Since 2006, ADA, with the support of its partners, regularly organises Midis de la microfinance, one-hour lunchtime conferences on current microfinance and sustainable finance topics. Online or in person, the event is free of charge and open to anyone who wishes to participate. All you need to do is register online.

Supporting young entrepreneurs in developing countries
20 April 2022 from 12.00 to 13.00 (CET) at the auditorium of Banque de Luxembourg (Boulevard Royal 14 - Luxembourg)

Register Online

With Franz Fayot, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg.
The discussion will be followed by a reception until 14.00.

Join us on 20 April at Banque de Luxembourg for the next Midi de la microfinance to learn how financial inclusion can strengthen the contribution of young entrepreneurs (aged between 15 and 34) to the economy of the Global South. Nearly one in three people in the world is a young person and almost 90% of them live in low- and middle-income countries. Moreover, facing the prospect of unemployment, poverty, and vulnerable forms of employment, this young and dynamic segment of the population tends to look abroad for better opportunities.

We are honoured to welcome Franz Fayot, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg, as a panellist of the first Midi in Luxembourg in two years. Minister Fayot will be joined in the discussion by D^r. Alfred Hannig, Executive Director of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, and Patrick Losch, ADA Chairman. The panel will be moderated by Gerhard Coetzee, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Lead Customer Value.

This Midi will allow stakeholders to exchange experiences and to discuss their plans for fostering youth entrepreneurship in developing countries, a strategic focus area for Luxembourg and the global microfinance sector.

Feel free to submit any questions you may have for the panellists to communication@ada-microfinance.lu.

Please note that we may not be able to address all topics, we will therefore select the questions for the panel.

Programme :

Moderator :
Gerhard Coetzee, Lead Customer Value at CGAP

12.00 : Welcome address by Jean-Philippe Donge, Head of Fixed Income chez BLI – Banque de Luxembourg Investments

12.05 : Discussion between the speakers

• Franz Fayot, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg
• D^r. Hannig, Executive Director of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion
• Patrick Losch, ADA Chairman

12.55 : Closing remarks
13.00-14.00 : Lunch reception

The discussion will be in English (no translation will be provided).

Participation is free of charge, but please note that registration is mandatory.

Please arrive 5 minutes before the start of the event and use public transport, bearing in mind that the bank’s car park is reserved for clients.

A photographer will be present in the room, please inform him if you do not wish to be in the pictures.

Speakers :

Franz Fayot - Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg

Following secondary school studies at the Athénée de Luxembourg, Franz Fayot pursued a higher education in Luxembourg and Paris, followed by a DEA (post-graduate diploma of advanced studies) in corporate law from the Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in 1996. Following the cabinet reshuffle on 4 February 2020, Franz Fayot joined the coalition government formed by the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) and the Green Party (déi gréng). He was appointed Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs and Minister of the Economy.

A member of the LSAP since 1994, Franz Fayot became chairman of the LSAP in 2019. February 2020

Franz Fayot was elected to Parliament in 2013 and in 2018, as candidate for the LSAP in the constituency of the Centre. In Parliament, he assumed the role of rapporteur for the draft budget for 2015 and focused on public finances, cultural policy, as well as on social justice and poverty issues. From 1997 until his appointment to the government, Franz Fayot worked as a barrister in Luxembourg.

Patrick Losch - Chairman, ADA

After his university studies in political economy in Bonn and in project management in Nancy, Patrick Losch held various management positions in a Luxembourgish automotive group. In 2008, wanting to focus more on social and environmental development, Patrick decided to resign from his position and became an independent investor. He is dedicated to entrepreneurship in the areas of inclusive finance, with a focus on agricultural, forestry and energy in South Asia, West Africa and Central America.

Patrick co-initiated the Forestry and Climate Change Fund (FCCF) and became a member of the investment committee and board of directors of its umbrella fund Investing for Development (IforD). In parallel, he sits on the boards of numerous Luxembourgish associations, including Friendship Luxembourg asbl and Fondation Jean Hamilius junior. He is president of the Fondation Hëllef fir d’Natur de natur&emwelt and of ADA.

Patrick is passionate about forestry and manages his own forests in Luxembourg with sustainable methods.

Patrick has also completed the Executive Program for Growing Companies at Stanford Graduate Business School in California, the Executive Program on Financial Institutions for Private Enterprise Development at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Executive.

D^r Alfred Hannig - Executive Director - Alliance for Financial Inclusion(AFI)

D^r. Hannig is the Executive Director at AFI, a global network of 100 policymaking and regulatory institutions from about 90 countries, dedicated to providing the world’s unbanked safe access to the formal financial system through smart policy initiatives. As Executive Director, D^r. Hannig has overseen the growth of AFI from global start-up initiative with a few enthusiastic members into a global network and international organization of over 100 institutions.

In his current role, D^r. Hannig is responsible for leading AFI’s overall strategy and policy direction, as well as ensuring smooth operations across the network. As a member of the AFI Board of Directors and Head of the AFI Management Unit, he also acts as a liaison to ensure the effective running of programs while also overseeing the development of policy analysis, donor relations and member engagement.

As the public face of AFI, he takes an active role in championing the network’s global policy leadership in financial inclusion and its innovative cooperation model among financial regulators in emerging and developing economies.

Before officially launching AFI in 2008, D^r. Hannig spent three years leading the design and development of AFI’s unique institutional peer to peer knowledge network concept, aimed at scaling up financial inclusion policy and regulatory solutions that have proven successful in developing and emerging countries. Prior to his work at AFI, D^r. Hannig worked extensively with Bank Indonesia, Bank of Uganda, Bolivia’s Superintendencia de Bancos, German Technical Cooperation and Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Gerhard Coetzee - Lead Customer Value, CGAP

Gerhard Coetzee leads the customer value team at CGAP, including customer segments and insights, protection and value, and is also responsible for Gateway Academy, a digital learning platform. He is an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Stellenbosch Business School.

Before CGAP, Mr. Coetzee was Head of Inclusive Banking at Absa Bank (South Africa) responsible for its branchless banking proposition, founder and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Banking in Africa, Professor in Agricultural Economics at the University of Pretoria, technical lead and CEO of a consulting firm (owned by DAI) and had several senior roles at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. His specialization areas are development finance, financial inclusion, agricultural finance, and rural development. He is published widely and has worked in several countries, the majority in Africa.
Mr. Coetzee holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is fluent in Afrikaans.

JEAN-PHILIPPE DONGE - Head of Fixed Income - Banque de Luxembourg Investments

In 2001, after an initial series of experiences at financial institutions including BNY Mellon and Brown Brothers Harriman, Jean-Philippe Donge joined BLI – Banque de Luxembourg Investments, as a corporate bond financial analyst.

Jean-Philippe is currently in charge of bond market management and research. Emerging markets account for a significant proportion of the management methodology. His many years of experience, from sovereign debt to impact investing, have given Jean-Philippe an in-depth knowledge of the different categories of assets associated with these markets. This expertise is backed by a dedicated research team and the generation of convictions to feed into the construction of bond portfolios.

In addition to microfinance and impact investing in general, the team and the methodology established by Jean-Philippe are also designed to provide an optimum response to sustainable development objectives. In 2020, he competed the Oxford Impact Investing Programme of the Said Business School - University of Oxford.

Jean-Philippe has an Engineering degree from the Université Catholique de Louvain.

Midi de la microfinance, a panel discussion on various inclusive finance topics with a Q&A session, followed by a lunch reception, takes place at lunch time from 12.00 to 14.00.

The 54th edition is organized by ADA, with the support of the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs and InFiNe.lu network, and in collaboration with Banque de Luxembourg.