Investor co-chair elections, next SIWG webinar
Dear SPTF investor community,
As many of you know, Anna Kanze is due to rotate off the SPTF Board of Directors as co-chair of the Social Investor Working Group. On behalf of the SIWG and the SPTF team, we thank her for her tremendous contribution and years of service to this important and active group!
This means we have one open seat on our board for the social investor category, and we are now holding elections. Please vote!
The selected candidate will serve as one of two social investor representatives on the SPTF Board of Directors, as well as the co-chair for the SIWG. The term is for two years, with the option to renew for an additional one to two years.
Please see the information below on each of the nominated candidates. We are grateful for the leadership they have already shown in advancing responsible inclusive finance. SPTF would be fortunate to have any one of them on our board.
How to vote
We ask you to please send your vote for one candidate to info@sptfnetwork.org by October 30. Your vote is completely confidential.
Voting is open only to investors and funders who have been SPTF organizational members or SPTF collaborating members within the past two years. If you have any questions about your membership status, please
contact Jurgen Hammer.
Only one vote is allowed per organization; if we receive more than one vote per organization, we will contact you to submit one entry for your organization.
Candidates for SPTF Board of Directors - Social Investor Representative
Candidates are listed alphabetically. Click on each candidate's name to view his or her bio and vision for SPTF below. Make sure to vote for one candidate by emailing his or her name to info@sptfnetwork.org by October 30.
Alexandre Nayme - BNP Paribas
-or-
Edouard Sers - Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
-or-
Lone Søndergaard - Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI)
-or-
Frank Streppel - Triodos Investment Management
If you have any questions, please contact Katie Hoffmann. Thank you in advance for submitting your vote by October 30.
Save the date: SIWG update webinar!
Please also mark your calendars for the next SIWG webinar on Wednesday, November 18 at 10:30 EST/16:30 CET. Topics will include:
- Takeaways from the investor roundtables on using customer insights to drive COVID recovery (November 10 & 12)
- Next steps from the SIWG sub-group focused on client protection after the Smart Campaign closes
Find joining information here. As always, please let us know if you have any questions. We hope you can join us!
All the best,
SPTF Board and Secretariat
Candidates for SPTF Board of Directors - Social Investor Representative
Alexandre Nayme, BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas currently supports close to EUR 2 billion of assets of Social Business and Microfinance spread across direct investees and funds in more than 15 countries. Direct lending to inclusive finance service providers accounted for more than EUR 270 million at mid-2020.
Alexandre Nayme is an Investment Officer at BNP Paribas, responsible for the African Inclusive Finance portfolio as well as Impact Investing, part of the BNPP Group CSR department within the Inclusive Finance and Social Entrepreneurship team. This team has a mandate to extend its support to the financial inclusion sector, with a particular focus on countries where the Group operates. Since joining the team in March 2016, Alexandre has focused on managing and originating African microfinance debt and equity investment into impact funds. He has also supported the
team’s social performance methodological choices, working to incorporate industry best practices within social performance measurement and reporting. Prior to BNP Paribas inclusive finance department, Alexandre worked as a credit analyst for financial institutions in emerging markets in Paris and London.
SIWG's direction going forward:
Alexandre has participated in SPTF since 2016, attending Social Investor Working Group meetings and SPTF Annual Meetings. BNP Paribas has not been a very active member of the Social Investor Working Group initiatives, as there is no dedicated SPM ambassador within the team and this responsibility is shared. Moving forward, Alexandre is interested in supporting the work of the SPTF on several specific topics:
- Integration of environmental practices into standard SPM
- Integration of standard practices into impact investment databases, such as ATLAS
- Contribution to the mainstreaming of SPM to a wider audience than impact fund managers and investors
Edouard Sers, Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
Edouard is head of Risk, Compliance and Social Performance at the Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation and member of the Foundation’s Executive Committee. The mission of the Foundation is to help reduce inequality and poverty through financial inclusion and the promotion of social impact entrepreneurship. In 2019, the Foundation managed EUR 96 million in outstanding loans to 85 organisations in 39 countries. In 2020, the Foundation promoted the Pledge to protect microfinance institutions and their clients in the COVID-19 crisis endorsed by 30 signatories within the sector. It also
published its impact report, a financial and extra-financial assessment based on the activity data for 2019, in order to gain better understanding and to share the results of its action. In 2020, the Foundation started to organize the collection of new outcome and change indicators from organisations it supports in order to verify the robustness and relevance of its impact model. Edouard has played a leading role in these two initiatives.
Before joining the Foundation, Edouard has been involved in the sector since 2005 as MFI staff in Morocco, a rater and client protection assessor at Planet Rating traveling to about 30 countries from the Paris, Manila and Lima offices, as well as a practitioner and technical assistance provider within the Oxus network as head of audit and risk. Edouard has been involved in the SPTF events and workshops as a rater and now as a social investor (e.g. on responsible covenants).
SIWG's direction going forward:
I believe that the SPTF Social Investor Working Group is the right place to help social investors coordinate and join their efforts to effectively promote and develop their social agenda. In this agenda, it becomes more and more important to make sure that we – collectively – collect and share outcome data on clients so that MFIs and their investors take informed decisions, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. The SIWG can also serve as a hub to exchange lessons learned during this crisis on our capacity to behave as social investors and be up to our social
commitments (such as the principles adopted in the Pledge mentioned above). Historic and on-going initiatives of the SPTF and its members to set-up the Universal Standards and build social and environmental performance benchmarks are more important than ever and should be pursued, keeping in mind the need for user-friendly and low-burden reporting processes.
Lone Søndergaard, Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI)
Lone Søndergaard is Senior Investment Manager and responsible for Social Performance Management at NMI. In addition, she runs NMI’s Danish office and has an Investor Relations/Fundraising role towards NMI’s Danish owners and investors. Lone has been with NMI for 3.5 years.
Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) was established in 2008 in Norway as a partnership between the public (Norfund and IFU) and the private sector. Today, NMI manages five funds with a total AUM of USD 374 million. NMI invests in institutions building financial inclusion in Africa and Asia and currently holds 19 direct investments, of which two-thirds are equity investments. NMI has offices in Oslo (HQ), Copenhagen, Jakarta, Delhi, and Nairobi.
In her role as Social Performance Manager, Lone established NMI’s Social Performance Framework, which is based on the SPTF Universal Standards for Social Performance Management and the Client Protection Principles. She is responsible for the ongoing monitoring and reporting of social performance, including an annual review of progress on NMI’s social active ownership agenda and adherence to CPPs, as well as quarterly reporting on social performance KPI’s. In addition, Lone holds a number of Advisory Board seats and has participated in several investment processes,
using the Social Performance Framework tools in onsite due diligence and annual evaluations. Her broad role at NMI gives her a holistic understanding of the financial inclusion ecosystem and the importance of alignment and balance between social and financial return. Lone has been an active member of the Social Performance Task Force since 2017. She was part of the Navigating Impact working group and is currently engaged in the CPP working group.
Prior to joining NMI, she was program and project manager at Danske Bank for 6.5 years, working with operational excellence, customer centricity and lean leadership. She started her career in MYC4, where she was responsible for establishing partnerships with African microfinance institutions. Thereafter, she worked at Fusion Investments, a British investment firm, focused on Financial Services, PE and Real Estate in East Africa. Concurrently, she fulfilled several assignments for the Danish Forum for Microfinance and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as taught microfinance at
Copenhagen University.
SIWG’s direction going forward:
-
Stay responsible – The CPPs are becoming even more important as a broader set of players enter the financial inclusion space and even more so in the aftermath of the ongoing pandemic and economic crisis. Taking ownership of the CPPs, upgrading the tools (e.g. endorsement), and aligning with the FSPs and the rating agencies are core tasks in the work ahead.
-
Stay relevant - The impact investment ecosystem is evolving, and focused efforts are needed for investors in financial inclusion to stay relevant. This includes joint efforts in measuring and communicating evidence of the impact we deliver.
-
Stay focused – The tools developed to translate principles into practices including the SPI4 and ALINUS are very good. Continued support and further development (e.g. to include climate related issues), is important.
Frank Streppel, Triodos Investment Management
As Global Head of Investments at Triodos Investment Management, Frank oversees the global team and portfolio in emerging markets. Frank has been a leader in financial inclusion for over 20 years and has held various positions in investment management, fund management and Investment Committee Chairmanship. Frank has served on boards of various leading banks in Africa, Asia and Central Asia. Prior to Triodos, Frank worked at ABN AMRO Bank and Médecins sans Frontiers.
SIWG's direction going forward:
While contributing to minimize COVID impact is the short-term priority, going forward, I foresee an important and increasingly widening role for SPTF in contributing to a more sustainable society. Many challenges due to COVID are yet to be felt, but it is also clear that MSMEs will be the driving force for social and economic recovery. For that, a well-functioning and accessible financial sector with due attention to client protection is more relevant
than ever before. It is our collective responsibility to preserve the good work that has been done over the years, with, for instance, the Smart Campaign, but also to turn COVID into an opportunity for further development. There are many examples: efficiency gains to be found throughout the sector; technology creates massive opportunities but also massive problems with over indebtedness; product offerings still generally not tailor-made to the needs of clients; etc.
While access to finance continues to be an important objective in itself as a basis for talent utilization and job creation, increasingly the focus should widen towards what we finance in order to ensure contribution to a sustainable society through focus on important transition themes, such as the energy transition,
sustainable food and agriculture, and an inclusive society with access to basic needs.
SPTF is very well placed to play an important coordinating role in both these short- and longer-term objectives, as it represents a vast, diverse and collectively very
influential network. I am able and willing to make my network, experience, drive and pragmatic approach available to that purpose as I firmly believe that collectively we have massive power to change things for the better.
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We are looking forward to our virtual meeting on March 11!
SPTF has partnered with FINCA International to provide a 
We are looking forward to our virtual meeting on March 11!
SPTF Investor Meeting: Updated agenda, register now! 
SPTF Investor Meeting: Updated agenda, register now! 
Additionally, given the increased workload of the SIWG during the pandemic, the SIWG has decided to take on a third co-chair. We are happy to report that Edouard Sers of 
their COVID-related struggles and opportunities.
week). FSPs can apply for co-financing to
assist with the cost of implementation. SPTF is partnering with FINCA International to provide a 
Last month, Suricate Solutions, Smart Campaign @CFI, and SPTF presented essential cybersecurity practices for FSPs to implement, as well as guidance on how FSPs can help their clients protect
themselves from cyber fraud
ensure business
continuity.
You are invited to our virtual meeting: March 11.
SPTF has partnered with FINCA International to provide a 
SPTF has partnered with FINCA International to provide a 
SIWG Meeting Canceled 
We are looking forward to our virtual meeting today! 
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