Laura is part of M-Pesa Africa’s Product team responsible for designing and rolling out platforms which the 7 M-Pesa markets can commercialise. Her focus within the team is to develop the product strategy, set the commercial priorities, drive thought leadership and specify the features and performance metrics for M-Pesa’s offerings in credit, savings, wealth management, and financial education with a particular interest in ensuring these products cater for the rural segment, especially in agriculture.

Sucharita is passionate about good finance for all. She is the co-founder and CEO of Kaleidofin, a neo-bank that provides intuitive and tailored financial solutions to over a million underbanked customers in India. Prior to this, she co-founded the IFMR group and most recently was the group CEO of IFMR Holdings. She conceptualized and founded Northern Arc Capital, building capital markets access for financial inclusion and Northern Arc Investments, an alternatives fund management platform focused on informal sector finance.

Tyme is the technology and solutions firm powering Tyme Bank, the first digital bank in South Africa with now 3 million customers. Rachel Freeman is an experienced and internationally recognized financial expert, particularly in the areas of financial inclusion and innovative financial technologies. Before joining Tyme, Ms. Freeman served as the IFC Financial Institutions Advisory Manager for Asia since 2014.

Sabine Spohn is responsible for managing the Women’s Finance Exchange of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department. She also remains active in the implementation of PSOD’s Microfinance Program, expanding it in the Caucasus and Central West Asia region. Prior to ADB, she worked as Deputy Head in Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and was responsible for its Asian project portfolio. She has a commercial banking background and holds a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Melbourne.