Join us for the next Diamond Jubilee Lecture, in collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation UK, to explore the future of microfinance and how it contributes to poverty alleviation in Asia and Africa. Non-Ismaili family and friends are welcome.
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown will moderate a conversation with Jesse Fripp, General Manager of the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance and Maria Largey, Director and Head of Financial Institutions at the CDC Group to understand how microfinance can transform lives and give people hope for a brighter future.
Jesse Fripp is the General Manager of the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance. His prior experience includes senior roles with Enclude Ltd, ShoreBank International, Bearing Point Emerging Markets, and Global Communities/Vitas Finance where he built and led microfinance initiatives in over two dozen emerging markets around the world. He has taught as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University, has served as Vice Chair for the Board of Directors of Oikocredit USA, on the Board of Directors for the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network, and the Advisory Board of Arrow Global Capital. Jesse holds a Master of Public Management degree with a concentration in International Economic Development from the University of Maryland (USA), a Certification in Finance from the Edinburgh Business School (UK), and a Bachelor's degree with Honours from Warren Wilson College (USA).
Maria Largey is the Head of the Financial Institutions sector team at CDC and is responsible for the equity financing portfolio across Africa and Asia. Prior to joining CDC in 2012, she worked in the microfinance sector at both Agora Microfinance Partners and Opportunity International. Before joining the development finance sector, Maria worked at JPMorgan in both London and New York where she was responsible for creating investment solutions for asset management clients. Maria holds a BSc in Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is a journalist, author and academic. She has written for the Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, New York Times, Time Magazine and was a weekly columnist for The Independent for 18 years. She is now a columnist for I newspaper, International Business Times and the New European. She is also a well-known radio and TV broadcaster. Yasmin has won several awards including the Orwell prize for political writing, and in 2017, the National Press Awards columnist of the year prize. She has been shortlisted again in 2018. She was also accorded The Asian Media award for outstanding contribution to the Media. Her latest book, Exotic England, explored England’s curiosity about the world beyond its shores. Yasmin is a part time professor at Middlesex University where she teaches and advises on policy and projects.
