GLOBAL
SME FINANCE FORUM

Since 2015, Alexandre Magnani leads PagBank, a complete digital bank in financial services and payments solution and one of the largest digital banks in Brazil. Magnani initially managed the acquiring division of the company, later becoming the COO, and currently serves as PagBank´s CEO. Before that, for more than 15 years, Magnani led MasterCard's initiatives with retailers and fintech’s and had relevant contributions to the companies RedeCard and CrediCard. Magnani has a degree in administration from FGV-SP and an MBA from the same institution.

Alfonso Garcia Mora is IFC’s Vice President for Europe, Latin America & Caribbean in the World Bank Group (WBG).

In this capacity, Mr. Garcia Mora is responsible for all IFC operations, advisory and investments in the two Regions covering all sectors (Financial Institutions, Infrastructure, Manufacturing Advisory and Services, Disruptive Technologies and Funds and PPP), building a strong program for private sector investments, and fostering collaborative opportunities with key stakeholders to maximize impact. He also serves as Chair of the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN).

Previously, Mr. Garcia Mora was IFC Vice President for Asia and Pacific, and before he was the Global Director for the Finance Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice at the World Bank. He led the World Bank’s work on financial stability and integrity; financial infrastructure, inclusion and access; long-term finance and capital markets; and crisis and disaster risk finance across all regions.

Since joining the WBG in January 2013, Mr. Garcia Mora has led different regional responsibilities as Manager and Director in Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, advising governments, supervisors and regulators on projects related to financial-sector development, access to finance, banking crises, capital markets and financial regulation. Mr. Garcia Mora managed the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), leading several assessments, and represented the WBG in different committees of the Financial Stability Board and other standard-setting bodies.

Before his WBG career, Mr. Garcia Mora worked in the private sector for over 12 years, including as Partner-Managing Director at Analistas Financieros Internacionales Consulting Group.

Mr. Garcia Mora holds a PhD in Economics from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and served as a visiting PhD student at Boston University. He also holds a Master of Finance from the Catholic University of Leuven. Mr. Garcia Mora has lectured and published extensively on banking and financial- sector issues.

Jane leads the Global Product and Engineering team serving the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) segments at Mastercard. Her team drives innovation, strategy and product development, building on Mastercard’s strengths in card products and multi-rail payments as well as extensive data, cyber, software and network assets. Small and medium businesses account for 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide, and contribute more than half of GDP in most markets. Hence Mastercard views supporting the growth and resilience of SMEs as a critical means to achieve broad-based and equitable growth across markets worldwide. Jane’s team develops high-value, easy-to-use products that meet SMEs’ key needs across a range of financial and operational areas. In her role at Mastercard Jane leverages her deep expertise in lending to the SME sector as well as in data products, developed through 20 years of financial services leadership experience.

Mohamed Gouled is IFC’s Vice President of Industries. In this capacity, he’s responsible for (i) managing IFC’s global sector communities of practice and ensuring that lessons of experience from IFC operations contribute to the WBG’s global knowledge bank and thought leadership; (ii) leading business development with global clients; (iii) fostering close collaboration across WBG to align sector strategies, implement the Cascade approach, enhance client delivery, and support policy/sector reforms in WBG countries of operation; and (iv) supporting operational process simplification.

A Djiboutian national, Mr. Gouled was previously VP of Risk and Finance from 2017.

He joined IFC in 1999 as an Investment Officer in what was then the Financial Markets Division of IFC’s Sub-Saharan Africa Department. In this role, Mr. Gouled was instrumental in IFC’s re-engagement in Nigeria, helping to build its Financial Markets portfolio after many years of absence from the country.

In 2002, Mr. Gouled joined the Global Financial Markets Department where he worked on a number of high-profile and groundbreaking transactions including the first residential mortgage-backed securitization to come out of Eastern and Central Europe, the first tier II instrument in the Tunisian banking sector, and the first residential mortgage-backed securitization in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Myriam Etile is the Global Head of SMB Insights for Visa Commercial Solutions, where she is responsible for identifying and contextualizing the unique challenges and pain points of small businesses around the world to inform Visa product development and innovation. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the payments industry and has been focused on accelerating the digitization of small business financial experiences to ensure fast and convenient access to all the necessary services required to run their business. <br> <br>Myriam has global experience working across France, the U.K., Spain and the U.S. She is a strong advocate for DEI, particularly regarding the development of Black leadership. Myriam holds a Master’s Degree from Institut D'etudes Politiques in Paris and a Post Graduate Diploma from Lancaster university in the UK.

Márcio França is the Minister of Entrepreneurship and MSMEs, and former Governor of São Paulo State. He is a lawyer, specializing in Administrative and Constitutional Law, was Mayor of the city of São Vicente (São Paulo State), for two terms, and city Councilor in the city of São Vicente (São Paulo State), for two terms. He was a Federal Deputy twice and leader of his party PSB in the Chamber of Deputies, joining the list of the 100 most influential parliamentarians in the National Congress, according to a Diap survey. He was also Secretary of Tourism and Economic Development, Science, Technology and Innovation of the State of São Paulo. At the beginning of 2023, he became Minister of Ports and Airports, and since October 2023 he leads the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and MSMEs.

Paolo Sironi is the Global Research Leader in Banking and Financial Markets at IBM Institute for Business Value, where he leads IBM thought leadership research and advises key global account teams and C-level executives. He is a former start-up entrepreneur who started his career as quantitative risk manager in investment banking. With over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, Paolo is one of the most respected fintech voices worldwide. He hosts the international podcast "The Bankers' Bookshelf", where he interviews authors and researchers of the most interesting books, papers, and publications in the field. He is also a bestselling author himself, having published several books on quantitative finance, banking, and fintech innovation, such as his latest Amazon bestseller “Banks and Fintech on Platform Economies”.

QAMAR SALEEM heads SME Finance Forum, managed by IFC at World Bank Group, working to expand access to finance and services for small and medium businesses globally thus steering economic growth and job creation. Prior to this role, Qamar Saleem was heading IFC’s Financial Institutions Group Advisory Services business for Asia and Pacific leading a large team across 20+ countries aimed at providing integrated client solutions across SME, Gender, Climate, Digital, Housing, Trade, Capital Markets, and Supply Chain Finance. Qamar has been with IFC since 2012 and served in his previous roles as global technical lead for SME and Supply Chain Finance. Qamar has overall 30+ years of global financial services experience having supported clients across 80+ countries internationally, managing large business lines while leading multi-cultural and cross-functional teams. He is a recognized thought leader, featured speaker, and an industry mentor with several publications and thought pieces to his credit. Prior to IFC, for a period of two decades, Qamar was associated in leadership roles with international organizations like HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank as well as large regional banks in MENA while serving in several emerging markets where he also led SME Banking, Transaction Banking, and Commercial Banking Divisions.

Ms Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams was appointed of Minister of Small Business Development from 3 July. She previously held this position from 5 August 2021 to 19 June 2024. She was the Minister of Communications from 22 November 2018 to 5 August 2021.

Born in Sakhela Village, Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, Ms Ndabeni-Abrahams was previously the Deputy Minister of Communications from 26 May 2014 to 30 March 2017, and subsequently the Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services until 21 November 2018.

Prior to the 2014 general elections, she was Deputy Minister in the then DoC (now DTPS) from 25 October 2011 to 25 May 2014.

Academic Qualifications

She holds a Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation Diploma in Telecommunications and Managements Systems; a Certificate in Telecommunications, Policy and Regulation Management from Wits University; an Advanced Certificate in Project Management from Rhodes University and a Project Management Diploma from Cranefields College.

Ms Ndabeni-Abrahams has been a member of the following parliamentary committees:

Portfolio Committee on Communications and Committee Whip in 2011;

Portfolio Committee on Defence and Committee Whip from 2009 to 2011;

Defence and Intelligence; and

African National Congress (ANC) Parliamentary Caucus Sub-Committee on Political Education.

Career/Positions/Memberships/Other Activities

She is currently a member of the ANC Eastern Cape Provincial Executive and Provincial Working committees.  

Prior to being a Member of Parliament, Ms Ndabeni-Abrahams was a Project Manager for the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council from 2003 to 2009.

She is a recipient of the Premier's Award for her involvement in voluntary activities aimed at improving peoples’ lives.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma is a prominent tech innovator and entrepreneur, recognized for his pioneering contributions to the transformation of India's financial services and mobile payments sector. As the Founder and CEO of One97 Communications and its well-known consumer brand Paytm, Sharma has played a crucial role in advancing financial inclusion and digital innovation across the nation. A passionate proponent of the power of emerging technologies, Sharma has significantly popularized QR code-based transactions and soundboxes among numerous small businesses, democratizing access to digital payments. His strategic vision extends to offering the distribution of a range of financial services including lending, wealth management, and insurance, solidifying his role as a key architect in India's progression towards a fully digital economy.