Bankers without Borders provides volunteers with professional skills and expertise to support social enterprises dedicated to alleviating poverty. Their volunteers have supported over 210 social enterprises in 43 countries, donating over 230,000 hours worth an estimated $22.6 million. The organization aligns their work with UN Sustainable Development Goals and has a high satisfaction rate from both volunteers and social enterprises. They recognize exemplary volunteers during Pro Bono Week to highlight their impact.

2. At Bankers without Borders, we know our volunteers are our most
valuable resource. Your skills and expertise help accelerate the progress of
social entrepreneurs dedicated to connecting the poor to their potential,
and support our mission to end abject poverty. Our volunteers have
supported more than 210 social enterprises in 43 countries and have
donated more than 230,000 hours of their time to serve on over 1,000
projects. That’s worth more than $22.6 million dollars in in-kind services!
Since the announcement of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) by the United Nations in September 2015, a set of seventeen
aspirational global goals to help end poverty, protect the planet, and
ensure prosperity for all, more companies are aligning their human
capital investment through employee volunteering in the service of
the sustainable development agenda. Bankers without Borders is
proud to support the SDGs and is actively working towards fulfilling at
least 10 of the goals.
The impact on the volunteers and the social enterprises served remain
as strong where we continuously achieve over 95% satisfaction from
both parties. One of our volunteers recently noted:
“Bankers Without Borders served as a refreshing alternative to the day-
to-day, allowing me to apply professional skills in areas and markets I
would have otherwise overlooked. The engagement changed my
perspective on potential areas of long-term growth and investment for
my company”—Zachary Garman, Capco.
As Bankers without Borders celebrates Pro Bono Week, we’re
recognizing a few of our most inspiring volunteers. Together, we
hope that one day, we will be able to put poverty in the museum.
Wells Fargo volunteers with the Grameen-Jameel Team in Dubai
Vanderbilt University volunteers in Ghana Wells Fargo volunteers in Manila
University of Maryland volunteers encounter wildlife while volunteering in India

3. Angeley was first introduced to microcredit through her experiences in LATAM
and the Caribbean. She witnessed banks helping local entrepreneurs and realized
how this simple investment in the community can completely change the local
economy and lives. Returning to the US, she was introduced to the Grameen
Foundation in 2012 and began a multi-year effort to work on project based
initiatives involving technology, marketing, and microfinance. Her work with
Grameen Foundation has spanned brand initiatives in Columbia to technology
initiatives in India. She also acts as a Volunteer Advisor to Grameen Foundation on
Marketing and Strategy. Her favorite projects are those which can immediately
have impact on changing lives, local economies, and the way that business
operates.
An accomplished marketing, strategy, and business development professional,
Angeley has been successful bringing businesses and ideas to market. Her
experience is broad across multiple industries including E-commerce, finance,
retail, and SaaS/ Internet. She has led marketing for global exports at Amazon.com
as well as business development projects at Lehman Brothers. She has led major
globally trademarked campaigns, key country launches, and strategic partnerships
with Square, Discover Card, and American Express.
_________________________________________________________
“I encourage everyone to utilize their skills for
organizations and/or initiatives that they are
passionate about. You just might end up changing
the world!”
________________________________________________________
For Angeley, Bankers without Borders has been a life changing experience. “I have
been a long time supporter of the Grameen Foundation and Bankers without
Borders because of their focus on improving the lives of communities through
entrepreneurship. Microcredit financing for individual business owners lifts the
community by supporting the local economy. Working with members of Grameen
Foundation has been an absolute joy and a wonderful way to use my technology
and marketing skills to make a direct impact on people's lives! I encourage
everyone to utilize their skills for organizations and/or initiatives that they are
passionate about... You just might end up changing the world!”

4. Emily is a seasoned human
resources and organizational
development executive with a
successful career in various
aspects of people-related
initiatives and areas of
responsibility. Emily started her
career as an employment
lawyer. After a few years of
counseling corporate clients,
she realized she wanted to have hands-on experience in human resources
management. When the opportunity arose, she moved to the financial services
industry where she worked in various people-related roles in banking, brokerage
and the insurance sector. In 2013, Emily had the opportunity to take a hiatus from
her long corporate career and decided it was time to fulfill one of her lifetime
goals, to contribute her time and skills to make an impact on social responsible
endeavors.
Bankers without Borders gave me the opportunity to use my skills and experience
in a truly meaningful and rewarding way. I had reached a point in my career
where I needed to do something different paying forward all the blessings and
benefits I had received in both my personal and professional life. Through
Bankers without Borders, I was able to use my skills and contribute my time to
help a client organization in Cambodia that provides microfinance loans as a tool
for poverty alleviation. While fulfilling my goal of making a meaningful impact, I
was greatly rewarded. I learned significantly from working in a different
environment and culture as well as from new perspectives and approaches to
people management, problem solving and conflict management. It was truly
amazing to use the skills I developed in the corporate world in a personally
gratifying way while making a meaningful contribution to help others rise above
poverty.
Since my volunteer assignment through Bankers without Borders, I have kept in
contact with my friends at both the client organization I served and at Bankers
without Borders. Their commitment has inspired me to continue working on
socially responsible initiatives. Recently, I became a certified mediator. Along with
a group of like-minded colleagues, I have founded an organization to provide
training on conflict resolution and mediation services in our community. I am
actively involved in creating community awareness of mediation as an alternative
to conflict resolution and providing mediation services to community
organizations and their members.
I am grateful to the Grameen Foundation and Bankers without Borders for their
mission and for giving me the opportunity to serve others in such a fulfilling way.
I look forward to future projects with Bankers without Borders.
_________________________________________________________
“Bankers without Borders gave me the opportunity
to use my skills and experience in a truly meaningful
and rewarding way. I had reached a point in my
career where I needed to do something different
paying forward all the blessings and benefits I had
received in both my personal and professional life.”
________________________________________________________

5. In his day-to-day, Giacinto manages cross-functional business analysis and
provides advisory support on several strategic global initiatives at JPMorgan
Chase. His career spanned significant management roles in the Middle East, South
Africa, Latin America and across Europe.
His involvement with Bankers without Borders was not his first volunteering
experience. He is an active mentor at The Young Foundation, helping social
ventures acquire the skills to secure substantial social investment, contracts and/or
grant funding and he has volunteered for skills based workshops to offer business
advice to charities and social start-ups. In his free time, he loves traveling,
trekking, snowboarding and sailing. One of his trips resulted in the publishing of a
photographic book, “Kò, Travelling in Myanmar”, of which part of the proceeds
benefited the UNHCR.
As part of a Bankers without Borders assignment, Giacinto consulted on a project
that tackles youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
region. The youth unemployment rate in MENA exceeds that of any other region
in the world. There is a shortage of good jobs for youth and young people often
lack the skills needed by the business community. Giacinto and his team worked
alongside Grameen-Jameel, Grameen Foundation’s joint venture in Dubai, to
identify scalable and sustainable solutions to match the growing size of this
challenge. The team recommended key steps to move the initiative from just the
analysis into the implementation phase, providing a road map for Grameen-
Jameel to move the needle on addressing a critical need in the region.
_________________________________________________________
“I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to
partner with Bankers without Borders, on a project
that aims to tackle youth unemployment in the
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Besides
being an incredibly rewarding experience for me, it is
great to be part of programs like these that will have
a positive impact on the future of a country’s
economy and the next generation of talent.”
_________________________________________________________

6. Gracie learned about the Grameen
Foundation while at the University of
Virginia (UVa), where her Latin
American studies included
development coursework. Through
UVa, she received a Jefferson Public
Citizens research grant to lead an
undergraduate team to Bolivia to
survey microfinance banks. She
visited various banks, including those
which provided non-financial services
for women, and interviewed
hundreds of female clients around La Paz to understand the impact of loans on
women's relationships with husbands and families. The research ignited her
interest in microfinance, specifically as a financial tool for female empowerment.
Now as a financial services consultant with Capco, Gracie worked as a business
analyst and program manager on a large scale technology platform
implementation.
Gracie has volunteered with the Grameen Foundation through Bankers without
Borders since 2015, beginning with a project management role on a team
implementing a data analysis tool for the Kenyan Musoni bank. Motivated by the
impact of the Musoni project, Gracie worked to establish a second Capco-Bankers
without Borders project; since June, Gracie has led a Capco team to research the
needs, opportunities, and barriers that inhibit women globally from using digital
financial services. The team collected a wide breadth of data on six markets and
delved into female financial habits, access to technology, and financial service use
by women globally. Among some of the most interesting takeaways was the
universal interest in digital products; across nearly all markets, women indicated
they would use digital financial services if they had access to these services. This
project has provided Gracie with a new perspective on the future of microfinance,
as the industry adopts technological developments which will more easily enable
women to access financial products.
"I was thrilled to be part of a team researching solutions for the digital gender
divide, which was personally meaningful for me as I am passionate about women's
economic development and have long aspired to work with the Grameen
Foundation. Especially cool was Grameen Foundation's thoughtful and deliberate
alignment of our team with this project impacting women around the world, as
the sponsorship came out of Capco's International Women's Day pledge for parity.
The opportunity to work with and learn from Lisa Kienzle, the Global Financial
Services Director at Grameen Foundation, was incredible as she provided insight
into data trends and served as a critical resource for our team. I hope our research
will provide support for initiatives to increase women's access to digital financial
services, and look forward to seeing Grameen's work in this space as it continues
to drive and reshape global microfinance!"
_________________________________________________________
“I was thrilled to be part of a team researching
solutions for the digital gender divide, which was
personally meaningful for me as I am passionate
about women's economic development... Especially
cool was Bankers without Borders’ thoughtful and
deliberate alignment of our team with this project
impacting women around the world, as the
sponsorship came out of Capco's International
Women's Day pledge for parity.”
________________________________________________________

7. Genni Minissali has
worked in the
digital marketing
industry for 10
years. She has
spent the past four
years working in
advertising sales at
Google while also
dedicating a
portion of her time
to working with
Google for Nonprofits, where she consulted with over 200 nonprofits to help them
with their media strategy and organizational efficiency.
In May 2016, Google volunteers spent three weeks in Accra, Ghana, working with
non-profit organizations on bridging the digital divide and driving socio-economic
transformation in disadvantaged communities through Global Leadership. Global
Leadership is a leadership development and volunteering opportunity where a
group of Googler employees are chosen each quarter to work with NGOs, and
entrepreneurs to address global humanitarian challenges in local communities and
emerging markets. Genni worked with a small team of Googler employees to help
develop a data driven marketing strategy for Global Mamas, a community
comprised of thousands of people around the world working together with the
mission of creating prosperity for African women & their families. The organization
helps women create and sell unique, handmade products.
The volunteer consultancy resulted in a 700% increase in retail sales for Global
Mamas!
________________________________________________________
“What an amazing experience personally and
professionally!”
________________________________________________________
While in Ghana, Genni was also able to volunteer with public school
children during an information technology exposure outreach

8. Jerry strives to give back every day through his work, in interacting with people on
the phone, in meetings and through email. Early in his technology career, Jerry
worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the
Department of State. After building systems and organizations within the U.S.
Government, and the Insurance, Brokerage and Banking industries, Jerry
volunteered in early 2015 to build houses in El Salvador with Habitat for
Humanity, Thrivent Financial, and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Lutheran
Churches. He found the effort rewarding and appreciated the direct impact his
work had on the lives of people seeking to escape poverty and create a better
future for themselves and their families.
Also in 2015, Jerry was selected to be a Wells Fargo Global Fellow and was
assigned to a project in Manila, Philippines assisting the microfinance organization
Ahon Sa Hirap Inc (ASHI). ASHI serves its more than 30,000 women members
through micro loans to help the members and their families “Rise up from
Poverty.” Jerry and the team of volunteers held field interviews with borrowers and
ASHI field staff to understand their operations, technology, financial and Human
Resource processes. The team then reviewed ASHI’s strategic plan and validated
the overall direction while making recommendations designed to incorporate the
needs of field staff and members. It was hard work, but the efforts were
appreciated by everyone at ASHI, and Jerry looks forward to engaging in similar
assignments in the future.
_________________________________________________________
“I have been blessed to have been born in a place
where resources and opportunities are readily
available. As we conducted interviews in the field,
we heard heart wrenching stories that at times
brought tears to our eyes but also motivated us to
do everything we could. The work was not easy but
I only wanted to do more as I boarded the plane to
return to my work at home.”
________________________________________________________

9. Joel Berger is responsible for
the development of the media
and entertainment markets for
Google in Germany.
Previously, Joel Berger was the
Managing Director of Fox
Interactive Media Germany,
and the social networking
portal MySpace in Germany
and Northern Europe. Prior to
that, he was a member of the
management board at MTV
Networks Germany where he was in charge of Digital Media and marketing for
four channels of the MTV Networks Group (MTV, VIVA, NICK, Comedy Central).
As part of a volunteer assignment in May 2016, Google volunteers spent three
weeks in Accra, Ghana, working with non-profit organizations on bridging the
digital divide and driving socio-economic transformation in disadvantaged
communities through Global Leadership. Global Leadership is a leadership
development and volunteering opportunity where a group of Googler employees
are chosen each quarter to work with NGOs, and entrepreneurs to address global
humanitarian challenges in local communities and emerging markets. Together
with a small team of colleagues, Joel worked closely with Global Mamas, an
organization in Ghana comprised of thousands of people around the world
working together with the mission of creating prosperity for African women &
their families, to help turnaround their sales which had been declining due to a
decrease in tourism in the recent years following the Ebola outbreak.
Joel and his team developed an excellent digital marketing strategy that
immediately resulted in increased sales for the organization!
________________________________________________________
“I enjoyed the whole experience of working with my
team and the Global Mamas to make a positive
difference!”
________________________________________________________
Joel at the Global Mamas clothing factory

10. Karuna is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of experience in banking and
management consultancy and is currently the Country Head at Elara Capital Plc in
the UAE. She held senior management positions with global organizations over
the years with achievements in business development, cost saving, process
improvement and client/ employee engagement.
Karuna is passionate about using her professional expertise for philanthropic work
and got interested in being involved with Grameen Foundation’s work in Kenya.
Bankers without Borders connected her with our local office in Nairobi where she
provided virtual advisory support on credit and lean banking operations for an
innovative pilot health financing project to enable the urban poor to pay for
urgent primary health services, micro insurance and receive health information
through the mobile phone.
.
_________________________________________________________
“My passion for fairness and the effective use of
resources helps me not only at work, it also helps
me create the space to work voluntarily as a finance
and process expert for community based projects,
including global development organizations like
Grameen Foundation and the Bankers without
Borders program.’’
________________________________________________________

11. Magda Wust has worked at the
cutting edge of technology for
the past 8 years. At Google, her
focus is on global customer care.
Her volunteering engagement in
the past has usually taken some
form of coaching - from helping
foster care kids with homework,
to career development in a
corporate world, and multi-
cultural competence in
increasingly diverse populations.
In her free time, Magda loves exploring the beauty of the world through travel
and culinary experience. She loves yoga, and enjoys long walks in San Francisco,
California, where she currently lives.
As part of a volunteer assignment, Google volunteers spent three weeks in Accra,
Ghana, in May 2016, working with non-profit organizations on bridging the digital
divide and driving socio-economic transformation in disadvantaged communities
through Global Leadership. Global Leadership is a leadership development and
volunteering opportunity where a group of Googler employees are chosen each
quarter to work with NGOs, and entrepreneurs to address global humanitarian
challenges in local communities and emerging markets. Magda worked with a
small team of volunteers to help develop a data driven marketing strategy for
Global Mamas, a community comprised of thousands of people around the world
working together with the mission of creating prosperity for African women &
their families.
“I’ve been genuinely impressed with how many women Global Mamas work with
(~400!) and how well the organization is run, from customer-centric focus on
quality, through specialization allowing for efficiency, and to the well-being and
general job satisfaction of the Mamas!”
_________________________________________________________
‘During my volunteer consultancy, I learnt to
appreciate the resilience and strong will of the
people. I’ve been very grateful for the welcoming
attitude, friendliness and smiles from everyone
around. It's been an incredible experience that's
going to have a long lasting effect on me. Not only
did I feel that I made a difference with invaluable
BwB support on the ground but I've definitely grown
as a leader and person!’
______________________________________________________
Magda trying her hand at batiking at Global Mamas

12. Maya is a seasoned banking professional with extensive experience in credit risk
management. She has worked on several trade finance, acquisition financing and
credit restructuring transactions throughout career, having also developed a
specialization in the Brazilian agribusiness industry. She first learned about
Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders program through her employer,
J.P. Morgan, where each year, tens of thousands of employees volunteer their time
and expertise to help nonprofit organizations and people in underserved
neighborhoods worldwide.
Maya began her Bankers without Borders volunteer journey in June 2015 working
with a small team of volunteers to develop a theory of change for Gastromotiva,
an organization whose mission is to spread the potential, power, and responsibility
of gastronomy as an agent of change. Through vocational kitchen training focused
on vulnerable youth in Brazil, Gastromotiva is working to transform society and
bring people to alleviate inequality. In her role as a volunteer, Maya was able to
help Gastromotiva define their vision of success and think strategically about their
long-term vision. She helped develop a theory of change that will enhance the
capacity of the organization and its initiatives to achieve its goals and
demonstrate impact. The theory of change will not only help ground planning and
strategy for Gastromotiva but also play a critical role in evaluating impact.
“This was my first project with BwB and also the first time I engaged in a skill-
based volunteering project. It was great to learn more about the non-profit and
social enterprise space. I'm already working on my second BwB project and feeling
highly rewarded for being able to contribute my skills to generate social impact.
I'm very grateful to BwB and J.P. Morgan for the opportunity to work with such an
inspiring organization”- Maya Yonehara.
Although the volunteer project Maya undertook had long ended, Gastromotiva
remains thankful for the contribution and has already implemented some of the
recommendations in their internal processes. Maya also kept in touch with the
organization, and served as a volunteer in the Refettorio Gastromotiva project
during the Rio Olympic Games 2016.
_________________________________________________________
“This was my first project with BwB and also the first
time I engaged in a skill-based volunteering project.
It was great to learn more about the non-profit and
the social enterprise space. I'm already working on
my second BwB project and feeling highly rewarded
for being able to contribute my skills to generate
social impact. I'm very grateful to BwB and J.P.
Morgan for the opportunity to work with such an
inspiring organization”
________________________________________________________

13. Rahim is presently pursuing a dual
degree in civil engineering at
Western University's Faculty of
Engineering and business at the
Ivey Business School. Entering his
third year of university, he was
keen on pursuing an internship in
the corporate world because of the
immense technical and personal
learnings that are offered. He was
also interested in learning more
about global initiatives that are
bridging the poverty gap – an unnatural and unfair circumstance. This desire led
Rahim to contact Bankers without Borders to find out more about the program
and how he could contribute his skills and time.
Rahim was placed as a Finance and Operations Intern with Natural Extracts
Industries (NEI), a social enterprise pioneering sustainable extraction of natural
flavors in Tanzania and accelerating the economic development of small holder
farmers by adding value to their local crops.
“I was exposed to a host of issues that the company faced – those inherent to
doing business in Tanzania, and those inherent to being a social enterprise. The
insights that I got from my volunteering assignment not only satisfied my
curiosity, but also allowed me to learn about the various skills and experiences
that are prerequisites for working in a development setting.”
At NEI, I worked on a diverse set of responsibilities such as financial modelling,
value chain research, and value chain information management systems, which
were challenging but were real life problems that the company needed to solve
for. This allowed me to grow my own capabilities and understand the world of
social impact!
________________________________________________________
“BwB allowed me to give much due appreciation to
the work that is going on around the world to pull
people out of poverty. Working for a social
enterprise was truly rewarding from the first phone
call with the Founder, to the last performance review
conversation. During my time with NEI, not only was
I consistently challenged with different assignments,
but I was also taught about the key issues in starting
up and running a sustainable social enterprise. This
experience was infinitely enlightening and was a
foundational stepping stone for my journey in the
social impact space.”
______________________________________________________

14. Ranjan is an Equity Research Analyst at
JPMorgan Chase. He graduated as an
Aerospace Engineer from IIT Kanpur,
the premier technical college in India.
As an Equity Research Analyst, his job
entails complex financial analysis of
listed companies and industry trends to
make investment recommendations to
portfolio managers. Ranjan found out
about Bankers without Borders program
through his employer, where tens of
thousands of employees volunteer their time and expertise each year to help
nonprofit organizations and people in underserved neighborhoods worldwide.
Ranjan teamed up with two other volunteers to review and redesign Grameen-
Jameel’s due diligence process to serve more quickly and more efficienty more
microfinance partners and more micro-entrepreneurs. During the project, the team
leveraged their extensive financial analysis experience to build a comprehensive
and robust financial model. The model will allow Grameen-Jameel to conduct
more detailed quantitative analysis of microfinance institutions in the future. The
volunteer team closely reviewed Grameen-Jameel’s due-diligence policies to
ensure they are in line with industry best-practices. Grameen-Jameel management
highly appreciated the final deliverables and have already started implementing
the recommendations.
From left: Siva Ramji (Grameen Jameel CFO), Ranjan Sharma (JPMC Volunteer),
Patrizia Dodaro (BwB Officer MENA region).
________________________________________________________
“Working with Grameen-Jameel was a challenging
but rewarding experience. At the beginning, we were
unfamiliar with the due diligence process of
microfinance institutions. We had to familiarize
ourselves with the MFI industry and study the
manuals for best-practices in analyzing MFIs. We
earnestly hope that our volunteer work makes a
meaningful contribution to Grameen Jameel’s
objective to alleviate poverty in the MENA region.”
_________________________________________________________

15. Sarah Simpkins is a graduate student at the University of Maryland’s School of
Public Policy where she studies international development. She received her
Bachelor’s degree in English literature at Bates College in 2010 where she spent
several semesters abroad studying development and international migration.
Following graduation, Sarah worked for international non-profit organizations
designing development programs primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa in the areas of
infectious disease eradication, community health, child protection, and economic
strengthening. For the past six months, Sarah has interned at the Department of
State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration where she supports
programs in West Africa.
In January 2016, Sarah worked with a team of University of Maryland students to
conduct a baseline sanitation survey for Youthreach, a Bankers without Borders
non-profit partner based in India. Over the course of three weeks, the team
piloted data collection tools, conducted key interviews, and analyzed data to
better understand local sanitation practices. The effort helped inform the
organization about the social acceptability of various toilet models and how to
adapt behavior change messages to highlight respondents’ perceptions of toilet
advantages including convenience, privacy and social status.
“My experience with Bankers without Borders and Youthreach in India was a
fantastic opportunity to apply textbook learning to a real-world situation. After
designing questionnaires from the comfort of our own desks, we were incredibly
humbled by the openness and candor of many of the survey participants who
welcomed us into their homes despite the intrusive nature of the survey. These
kinds of important professional development opportunities are invaluable to
young professionals and I am incredibly grateful to the wonderful staff at
Youthreach and Bankers without Borders for making this consultancy happen.”
_________________________________________________________
“My experience with Bankers without Borders and
Youthreach in India was a fantastic opportunity to
apply textbook learning to a real-world situation.
After designing questionnaires from the comfort of
our own desks, we were incredibly humbled by the
openness and candor of many of the survey
participants who welcomed us into their homes
despite the intrusive nature of the survey.”
_________________________________________________________

16. Susan has worked in domestic and
international commercial banking and
financial product management for
more than 30 years and has been with
Wells Fargo in Southern California
since 2000. During her career, she has
been able to travel extensively on
assignments in North America, Europe,
the Far East and the Pacific Rim.
Susan is a passionate volunteer and a
strong believer in giving back. Whether
it is writing a grant proposal,
organizing a community gala or school
fundraiser, caring for animals at Seal
Beach Animal Care Center, exercising
with seniors and the disabled, or
packing boxes and serving meals at
her local food bank, Susan is always
eager to provide assistance to organizations, causes or people in need. Susan and
her husband often volunteer together and have made wonderful new friends,
gained new skills, and adopted several pets along the way.
This year, Susan was selected by Wells Fargo as a Global Fellow to volunteer with
Bankers without Borders. She led a small team of U.S.-based volunteers to conduct
a landscape analysis of the financing market in the Middle East/Northern Africa
region and help Grameen-Jameel, a joint venture of Grameen Foundation in
Dubai, develop a fund dedicated to small and medium enterprises.
_________________________________________________________
“I had an experience of a lifetime to spend six weeks
in Dubai working with employees and Board of
Grameen-Jameel, to help set up a new fund for
micro, small and medium enterprise lending. The
immersive exposure to microfinance and different
cultures in the region was fascinating, everyday! It
was wonderful to coordinate with the strategy team
lead, other volunteers, outside attorneys, fund
experts and bankers, and most especially to work
on-site with the incredibly hospitable, warm, and
multi-cultural team, management, and Board of
Directors of Grameen-Jameel.”
_________________________________________________________

17. Zach was introduced to the Grameen Foundation through a passionate co-worker,
whose enthusiasm about microfinance encouraged him to research volunteer
opportunities with Bankers Without Borders. Zach identified with the foundation's
unique approach to alleviating poverty, empowering the world's poor to reach
their potential by supplying tools and educational support, and was excited to
learn he could translate the professional skills he was beginning to develop in the
financial services industry to projects that directly impacted the lives of those in
the communities being served.
As a financial services consultant at Capco, Zach has worked as a program
manager and business analyst, with experience in both the Mortgage and
Commercial Banking industries. Zach first volunteered with Bankers Without
Borders in 2015, supporting the development of a suite of risk analysis tools for
the Kenyan Musoni Bank. Zach enjoyed providing support to the Musoni team as
it worked to enhance its financial controls, enabling the bank to provide better
products and services to a broader range of customers. Having been exposed to
the tangible and immediate impact of skills-based volunteering, Zach was excited
to have the opportunity in early 2016 to lead a team of researchers analyzing the
needs, opportunities, and barriers inhibiting women from accessing financial
services. Through detailed analysis of six target markets, the team identified key
areas of focus to inform Grameen's approach for addressing and eliminating the
digital gender divide.
"Bankers without Borders served as a refreshing alternative to the day-to-day,
allowing me to apply professional skills in areas and markets I would have
otherwise overlooked. Professionally, this project changed my perspective on
potential areas of long-term growth and investment for our firm. I am sincerely
grateful to the Bankers Without Borders and the Grameen Foundation team for
the opportunity to work on such interesting and challenging projects and engage
with such truly passionate people. I am excited to share my experience with
others, and am looking forward to continuing to support their mission through
the rest of my professional career!"
_________________________________________________________
“Bankers without Borders served as a refreshing
alternative to the day-to-day, allowing me to apply
professional skills in areas and markets I would have
otherwise overlooked.”
________________________________________________________