National Conference on Making the Financial Sector Work for Women

Mamo E. Mihretu is the 10th Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). He previously served as the founding CEO of the Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), a board member of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, as Ethiopia’s Chief Trade Negotiator, and as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Ethiopian Prime Minister.

Doina Petrescu is the World Bank’s Country Director (Acting) and Operations Manager for Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan. In her role, Doina coordinates the formulation of strategic products for the region and oversees all aspects of portfolio quality. Prior to moving to Addis Ababa, she held a number of operational roles within the World Bank.

Ambassador Joshua Tabah has served as Canada’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti since July 2023. He previously directed Canada’s international assistance response to the COVID-19 pandemic and acted as Counsellor for Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva (2012- 2016) and Head of Development Cooperation in Colombia (2008-2012).

Mekdes Mezgebu is the founder and principal of Mekdes & Associates, a specialist law office in Ethiopia serving international and domestic clients across several industries. She has advised clients ranging from start-ups to governments, public utilities, development finance institutions, and commercial lenders. Mekdes also teaches investment law at Addis Ababa University.

Michael O’Sullivan is a Senior Economist and Head of the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL). GIL is an action-oriented research lab that aims to identify what works to promote gender equality in Africa and use these insights to shape policy. To date, GIL has informed $11 billion in development investments across 56 countries.

Huria Ali Mahdi is State Minister in the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs. She previously served as a state minister at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology as well as the Ministry of Education. H.E. Huria Ali also chaired Ethiopia’s Digital Foundations project and served on the boards of various organizations, including the Internet Governance Forum.

Frezer Ayalew has served as NBE’s Director of Banking Supervision since 2019, following a decade as Director of Microfinance Supervision. His responsibilities include developing the regulatory framework for the banking sector, supervising financial institutions and managing financial sector development initiatives.

Mahlet Solomon, founder of JEROCCIA Coffee Exports, is an engineer who turned coffee farmer and trader. Since JEROCCIA’s inception in 2012 as a geotechnical and foundation engineering firm, Mahlet has led its diversification into agro-sector, focusing on specialty coffee since 2020. She is also part of the Women Entrepreneurship Development Project.

Melika Bedri Mohammed is the Founding CEO of Zam- Zam Bank, Ethiopia’s first interest-free bank. A veteran of the Ethiopian banking industry, she spent much of her career at CBE, where she served as Chief Financial Officer and VP of Information Systems, among other leadership roles. She is the recipient of numerous awards.

Haddis Tadesse is the Director for Ethiopia for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Representative to the African Union. He oversees the Foundation’s partnerships and investments in Ethiopia and leads diplomatic engagements with stakeholders across the region. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, he was a Senior Policy Advisor to Greg Nickels, the Mayor of Seattle.

Ketki Sheth is a development economist whose research agenda focuses on gender equality, financial access, health, and education. Her research has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Development Economics. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee and received her PhD in Economics from the University of California San Diego.

Saba Yifredew is an Assistant Professor in Economics and previous Chair of the Department of Economics at Addis Ababa University, as well as a consultant with the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab. Her current research focuses on issues of gender, governance, and health economics. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Verona University.

Jotework is a Senior Advisor to the Governor at the National Bank of Ethiopia. At NBE and in her previous role at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), she successfully led flagship reforms for financial sector development in the areas of credit infrastructure, agricultural financing, warehouse receipt systems and financial inclusion.

Ephrem Mekuria is the Vice President for Human Resources and a member of the executive management at CBE. His responsibilities include organizational design, talent acquisition, and career development. Ephrem previously served in several other leadership positions at CBE, including as VP for Facilities Management and lead for the landmark CBE HQ project.

Yemsrach Kinfe is an Operations Analyst at the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab, based in Addis Ababa. She has 12 years of experience in the field of international development, where her work focuses on piloting training programs, business services and financial products to support women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia.

Girum Abebe is a Senior Economist and thematic lead for Private Sector Development at the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab . Girum relies on field experiments to study ways of making social programs more responsive to the needs of socially disadvantaged groups. His research has been published in the American Economic Review and other academic journals.

Annastacia Kimtai is Managing Director of KCB Bank Kenya. She is an experienced banker with over 25 years in the industry, including 12 years in senior management. Ms. Kimtai provides strategic leadership for KCB Kenya and previously managed over 210 branches as Director of Retail Banking. She is an advocate for financial inclusion and women’s inclusion in banking.

Tigist Abate is Vice President of Operations at Enat Bank. A seasoned banking expert, she spent 25 years at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia before joining Enat Bank three years ago. Tigist is a fervent advocate for impactful leadership and social development finance. She holds an MBA in International Business and a BA in Accounting.

Aman Semir is Vice President of Digital Banking at the Cooperative Bank of Oromia. His career spans nearly two decades of experience in the Ethiopian financial sector. Ato Aman holds MSc degrees in Information Science and Project Management.

Brutawit Dawit Abdi is the CEO of Lefayda Microfinance. She is a distinguished finance and development leader with 30+ years of experience in banking and international projects. As former President and CEO of Wegagen and Zemen Banks, she led innovations in banking services and digital financial solutions. She also served as Country Representative and Chief of Party for ACDI/ VOCA.

Roman Tesfaye is a Social Protection Specialist based in Addis. She has over 10 years of experience in Economics, Health, Nutrition and Social Protection in multilateral, government, and private sectors. Roman joined the bank in 2017 as an Africa Early Years Fellow leading the work on Early Childhood Development in the Human Development sectors. She holds a master’s degree in international economics.

Tricia Koroknay-Palicz is an Economist in the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab. Her work focuses on women’s economic empowerment in Africa, with a particular interest in entrepreneurship and access to finance. Over the past ten years she has led work on women’s financial inclusion in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Jaki Mebur is a Senior Market Engagement Manager in the GSMA Digital Inclusion team. In this role, she helps accelerate the digital and financial inclusion of women, persons with disability and other underserved populations. Jaki has more than 12 years’ experience in the mobile industry, including in Safaricom’s Technology for Development section.

Blen Hailemichael is the Director of Merchant and Agent Management in the Digital Banking division of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.

Oswell Kahonde is Head of Anglophone Africa at the Better Than Cash Alliance, a UN-based partnership dedicated to advancing the responsible adoption of digital payments. Oswell focuses on building digital payment ecosystems that promote financial inclusion and create opportunities for active participation in local economies, especially in agricultural value chains.

Marlon Rawlins is a Senior Financial Sector Specialist based in Ethiopia, where he leads the World Bank’s engagement on financial sector development. Before joining the World Bank, Marlon was country manager for Scotiabank and Royal Bank of Canada in Antigua, as well as a bank regulator at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

Tewodros is a Financial Specialist at the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab where his work focuses on financial services, technology, and innovation. Prior to joining the Bank, he worked as a consultant in financial sector development and fintech. He led the establishment of FSD Ethiopia, supported digital payments adaption into social protection programs and managed mobile money operations.

Lay Geok Yeo is a Program Director with the Toronto Centre (TC) where she develops training programs for financial regulators in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Prior to joining TC, Lay Geok spent 15 years with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) where she was worked in bank supervision, payment systems oversight, and supervisory technology initiatives.

Solomon Desta is Vice Governor of Financial Institutions at the National Bank of Ethiopia. Ato Solomon served as director of banking supervision for over 7 years until he took charge as vice governor in 2019. He was also appointed as chairman of Ethswitch’s board of directors, representing the National Bank of Ethiopia.

Sewit Haileselassie Tadesse leads the Women’s Digital Financial inclusion (WDFI) Advocacy Hub in Ethiopia. She is a Program Analyst for Women’s Economic Empowerment at the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), an economist and gender expert by training with a background in project management.