IMF Conference

There has been a growing realization that access to financial services can play a critical role in reducing poverty, inequality, and supporting inclusive development. However, only about half of the world population has access to financial services, and that access is unequally spread across regions, countries, income levels and gender. Access is comparatively low in most of central Africa. This session will look at the nexus of access to finance, growth and poverty reduction and the state of financial inclusion in the ECCAS region.

Boriana Yontcheva is the IMF resident representative to Cameroon. She a French citizen and has joined the IMF in 2001. Before coming back to the African Department in 2012 she worked in the European, Asian and Pacific department and the IMF institute. Prior to joining the IMF, she worked for the European Commission. She obtained a M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Manchester (UK) and a PhD from the university of Aix en Provence, France. Her primary areas of research are development economics, fiscal policy and, financial sector issues. She co-edited a book on the macroeconomics of foreign aid.

This session will focus on identifying barriers to financial services for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) and the challenge of retail banking. It will discuss the reforms needed to help reduce risks and promote a better lending climate.

Tineyi Mawocha is Chief Executive Officer at Urwego Opportunity Bank (Rwanda). He holds an HND in Hotel & Catering Management from Bulawayo Polytechnic and a Masters in Business Administration from University of Zimbabwe as well as a Masters in Development Finance from University of Stellenbosch. He has worked in hospitality management in the UK and Zimbabwe.. In 1995, he was appointed Managing Director of Nando’s Zimbabwe, then Regional Developments Director for Innscor Africa in 1997. Tineyi started fast food operations in Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. In 2001 he joined Standard Bank South Africa as Area Business Manager and was promoted to Director Branch Network in 2002. In December 2005, he was appointed Managing Director of Standard Bank Swaziland and served there till September 2012 when he moved back to his country of birth Zimbabwe. In October 2012, he spearheaded transformation to commercial banking of Tetrad Investment Bank, before moving to Rwanda in 2014. Tineyi was Chairman of SADC Banking Association from 2009 till 2012, President of the Federation of Swaziland Employers & Chamber of Commerce in 2011 to 2012. He is married and has 3 children.

Alphonse Nafack 60 years of age, has a track record of almost 35 years in the banking field. After completing his B.A. (Series E) at the Lycée Technique de Douala, Alphonse Nafack entered the Université de Yaoundé where he earned an M.A. in Economic Sciences, specializing in Business Management. In 1986, he took a degree course at the Institut Technique de Banque in Paris. In 1982, he began his career at the Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (BICI), subsidiary of BNP as Loan Officer in charge of SME/SMI customers, and subsequently large enterprises. He joined CCEI BANK (now Afriland First Bank) in 1993 where he served in turn as Controller of Liabilities, Manager of the Douala Branch, Director of Credit with responsibility for subsidiaries, and Assistant General Manager. In February 2012, Alphonse Nafack was promoted by the Board to the position of General Manager of Afriland First Bank, a banking institution focusing on financing for SMEs/SMIs. Commander of the Ordre de la valeur du Cameroun, he is also Chairman of the Board of Africa Leasing Company (ALC), Director at Afriland First Bank Sao-Tomé et Principe, and member of the Executive Bureau of the Professional Association of Banks in Cameroon.

This session will focus on the role of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other innovative financial services as well as the management of supervisory risks stemming from nontraditional financial actors. Although MFIs and mobile banking services still represent only a fraction of the total financial offer, they are growing rapidly – therefore presenting supervision challenges. This session will present how an inadequate supervision can lead to risks for the consumers. It will also examine how to mitigate those risks and develop the sector safely.

Abbas Tolli became the COBAC Secretary General in 2012. He has held senior official positions in Chadian government including Minister of finance and minister of infrastructure and equipment. Prior to this, he has occupied various other positions of which director of the civil cabinet of the presidency of the Republic, director of custom department, and Secretary General of the Central Bank of African States (BEAC). Mr Abbas holds a Bachelor BA in Entrepreneurship from University of Quebec and he is graduated from the National School of Administration Paris.

Dieudonné Ndinga Moukala, married, 47 years of age and a father of four, is a Congolese national. He is a financial economist (BAC+5) with additional training at the same level in business administration. He has been with the Congolese Savings and Loan Associations (MUCODEC) for 22 years. After serving as manager for two network entities in Brazzaville in turn in 1993, he was appointed to the MUCODEC Federation as Regional Delegate in 1995, and was later appointed assistant to the Head of the Legal and Litigation Department in 2001, prior to becoming Head of the Training Department in 2002. In 2003, during the rollout of the new organization for the MUCODEC Federation, he was appointed Director of Human Resources at the management staff level, prior to becoming Second Director in 2008, then Assistant Director General in 2010, and Director General of the Federation since April 2014.

This session will discuss the experiences of countries that have successfully implemented policies for expanding access to financial services in recent years. It will convey the lessons of those experiences, and spell out some of the options and pitfalls for widening financial access. The presenters and panelists will discuss the scope for promoting nontraditional financial services, the role of MFIs and of new technologies, and review the way some countries have successfully reached out to the underbanked.

Possible case studies: Rwanda, Kenya, Bangladesh.

Lucas Abaga Nchama has been Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) since July 2008. He previously held high-level government positions in his country, including Director-General of Economy, Trade and Business Promotion, and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance and Budget. He began his career at the National Directorate of the BEAC in Malabo and at the Bata branch. His responsibilities in government positions have allowed him to carry out other functions, including executive director of the BEAC, member of the Interstate Committee of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), alternate executive director of the African Development Bank, and interim governor for the annual meetings of the IMF. A national of Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Abaga Nchama obtained a postgraduate diploma (DEA) in Banking, Money and Finance from the University of Lyon II, France, in 1995.

Kevin Kavugizo is an economist and holder of a Master Degree in Microfinance. He has been with the National Bank of Rwanda since 2000 and occupied mainly the function of Inspector before becoming the Director of Microfinance Supervision Department, the position he currently occupies. He is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion(AFI), Data Working Group(FIDWG) and AFI- focal point for financial inclusion in Rwanda. He is married and father of 4 children.

Anselme Imbert has been the Africa Adviser of the French Treasury Managing Director since 2012. Between 2007 and 2011, he was in Istanbul as Economic and Financial Advisor of the French Embassy in Turkey and as a Representative of Banque de France in this country. He previously occupied many positions within Banque de France, including that of Director of the Enterprises Department responsible for the Franc area. Besides his professional activities, Mr. Imbert has been very active in the areas of economic development. President and Founder of ADEF, a think-tank specialized in finance and development issues, he is the author of many articles on these issues. Mr. IMBERT is a BEAC (Central African States Central Bank) Censeur, a member of the BEAC Monetary Policy Committee, Censeur of the Comoros Central Bank (CBC) and Executive Director of the Central African Development Bank (BEDEAC).

Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, a German National, is now Deputy Director of the IMF’s African Department. She is directly overseeing the Department’s work and policy priorities on a number of Southern and Central African countries, including South Africa and the CEMAC. Before re-joining the African Department in 2012 she held positions in the European and Monetary and Capital Markets Departments. In her earlier tenure in the African Department (2004-2007) Ms. Gulde was mission chief for the two monetary unions (WAEMU and CEMAC) and coordinated the department’s financial sector work. Ms. Gulde studied Economics, Political Science and History in Tuebingen, (Germany), St. Louis (USA), and Kiel (Germany) and holds a PhD in international economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva (Switzerland). She has published widely on different topics in international economics, with a focus on exchange rate regimes, currency boards, and financial stability and development issues. Publications on Africa include among others “The CFA Franc Zone: Common Currency, Uncommon Challenges’’ (with H. Tsangarides, eds, 2008) and “Sub Saharan Africa: Financial Sector Challenges” (with C. Pattillo and J, Christensen).