Opening Remarks
Fatima Yasmin, Vice President for Sectors and Themes, ADB
Fatima Yasmin is the Vice-President for Sectors and Themes of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). She assumed the position on 1 September 2023.
Ms. Yasmin is responsible for management of the Sectors Group and the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department under ADB’s new operating model.
Ms. Yasmin was the Senior Secretary at the Finance Division of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Finance. She has more than 32 years of broad development experience, including in macroeconomic management, public sector and fiscal policy reform, and trade and poverty reduction in government and international organizations.
ADB’s sector and thematic expertise are consolidated in the two groups under Ms. Yasmin to deliver integrated solutions to clients in accordance with country programs and strengthen ADB’s position as a leader in development knowledge in the region. The sector and thematic groups will launch and lead innovative initiatives to tackle the region’s key development challenges, with a focus on climate change.
Ms. Yasmin holds a master in development economics from Australian National University and a master of business administration from the Institute of Business Administration, Dhaka University, in Bangladesh. She also received a Fellowship in Public Policy and Human Rights under the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program at Rutgers University in New Jersey, United States.
Welcome Remarks
Arsene Jacoby, Alternate Governor for Luxembourg in ADB and Director of Multilateral Affairs, Development Cooperation and Compliance, Ministry of Finance Luxembourg
Arsène Jacoby is the Director of Multilateral Affairs, Development Cooperation and Compliance, Chairman of the Luxembourg Export Credit Agency, Alternate Governor Asian Development Bank, Alternate Governor Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Alternate Governor EBRD, Alternate Governor World Bank, Board Member Bank of the Council of Europe, Board Member European Investment Bank, Former Board Member of the National credit and investment institution (SNCI), Former Board Member of the Luxembourg financial sector technical assistance agency “Agence de transfert de technologies financières” (ATTF).
Keynote Address
Lito Villanueva, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation & Inclusion Officer, RCBC
Lito Villanueva is the Philippines’ foremost thought leader in digital transformation and inclusive digital finance at scale. As the Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer of RCBC, he has led the bank’s digital revolution, delivering groundbreaking innovations that have earned over 250 accolades. Among these are Euromoney’s Best Bank for Digital (2020-2024), Gartner’s Eye for Innovation, YouTube’s Challenger Award, and recognition as Sustainable Innovator of the Year at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2024-the sole Philippine winner. He also serves as the Chief Digital Transformation Advisor of the Yuchengco Group of Companies.
Villanueva’s expertise and contributions have been widely recognized. He was recently named Asia’s Top Outstanding Netizen (Digital) Marketeer of the Year by the Asia Marketing Federation and honored as CX Professional of the Year by The Digital Banker. He has also been celebrated as the Philippines’ Innovator of the Year for Banking in the Asian Management Excellence Awards, received the Outstanding Achievement for Marketing Management in the Agora Awards (dubbed the Oscars of Philippine marketing), and was twice a Circle of Excellence awardee at the Asia CEO Awards. Other accolades include PhilSec’s Digital Leader of the Year 2023 and being hailed “Mr. FinTech of the Philippines” by NewsBiz Asia.
Keynote Address
Vineet Sukumar, Founder and Managing Director, Vivriti Capital
Vineet Sukumar is the Founder and MD of Vivriti Group, that comprises of Vivriti Capital (VC), a fintech NBFC incorporated in 2017, and Vivriti Asset Management (VAM), a registered asset manager of fixed-income alternative investment funds incorporated in 2019.
Vivriti Group – a highly profitable 8+year old venture - was conceptualised with a vision to ensure an inclusive and equitable growth for midmarket enterprises in India. The group caters to the diverse needs of 1000+ mid-market enterprises across 55+ sectors, including but not limited to auto, engineering, renewable energy, healthcare, infrastructure, and financial services. With over US$1.5 billion in assets and a wide range of tailored products and services, Vivriti has built significant expertise and a robust business model through specialized technology, customised products, multi-level underwriting, superior portfolio management, and highly effective distribution.
Vivriti Group is backed by marquee investors - Creation Investments, Lightrock, and TVS Capital, and is recognised as a “Soonicorn” owning to its phenomenal growth and value addition in the BFSI space.
Vineet has 21+ years of experience in financial services and is an industry expert in debt capital markets, performing credit, financial inclusion and asset management. Vineet has completed his education from IIT, Kharagpur, and IIM, Bangalore.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vineetsukumar
Special Address
Mary Ellen Iskenderian, Chief Executive Officer, Women's World Banking
Mary Ellen Iskenderian is the President and CEO of Women’s World Banking, a global nonprofit dedicated to serving the nearly one billion women excluded by the formal financial sector. She joined Women’s World Banking in 2006 and leads its global team in partnering with financial institutions and policymakers around the world to design and develop solutions and programs that facilitate systemic change for women. Additionally, she oversees Women’s World Banking’s asset management business that makes direct equity investments in financial service providers as a means to advance women in the workplace and as customers.
Mary Ellen is a passionate advocate for women’s economic empowerment through greater access to finance; she urges the financial services industry and business community to view low-income women as a powerful new market of small business owners, heads of households, and consumers of financial products and services.
Panel: Building a Better Tomorrow: The Collective Journey Towards Financial Health and Inclusion for All
Louis De Muyser, Inclusive and Innovative Finance Lead, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
Louis de Muyser, Inclusive and Innovative Finance Desk at the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs. He also represents the Directorate in the Boards of Accelerating Impact ASBL, Investing for Development SICAV, the Agri-Business Capital Fund and the Global Trust Fund for Sustainable Finance.
Lito Villanueva, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation & Inclusion Officer, RCBC
See above.
Vineet Sukumar, Founder and Managing Director, Vivriti Capital
See above.
Shri Goverdhan Singh Rawat, Deputy Managing Director, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development India
Shri Goverdhan S. Rawat took charge of Deputy Managing Director of NABARD on 06th November 2023.
In his previous role, he served as Chief General Manager, Pune, Maharashtra RO, NABARD. He has around three decades of experience in working with the apex development bank in Project Appraisal, Infrastructure Financing, District Credit Planning, Rural Development, Consulting Services, Board Secretaries and HR. He joined NABARD as an officer on September 21, 1992 and served in different capacities in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and the NABARD Head Office located in Mumbai. He had a stint as Faculty Member in Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD) and National Bank Staff College, Lucknow. He has served as Nominee Director on the Boards of Pithoragarh Khetriya Gramin Bank, AFC India Limited and NABSAMRUDDHI Finance Limited, a subsidiary of NABARD. Presently, he is also the Chairman of NABSanrakshan Trustee Private Limited, a subsidiary of NABARD.
In his previous role, he served as Chief General Manager, Pune, Maharashtra RO, NABARD. He has around three decades of experience in working with the apex development bank in Project Appraisal, Infrastructure Financing, District Credit Planning, Rural Development, Consulting Services, Board Secretaries and HR. He joined NABARD as an officer on September 21, 1992 and served in different capacities in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and the NABARD Head Office located in Mumbai. He had a stint as Faculty Member in Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD) and National Bank Staff College, Lucknow. He has served as Nominee Director on the Boards of Pithoragarh Khetriya Gramin Bank, AFC India Limited and NABSAMRUDDHI Finance Limited, a subsidiary of NABARD. Presently, he is also the Chairman of NABSanrakshan Trustee Private Limited, a subsidiary of NABARD.
Shri Rawat is a Graduate in Agriculture & Animal Husbandry, CAIIB, and Post Graduate Diploma in Banking and Finance. He also holds an MBA degree in Leadership and Strategy.
Rowena Zamora, Chief Strategy Officer, GCash
Rowie Zamora is the Chief Strategy Officer of Mynt, the holding company of GCash, the #1 Finance App in the Philippines. She leads the team in identifying & executing its top priorities, and how best to deliver on its purpose of Finance for All.
Prior to joining Mynt, Rowie was part of the Office of Strategy Management & Customer Experience at Globe Telecom. Before Globe, Rowie took on several leadership positions for Accenture in the Philippines and in Singapore, in the areas of Customer Experience Strategy, Innovation, Talent & Organization, Business Research and Corporate Citizenship. She also joined the Public Sector at the Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary, and as Public Sector Head at Ayala Foundation.
Rowie earned her Bachelor's Degree from Ateneo de Manila University, and completed post-graduate studies at the National University of Singapore, and London School of Economics & Political Science.
Manjula Hettiarachchi, Director General, Development Finance, MOF Sri Lanka
Mr. Manjula Hettiarachchi, Director General, Department of Development Finance, Ministry of Finance, Sri Lanka, has served in the public sector for twenty years, beginning in 2002 as an Assistant Director of the Sri Lanka Planning Service. He has hold various significant positions including Additional Director General of the Department of Development Finance and performed duties of the National Insurance Trust Fund Board's Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, he has been served as the Project Director for the ADB-funded Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Line of Credit (SMELoC) project.
Mr. Hettiarachchi holds a Master's degree in International Development Economics from the International University of Japan and a Bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) in Management from Sri Jayawardenapura University in Sri Lanka. Additionally, he has obtained two Post Graduate Diplomas in Development Economics from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka and the Institute of Development Economics in Chiba, Japan. Further, he holds a Certificate of Intermediate Banking Studies from the Institute of Banking Studies.
Mr. Hettiarachchi holds a Master's degree in International Development Economics from the International University of Japan and a Bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) in Management from Sri Jayawardenapura University in Sri Lanka. Additionally, he has obtained two Post Graduate Diplomas in Development Economics from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka and the Institute of Development Economics in Chiba, Japan. Further, he holds a Certificate of Intermediate Banking Studies from the Institute of Banking Studies.