Rania Khairy

Ms. Khairy joined Vitas Palestine in April 2010 , she has over 25 years of experience in management and holds an MBA degree from Birzeit University in Ramallah Palestine.  Prior to this, Ms. El-Khairy assumed various roles at the Palestine Trade Center (Pal Trade) including Project Coordinator, Senior Operations Officer, HR officer, and HR and Personnel Manager. She also worked with the Development Resource Center as the Coordinator of the European Information Correspondence Center (EICC) and the Palestinian Ministry of Youth and Sport, where she held the position of the Head of International Relations Unit with NGOs. Currently Ms. El-Khairy is heading the Gender Unit at Vitas Palestine in addition to managing the Client Protection Unit.

Bassem Khanfar

 Has over 25 years of in-depth experience in the field of financial inclusion, microfinance, and small enterprises financing and sustainable development.

Throughout the 25 years, Bassem has successfully established and managed several microfinance institutions in Jordan, as well as engaged in establishing additional MFIs in the Arab region.

In addition, he has worked on assignments with global institutions in an advisory capacity, such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) and others.

Bassem is a founding member of Sanabel and is currently serving as Chairperson of Sanabel's Board of Directors.

Currently, he is the CEO and Board member of Jordan Microfinance Company "Tamweelcom" in Jordan.

Hassan Faried

-        Hassan has 40 years of in depth and diverse work experience, (25 years Microfinance experience).

-        DBACD CEO since 1998 till now.

-        Chairman of Sanabel 2010- 2014 and board member from 2017 till now.

-        Board member- dakahleya businessmen’s association for community development from 2009 to 2022.

-        Hassan holds a Bachelor degree of Science, (Geology Major) - Mansoura University, Egypt. 

-        Microfinance credits:

o   Making microfinance work- managing product diversification (ILO)- Turin, Italy.

o   Boulder microfinance training programs – Washington – Boulder - USA.

o   Harvard business school – ACCION's program on strategic leadership for microfinance – Harvard business, Boston, USA.

Roxane LEMERCIER

Roxane is currently Regional Manager for Africa and Middle East at MFR. She joined MFR as an analyst in 2021 and has carried out several certifications, social and institutional ratings and institutional diagnostics. She is familiar with the Universal Standards for Social and Environmental Performance Management and used to perform institutional gap analyses and provide recommendations.

Before joining MFR in 2021, Roxane worked as Director of Operations of the Ivoirian agricultural training schools' platform. Before this experience in Ivory Coast, she worked two years for Nestlé and almost six years for a microfinance institution in Belgium. Roxane also conducted a study on input financing for a microfinance institution in Ethiopia. Roxane holds a master’s degree in management engineering and two other Master's degrees, one in Globalisation & Development from the Institute of Development Policy of the University of Antwerp and the other from the European Microfinance Programme of the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management. She speaks French and English and understands Dutch and Italian.

Kawthar Al-Zoubi

Kawthar Al-Zo’ubi currently is a Project Coordinator in in German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation. She is an experienced development practitioner with more than seventeen years of working in different but related domains, namely: digitization; competitiveness; regulatory reforms, policy and strategy development and coordinating dialogues among wide range of stakeholders; either public, private and international organizations.

Kawthar achieved a merit-based scholarship from her Alma mater to attain a master’s degree in Business Information Technology from Kingston University in UK, then she began her career in the academic field as a university instructor and helped in designing and establishing the major of Management Information System.

She moved to work in the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, where she had the chance to closely work with various governmental entities in developing polices and strategies and assist in implementing number of reform’s activities to enhance the competitiveness of different economic sectors.

Ms. Al-Zo’ubi continued to work with international organization like the European Union as an EU Liaison Officer and then most recently with the GIZ as a Technical Advisor where she worked extensively in furthering financial inclusion for vulnerable in Jordan including refugees and promoting the responsible use of the digital financial services.

Kawthar strongly believes that financial literacy is key for individual and MSMEs which enables them to make use of the variety of financial skills and services that eventually lead to prosperity on induvial and business level as well as on the level of local economy.

Fethi Cherni

Central Director of Operations with 27 years of experience in the field of financial inclusion at Enda Tamweel (the leader in the field of microfinance in Tunisia).

He holds a Master's degree in Economics, with a Master's degree in Urban Planning (specializing in Urban Economics) and a Master's in Business Administration

Certified international trainer.

Mohamed Amaireh

Mohamad has been working at the Central Bank of Jordan for 29 years, where he currently holds the position of Executive Manager of the Financial Stability Department since 2013.

He holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Statistics, a Bachelor degree in Finance. He has taught various specialized courses in finance at the Banking Studies Institute in Jordan. He has led the CBJ FSAP team and worked with the IMF FSAP team in the latest FSAP assessment of Jordan. He is also a member of the financial stability committee of central bankers at the Arab Monetary Fund.

 He has been invited as a panelist/resource person in various international conferences/ on banking supervision, financial inclusion, financial literacy, bank resolution and crisis management, financial stability, shadow banking, capacity building,  women empowerment …etc.

He is the head of The Green Finance Strategy Committee at the Central Bank of Jordan. He is also head of various technical committees at the Central bank of Jordan such as to name a few:  SMEs Financing and Financial Inclusion, National Financial Literacy Program, ...etc. He works closely with International and regional Institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, Arab Monetary fund, EBRD, EIB, and GIZ just to name a few.

Inaam Zaqout

Ina’m obtained her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Birzeit University in Palestine in 1994. She has worked in the field of microfinance for over 25 years, contributing to the training of dozens of individuals in various areas, including loan operations management, leadership skills, and project management in Palestine and beyond in the Middle East and North Africa. Currently, she serves as the Credit Operations Manager at Asala Development and Credit Company since 2016, one of the leading Palestinian companies in microfinance, primarily focused on economically empowering women and providing appropriate financial services to establish and develop projects that enhance the empowerment of women and youth in Palestinian society. Ina’m’s professional career includes significant roles such as Regional Director at the Palestinian Economic Development Fund (Faten) from 1999 to 2013, where she played a pivotal role in building the institution’s structure. Before joining microfinance companies, she worked in several international organizations such as Save the Children as a Capacity Building and Institutional Development Program Manager for Palestinian institutions, then moved to work in the Lending Program - Jerusalem Office. Ina’m’s first position was as Assistant Refugee Affairs Officer at the UNRWA Field Office in Jerusalem.

Alaa Abbassi

Is a lawyer and the managing partner of Abbassi Law Office (a Jordanian law firm established in 1962). With more than 30 years of experience as a corporate attorney, his legal practice areas also include banking, insurance, labor, telecommunications, microfinance, mediation, litigation and regulations on MSMEs finance and digital financial services. He participated in diagnostic assessments and provided technical advice on the legal and regulatory environment in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Kyrgyzstan in the fields of financial inclusion, MSMEs finance and digital financial services. He holds an LL.M in International Business Law from University of Western Sydney in Australia and an LL.B. from Mutah University in Jordan. He is a native speaker of Arabic, has excellent command of English and basic knowledge of Italian and Spanish.

Osama Al-Shami

A Pioneer in Microfinance and Enterprise Development

Osama is a development and microfinance expert who has played a pivotal role in shaping the financial landscape for small and micro enterprises (SMEs) in Yemen. Currently he is the Head of the Small and Micro Enterprise Development Unit (SMED) at the Social Fund for Development (SFD), Osama has over 26 years of expertise.

Osama's journey began in 1998 when he joined SFD, where he has been leading in establishing and supervising microfinance institutions and programs. He supervised stablishing over 12 microfinance institutions. He built a robust and sustainable microfinance ecosystem and oversight of the implementation of essential internal systems and procedures, including automated loan tracking systems.

Osama actively acts as a board member in various SME development institutions, leveraging his expertise to guide strategic decision-making.

Osama actively participated in the development of microfinance laws with the Central Bank of Yemen. He has also played a crucial role in formulating the National Microfinance Strategies and Action Plans for Yemen, paving the way for comprehensive development in the sector.

Osama's dedication to financial inclusion extends to his successful establishment of a Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) program, empowering local communities with access to financial services. This initiative has significantly contributed to the economic empowerment of rural communities in Yemen.

Osama is a dedicated mentor and trainer, having personally trained over 200 employees. He equips them with essential skills in human resources, product development, time management, strategic planning, and management and leadership.

Osama's profound expertise and unwavering commitment to microfinance and enterprise development continue to make a significant impact on the financial inclusion landscape in Yemen and beyond. His authorship of the book "From Leadership to Pioneer" further demonstrates his contributions to the field.