MFN STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

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Enrique Majos

Network Chairman

Enrique Majós serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Gentera1, a holding company focused in financial services for the low-income segment, with operations in Mexico and Peru.

He holds a degree in Electromechanical Engineering from Universidad Panamericana and a MBA from the Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresa (IPADE).

Majós has been part of Gentera for over 20 years. Prior to that, he worked at Citibank and CitiBanamex for 10 years, where he held various positions within Consumer Banking. Additionally, he is the President of The Microfinance Network, a global network of Microfinance institutions with members from the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
He has participated in numerous national and international forums, as well as executive programs at globally recognized institutions such as IPADE, Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Management, and The Boulder Institute of Microfinance, to name a few.
(1)Gentera’s mission is to boost dreams by addressing financial needs with a human touch. Its subsidiaries include Compartamos Banco, Compartamos Financiera, Yastás, Aterna, ConCrédito, and Fundación Compartamos. Currently, the group serves over 5.4 million clients in Mexico and Peru and employs over 25,000 people.

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Aria Widyanto

Aria is the President Director of Amartha Mikro Fintek and Group Chief Risk and Sustainability Officer (CRSO) of Amartha group companies, one of the largest digital micro-SME lenders in Indonesia. Amartha focuses its mission on providing affordable financial services and mentorship for women micro-entrepreneurs living in rural areas. Aria also serves as the Advocate for Women Empowerment at G20 EMPOWER, representing Indonesia’s private sectors at the G20. 

Before joining Amartha, Aria was a banker at MUFG Bank and Citibank NA. Aria received the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Fellowship award from President Obama in June 2015 for his contribution to promoting public-private partnerships, particularly in rural finance sector innovation, financial inclusion, and women’s empowerment. Aria holds a Bachelor’s degree from Gadjah Mada University, a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development from SOAS University of London, and is a Ph.D. candidate in international and rural development at the University of Reading, UK, with specific research on digital transformation for rural communities and the grassroots economy.

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Cynthia Ikponmwosa

Cynthia Ikponmwosa is the Managing Director of LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited, a leading microfinance institution committed to social and economic empowerment of members of low-income households and owners of micro small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. Cynthia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Edo State University (Ambrose Alli University) Ekpoma, and a Master of Laws in Corporate Governance and Law from the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administration (ICSA) London, a Certified Microfinance Banker (MCIB) of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and a member of the Compliance Institute, Nigeria. 

She has attended several management programmes in leading educational institutions including the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany, and the Lagos Business School.  Cynthia has been the service of LAPO Microfinance Bank for over 20 years, providing strategic managerial and executive leadership in Governance, Legal Compliance and People Management. 

LAPO Microfinance Bank is committed to improving lives through the provision of easy access to value-driven financial services in a sustainable manner. LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited has an extensive foot print serving over 6million clients in 34 out of the 36 states in Nigeria through its network 536 branches employing 7,000 Nigerian youths.

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Hassan Faried

  • Hassan has 40 years of in-depth and diverse work experience, CEO of DBACD, (NGO) focused in Financial Inclusion for low-income segment for 26 years, Hassan has 15 years of experiences in Interaction development programs funded by: World Bank – USA
    CIDA, Sanabel Chairman (Microfinance network for Arab countries) 2010- 2014.
  • Currently, Sanabel Board member and MFN steering committee member.
  • Hassan holds a Bachelor degree of Science, (Geology Major) – Mansoura University, Egypt.
  • Hassan participated in several International Microfinance Executive programs:
    • Boulder microfinance training programs – Boulder Microeconomic Institute – USA.
    • Harvard business school – ACCION’s program on strategic leadership for microfinance – Harvard business school (HBS), Boston, USA
    • Making microfinance work- managing product diversification (ILO)- Turin, Italy.
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Verónica Gavilanes Véjar

Verónica Gavilanes is the General Manager of BancoSol* in Bolivia. She is a prominent Ecuadorian leader, committed to inclusive economic and social development. With more than 25 years of experience in the financial sector, she is an expert in financial inclusion, sustainable development, change management, organizational culture and digital transformation.

Verónica served for more than two decades in Ecuador’s leading financial group, as General Manager of Pichincha Microfinanzas, where she led the country’s most extensive financial inclusion operation.

Before assuming her position as General Manager of BancoSol in Bolivia on January 1, 2025, Verónica was Deputy General Manager of the same entity for three years. During this period, she promoted BancoSol’s digital transformation and sustainability strategy. She also led the creation of the ‘Avanza Mujer’ smart banking model with a gender focus, designed to boost women-led businesses, and the issuance of the Avanza Mujer BancoSol 1 Social Bonds, the first gender-labeled bond in Bolivia.

*BancoSol was founded more than three decades ago as the first commercial and regulated microfinance bank in the world. It opened the doors of the financial system to people who were excluded from formal financing through a microcredit technology that positioned the bank as a world leader and was also a case study three times at Harvard University in the United States. It currently serves 1.5 million clients and employs over 4.200 people.

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Michael Schlein

Since 2009, Michael Schlein has served as President and CEO of Accion, a global nonprofit on a mission to create a fair and inclusive economy where underserved people have quality financial choices and opportunities to improve their economic well-being. He brings 30 years of extensive international banking and public service leadership to his role, including more than 12 years at Citigroup, where he led the international franchise management as well as communications, philanthropy, and human resources. During his tenure as CEO, Michael has built Accion into a leading early-stage investor in fintech for inclusion and an expert in the digital transformation of financial service providers. Accion works to develop and scale cheaper, more accessible, and customer-friendly financial solutions for underserved people globally.