KEY TOPIC 2020

NON-FINANCIAL OFFERING INTIMES OF COVID19 AND POST-

CRISIS:Profile of participants

The non-financial support to MSMEs is even more crucial in this period ofuncertainty than ever. It is imperative that development banks ensure acomplete support in this regard. The members of this group focus onidentifying the best practices, always aware of the importance of thegeographical and cultural context in which the support is given.

This Key Topic Group is composed of experts from the bank members of TheMontreal Group.

ANITA BEZEAU

Vice President, Client DeliveryBusiness Development Bank of Canada

(BDC)

Ms Bezeau was appointed VP, Solution Development & Delivery, BDC AdvisoryServices in  2018. In this role, she manages cross-functional teams ofspecialized business advisors across Canada, overseeing the execution ofclient projects and supporting new business development strategies.

Ms. Bezeau has more than 25 years of experience helping companies of allsizes transform and grow. Since joining BDC in  2006, Ms.  Bezeau hasoccupied a number of positions, including Vice President, Newfoundland andLabrador, where she was responsible for the adoption of new technologiesand processes while maintaining market growth on a $1B financing portfolio.In her role as Vice President, Small Business Advisory Services, she led thedevelopment and deployment of advisory solutions designed to address themost prevalent pain points of Canadian small businesses. Ms. Bezeau holdsan Executive Master of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University,a Master of Science from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Science fromMcGill University.

Contact information:anita.bezeau@bdc.ca

CLAUDIO RABELOFIGUEREDO

Manager, Digitalization DivisionBrazilian Development Bank (BNDES)

Cláudio Rabelo Figueredo is a business administrator graduated from theFederal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) with a specialization in Public Policiesand a master's degree in Public Policy, Strategy and Development from theInstitute of Economics of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Claudio has been at BNDES since 2008, having worked with micro and smallcompanies, management of institutional partnerships and training of strategicaudiences focusing on employees of BNDES’ first-floor operators. Currently, he acts as a development and relationship manager - financialagents in the Digital Operations and Channels Division, an area responsible foralmost all BNDES operations with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. He has recently participated as a mentor in the first edition of BNDESGaragem, BNDES startup accelerator program  and has also contributed to thedevelopment of the Banks’ digital platform to support micro, small andmedium-sized enterprises (Canal MPME).

Contact information:claudiorf@bndes.gov.br

FERNANDAGARAVINI

Fernanda Garivini has been an economist at BNDES since 2009. Previous to thisrole she was a governance analyst at Vale, one of the largest miners in theworld, whose mission is to transform natural resources into prosperity andsustainable development.

Garavini was also a product coordinator at Contax and an analyst at SulAmericaING.

Fernanda is a graduate from COPPEAD UFRJ (2006), ESSEC Business School(2005) and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (2002).

Contact information:fernanda.garavini@bndes.gov.br

ALEXANDREGUILLO

Accompaniement Department Banque Publique d'Investissement

(Bpifrance)

Alexandre Guillo is Head of Development of the Direction of Support atBpifrance. In this role, he is in charge of the development of BPI's offer andproducts to the SME and ETI ecosystem: consulting services, training andnetworking (individual or through the SME and ETI growth acceleratorprogrammes). Over the course of his career, Alexandre has participated inthe design and development of accelerator programmes in sectors such asagri-food, automotive, fashion and luxury, wood, energy transition, water andtourism and has been involved in the design of programmes to support localecosystems and neighborhoods.

As part of his functions, he is also responsible for developing and monitoringpartnerships with other public (ministries, communities and publicinstitutions) and private organisations (professional federations). Alexandrehas a degree in Political Science from Bordeaux and the University of Paris-Dauphine.

Contact information:alexandre.guillo@bpifrance.fr

ABDELMOUGHITEABDELMOUMEN

Head of Strategy and CooperationCaisse Centrale de Garantie

(CCG Finance, Morocco)

Abdelmoughite Abdelmoumen is the Head of Strategy and Cooperation atCCG Finance.  He has an experience totaling 18 years in public and privatesectors.

Prior to joining CCG Finance, he served as a Senior Manager at the strategy &financial consulting practices at Deloitte. As the Head of Strategy andCooperation, Abdelmoughite is in charge of guarantee/financing productdesign, strategic planning, special projects and international cooperation.

Abdelmoughite holds a master’s degree in Financial Engineering from SophiaAntipolis University (France) and a bachelor’s degree in Management from theENCG Business School (Morocco).

Contact information:a.abdelmoughite@ccg.ma

Head of Product Development & StrategicAlliances

Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN)

Theresa Lawal is the Head of Product Development & Strategic Alliances at theDevelopment Bank of Nigeria. She is responsible for developing specialized productsfor banks and strategic alliances with other MSME focused institutions & programsdirected at increasing access to finance for MSMEs in Nigeria in a sustainable manner.Her professional experience in the banking industry spans from BusinessDevelopment, Product Management & Solutions, DFI Relationship Management,Renewable Energy / Energy Efficiency finance Branch operations, Relationshipmanagement, Project management, Retail/ Consumer Banking, Commercial and MSMEbanking.

She has spent 12 out of her 20 years of professional experience working with MSMEs.She has always been an MSME advocate and continues to leverage on her role withinDBN to advocate for financial inclusion, sustainable financing and capacity building forthe underserved MSMEs.Theresa has a Bachelors degree in Political Science from the University of Lagos,Nigeria and an MSc in Finance from the Hofstra University, New York, USA. She is alsoan Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Banking in Nigeria (ACIB).

Contact information:tlawal@devbankng.com

THERESA LAWAL

NATALIA SANTOYORIVERA

Subdirector of Projects Financed by

International OrganizationsNacional Financiera de México

(NAFIN)

Natalia is a senior political analyst with professional experience in public policy,gubernamental issues and international cooperation within the development sector. In hercurrent role at NAFIN, she is responsible of attracting foreign investment from InternationalFinancial Institutions to finance projects and programs in Mexico, as well as being therepresentative of the bank in several forums and international and bilateral meetings. 

Previously she worked as the political assessor of the Mexican Ambassador at the OCDE,institution in which her work was devoted to the enactment of public policyrecommendations focused in economic growth and social wellbeing through anexamination of inclusive economic initiatives, sustainable development and digitaltransformation. 

She holds a Masters degree in International Development from the Paris School ofInternational Affairs (PSIA) of Sciences Po in Paris and a Bachelor’s degree in InternationalRelations from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) inGuadalajara. Natalia speaks English, French and Spanish.

Contact information:nsantoyo@nafin.gob.mx

HANNAALALÄÄKKÖLÄ

Development ManagerFinnvera Plc. (Finland)

Hanna is Development manager and has been acting as Finance Manager atFinnvera Plc., where she works since January 2011.

Hanna has wide experience of different tasks relating to corporate finance anddealing with customers, and is experienced in public relations with Finnvera’sregional key partners.

Before Finnvera, she was working in OP Financial Group for over five years whereshe held different positions at corporate finance.

Hanna has a BBA degree in Business Management, and is currently finalizing herMaster’s Degree in International Business Management (IMBA), at LaplandUniversity of Applied Sciences. Hanna has a qualification of Certified CreditAnalyst (CCA).

Contact information:hanna.alalaakkola@finnvera.fi

TURKI BINAKRASH

Division Manager, Credit RelationshipSaudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF)

Mr. Turki Akrash is Electrical Engineer, Charted Financial Analyst (CFA), CertifiedManagement Accountant (CMA) and a member of Saudi Arabia CFA Society. Hereceived intensive at Stanford University, Columbia University, and JP MorganChase & Co.

He served 8 years at SIDF Credit Business and currently leading a team ofprofessional analysts managing a portfolio of industrial loans of multi-billionSaudi riyals. Turki worked on the evaluation and monitoring of more than 120industrial projects in different scales and sectors. Turki also played a major roleduring SIDF Transformation in 2018 through different projects and initiatives.He introduced the Industrial Empowerment Hub (IEH) which is a virtual hubthat links SIDF to business incubators/accelerators and fund raisers to concertefforts to seek, encourage, educate, and develop industrial entrepreneurs tostart-up and grow Industrial Projects in the Kingdom. Through IEH, he workedon the establishment of Industrial Enterprise Accelerator, a businessaccelerator specialized in the industrial projects.

Contact information:t.akrash@sidf.gov.sa

MARIE DEPELSSEMAKER

AdviserSowalfin (Belgium)

Marie Depelssemaker is adviser at SOWALFIN Group since 2011. She isspecialized in transfers and acquisitions of businesses, international relationsand communication. Marie Depelssemaker is Secretary General of Transeo, theEuropean Association for Sales and Acquisitions of SMEs, founded bySOWALFIN Business Transfer Department (“SOWACCESS”). In this role, shemanages the network of +70 Members from all over the world: organization ofactivities for Members such as working groups and peer sharing, Europeanconferences, communication, advocacy, recruitment of new Members, … Shealso took part as expert in several EU Commission experts groups and panels.

Marie is also working as international public relations adviser in the SOWALFINGroup.  Before joining SOWALFIN, Mrs Depelssemaker worked as a translatorand communication/Public Relations consultant across diverse industries. MrsDepelssemaker holds a Master in Translation (English, Dutch, French).

Contact information:mdepelssemaker@sowaccess.be

The Montreal Group is a global forum for development banks focused on micro,

small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME). It is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 2012 to promote

international cooperation, mutual learning and exchange of technical expertiseamong its members. The Group’s name is derived from the city in which it was

founded, Montréal, Canada.

As of August 2020, members are:BDC (Canada), BNDES (Brazil), Bpi (France), CCG (Morocco), CDB (China), Finnvera(Finland), Nafinsa (Mexico), SIDF (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), SOWALFIN (Belgium)

Sandra D. PéloquinSecretary General | Secrétaire générale

Mabel Gonzalez

Operations Manager | Directrice des opérations

Maritere HernándezIntern | Stagiaire

The Montreal Group | Le Groupe de Montréalt: + 1 (514) 461-5957

secretariat@themontrealgroup.org

themontrealgroup.org