max has provided capacity building and advise to dozens of financial institutions, especially on agriculture finance, governance and strategic planning. For the last 5 years he’s been providing financial literacy training and coaching to MSMEs to draft their business plans and access financial services. Max holds a Masters in Management Sciences, a DESS in Administration and Business Management and is preparing a PhD.

Karen Hazan

Karen Hazan brings corporate experience from Europe where she held various positions in the business development and strategy departments, mostly focused on the African, Middle Eastern and European markets. Her expertise was in data management, market analysis and the implementation, development and training of new technology tools designed to improve market intelligence and business strategy. Karen is in charge of business development at Azimut and oversees technical assistance projects in East Africa. Karen holds an M.Sc. from Edhec Business School and a Master’s degree in Microfinance from the European Microfinance Programme of the Solvay Brussels School.

Samson Nsengiyumva

Samson Nsengiyumva is a Senior Financial Inclusion Expert based in Rwanda. Since 2010, he has been involved in multiple projects with a focus on Microfinance, Digital Financial Services, Financial Education, Microleasing and Agriculture Value Chain Development. He holds a Masters in Economics from the Kigali Independent University.

Ernest Ngendakuriyo

Ernest has been involved in the inclusive finance sector since 2000. He started as a credit analyst in one of the pioneer microfinance institutions in Burundi and then worked in the professional association [Réseau des Institutions de Microfinance au Burundi], “RIM”, specialising in capacity building of MFIs. He then worked on the development and deployment of innovative financial products for the rural world for several projects. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economic and Administrative Sciences from the University of Burundi and a Master’s degree in Management of Microfinance Institutions from the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Patricia Uwimbabazi