master microfinance uam - alumni interviews

[email protected] www.mastermicrofinance.com (+34) 914 974 216 1

International Master in Microfinance for Entrepreneurship

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

c/ Tomás y Valiente, 5. Módulo E-II, Despacho 212

28049 – Madrid - Spain

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.mastermicrofinance.com/


INTERVIEWING INTERNATIONAL MASTER’S IN MICROFINANCE - UAM ALUMNI

Brooke R. Cain

Julia Marín

I am from Madrid, Spain. I studied International

Relations at Universidad Complutense de Madrid

and at King’s College London for a year. I was first

introduced to the notion of microfinance while

studying abroad in the U.S., where I was an intern

for FINCA International, one of the largest

microfinance institution working in 23 countries

worldwide. This experience definitely motivated me

to keep learning about how inclusive financial

markets could improve the lives of poor people.

Where are you currently working?

I am currently in Paraguay working with Fundación

Capital in a program called Graduation. The core

goal of the program is improving the productive,

financial, human and social assets of people living in

extreme poverty. We develop, along with the

Government of Paraguay, different short-term and

long-term strategies that can help the participant

move out from extreme poverty.

My main role inside this institution has been to

develop workshops that could help the participants

develop their own business ideas, encouraging the

participants to set goals by themselves and to assist

them with budgeting skills. The workshops work to

comprehensively coach the poorest people from the

community to plan for their future. I am currently

working on a savings workshop, which shows

participants different ways in which they can save,

formally and informally, therefore encouraging the

sustainable construction of their own assets.

Why did you choose the International Master in Microfinance for Entrepreneurship (IMME) at UAM?

I was looking for a Masters taught in English, and I

was aware of the prestige of Universidad Autónoma

de Madrid.




What were the main advantages of the IMME for you?

I was able to connect with a large number of

practitioners, who very professionally shared the

knowledge they previously acquired working hands-

on the field. I was also able to learn from prominent

academics up-to-date debates in the field of

microfinance. Each module of the Masters was

taught by a specialist on the matter at hand, which

happened to be an incredible and unique learning

experience.

How did the IMME help you get a job in the microfinance industry?

As part of the Master’s program, I completed an

internship in AECID, the Spanish Agency of

Cooperation and Development. I assisted with the

Agency’s investments in MFIs all over the world,

which enabled me to learn from the obstacles and

innovations of those institutions. I believe that the

opportunity of gaining that professional experience

was a key factor in finding subsequent job

opportunities. After the Masters, I completed an

internship in IFAD, United Nation’s International

Fund for Agricultural Development in Rome, Italy.

Why would you recommend the IMME to others?

I would recommend the Master to everyone

interested in learning about innovating ways for

poverty reduction. Microfinance is a development

field continuously evolving, and IMME adapts rapidly

to these innovations so students are able to finish

the year with a well-defined picture of challenges

and opportunities present in the industry.

José Andrés Véliz Orive

My name is José Andrés Véliz Orive and I'm from

Guatemala. Before the Master I had a degree in

Business Administration, and I worked for six years

in a bank here in Guatemala, but not in the

microfinance area. I worked in the areas of Credit

Cards and later insurance, so I didn’t have real

microfinance experience before the Master.

During the master I had the chance to do my

Internship for Fundación África Directo and learned

about their programs in Africa, especially in Uganda.

After the Master, I came back to Guatemala and

started working at FINCA Guatemala as Information

Analyst.

Where are you currently working and what does your job entail?

I am working at FINCA Guatemala, as an

Information Analyst. My main responsibilities are to

perform various analyses, assessments, and reports

for the Chief Operating Officer related to different

indicators of the credit portfolio. Additionally, I

monitor the progress of the key performance

indicators of the 30 branches and their loan officer




staff and I prepare presentations related to business

results to be presented to the Board of Directors.

Lastly, I follow up the goal achievement of non-credit

products (such as remittances, payments

transactions, etc.), and I provide support as

requested for analyses, assessments or reports of a

specific situation, such as benchmarking of the

Small Business Loan Product, incentives policy

proposal, response time analysis and new product

development.

Why did you choose the International Master of Microfinance for Entrepreneurship (IMME) at UAM?

I was involved in the financial sector and wanted to

specialize in microfinance because it is an industry

that, through innovation, has made a big social

impact. And in my search, the IMME was the most

complete and professional program about

microfinance. I was also confident to know that it had

the support from one of the most prestigious

universities in Spain.


One of the main advantages of the Master are its

professors and invited experts, who knew well how

to share their experience and knowledge in

microfinance. Another advantage is that the

program is very updated in the most recent

trends of microfinance and financial inclusion,

and it provides documentation and references

that I’ve been able to use in my current job. And

last but not least, one advantage, that in my opinion

is also one of the main advantages, is

networking. The Master gives you the opportunity

to meet a lot of great people who are experts and

very influential in the microfinance industry at the

global level.


It was very helpful for me. Before going back to my

country, I did some research about the microfinance

Industry here in Guatemala and made a list of the

main institution in which I would like to work. I was

quite surprised at how fast I could get a job. It took

me five weeks to sign my contract with the institution

I wanted to work with. The Master was a great

advantage for me because despite my little work

experience in microfinance they were willing to trust

me with this position which is helping me to grow

professionally.

Verónica Dos Santos

I was born in Asunción, Paraguay, in 1990. I

graduated from National University of Asuncion

in Economics with a specialization in

Microeconomics. During and after my studies, I

worked in the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), at

the Innovation Lab for the Inter-American

Development Bank Group (IADB). The Innovation

Lab conducts high-risk experiments to test new

models for engaging and inspiring the private sector




to solve economic development problems in Latin

America and the Caribbean.

For three years, I worked as a Project Analyst,

designing, implementing, and evaluating projects as

well as using the knowledge and innovation

generated through the projects to serve the

economic development in the region. I had the

opportunity to be involved in projects in areas of

financial inclusion to increase the availability of

formal savings and payment products and services,

and alternative distribution channels that, besides

being profitable to financial institutions, facilitate

access and adapt to the needs of the Paraguayan

low-income population.

Where are you currently working and what does your job entail?

I’m working in the Fundación Microfinanzas BBVA

Group, a non-profit institution created by the BBVA

Group in May 2007 as part of its corporate

responsibility strategy, and it focuses its activity on

financial inclusion, investing its budget on the

creation and consolidation of microfinance

institutions in seven countries in Latin America

(Colombia, Peru, Chile, Dominican Republic,

Panama, Puerto Rico and Argentina).

In order to perform the important mission, when I

started working at the Foundation in December

2014, we created a Corporate Campus,

Knowledge and Learning Centre for its 8,000

employees, a place where we offer training to help

staff prepare to work with vulnerable people who

have no access to the financial system. With this

idea, using innovative learning methodologies we

prepared and launched a program entitled

“Managers’ School”, a training project to promote

knowledge of microfinance among the managers of

the banks’ branch offices, based on the model of

Responsible Productive Finance. The managers in

the commercial network will receive specific

academic instruction about risks, customer service,

high-performance team management, leadership

and programs that contribute to ensuring that the

banks' products and services are more effective at

reaching out to greater numbers of entrepreneurs.

In the same line, we are designing and developing a

digital solution for providing information to increase

the financial capabilities, health and women's

empowerment and knowledge of low-income

individuals and their families. The more people know

how to build a family budget, access banking

services, and understand credit management, the




more likely they are to increase their savings, and

improve their financial health and well-being.

Why did you choose the International Master of Microfinance for Entrepreneurship (IMME) at UAM?

When I was working in the Multilateral Investment

Fund, I realized that in my country we didn't have

experts in microfinance. When we needed to hire

consultants or advisors to create products or

develop alternative distribution channels, we had to

search for professionals abroad. All the people who

were working in the field, were learning by doing and

had strong influences in the bank sector, without

experience and knowledge of how to best serve

vulnerable people, so we made a lot of mistakes.

For that reason, I started to search for microfinance

master programs. It was difficult to find one that

covered all the topics that I expected to learn, in

terms of financial risk and project management

lectures. This Master suited perfectly what I

was looking for.


For me the main advantages of the IMME are:

First of all, the Professors: their passion for the

subject, their knowledge of the field and also the

research and investigation skills to incentivize

students to work hard.

Classmates: people coming from different

parts of the world, with a lot of experiences,

enriching the classes with objective points of

views.

The Microfinance Project: put in to use all the

information and knowledge that we got in the

entire master program, with the creativity skills

of the students to develop an innovative project.


The IMME gave me the opportunity to apply for my

current job. I entered as an intern in the BBVA

Microfinance Foundation to fulfill the requirement for

the master degree and after that, the Foundation

proposed for me to stay in Madrid and work with

them, as a part of the organization.

The importance the Master’s gives to combine

theoretical training with practical experience is

helpful to start or continue your career in the

microfinance industry.

Why would you recommend the IMME to others?

I really recommend the IMME to others if they know

this field is what they love, and if improving the lives

of vulnerable people makes them happy and useful

for society.

I remember when a man said me: “Think what you

see yourself doing here in 10 years without any

money in your pocket.” That is what you have to do.



master microfinance uam - alumni interviews

Economy & Finance