Benedikt Wahler

Benedikt Wahler is Partner for Financial Services (Inclusive and Digital Finance) at ConsumerCentriX, where he has built up the work with emerging markets financial institutions since 2014. Benedikt is a chartered banker, investment professional and strategy consultant from Germany active in banking and finance since 1998. Since 2010, Benedikt led more than 40 projects on inclusive and digital finance for leading commercial banks, microfinance, MNOs as well as stakeholders like EBRD, World Bank, Women’s World Banking, which have reached > 8mn previously unbanked. Gender-intelligent finance for Retail and SME banking as well as deployment of operating models for mass-market banking are particular areas of expertise. Benedikt has advised the original National Financial Inclusion Strategy of Nigeria, and worked in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, Egypt, Indonesia, across Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Mr Wahler is co-founder of several social enterprises in Africa awarded e.g. the 2018 Google Impact Challenge. He is a director at an award-winning Swiss alternative investment fund, and advised investments >USD 4bn.

Benedikt holds a M.A. in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington, DC and Bologna, and a Diploma (MBA-equivalent) in Banking & Finance from Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. He also studied in Buenos Aires, Argentina and at Stanford University.

Alejandra Ríos

Alejandra Rios is an expert in inclusive finance with a focus on small-and-medium (SME) enterprises, advising leading commercial banks and microfinance institutions in emerging markets for the past twenty years. Her portfolio in MSME finance consultancy covers change management, housing finance, rural finance, institution-building, strategic planning, and credit management.   

Alejandra joined CCX Inclusive Business in 2019 as the senior SME expert, overseeing strategy development, capacity building and lending. In addition, she works closely with financial institutions during the execution phase and ensures successful delivery of strategic initiatives by fostering dialogue with stakeholders involved. 

Prior to her role at CCX, Alejandra served as Director of Credit for the Strategic Advisory Team at Women’s World Banking. She partnered with client financial institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA, Latin America and the Carribean to develop market entry strategies and new product development, from research, business planning, change management, marketing, implementation, to measurement and evaluation frameworks.  

She joined Women’s World Banking after providing consulting services for the organization and other technical advisory institutions such as Sparkassenstiftung fur Internationale Kooperation (SIK), International Project Consult (IPC) among others in Latin America, Middle East and Africa, the Balkans and the Philippines. She worked with commercial banks and MFIs to build sound lending structures to able to expand to MSME.    

Alejandra holds a “Diplôme d’études supérieures spécialisées” (DESS) in Agricultural and Industrial Projects Analyst, a Master’s degree in Financial & Monetary Markets and a BA in Economics from the University of Rennes, France. 

She is fluent in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and German. 

Country Expertise: Latin America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Paraguay.  Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Malawi.  MENA: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia.  Asia-Pacific: Philippines.  Western Europe & North America: France, Germany, United States.

Topical Expertise: Gender-intelligent Finance, SME Banking, Retail Banking, Microfinance (group & individual lending), Credit Processes, Risk Assessment, Cashflow-based Lending, Agricultural Finance, Value Chain Finance, Rural Finance, Housing Finance, Savings products, Non-financial services, Capacity Building & Training (front- & back-office, Monitoring & Evaluation / Impact Evaluation, Management Information Systems, Market Research (focus groups, surveys, desk research), Institutional Diagnostics, Project Management.

Anna Gincherman is a partner at ConsumerCentrix (CCX), a Geneva-based strategy consulting firm working with a wide range of institutions translating consumer insights into winning business strategies to reach the unserved and underserved.  Prior to CCX, Anna was an executive with Women’s World Banking, the global nonprofit dedicated to giving low-income women access to the financial products and services they need to achieve security and prosperity. As a VP of Strategic Partnerships and the Chief Product Development Officer, Anna was responsible for the identification, development and roll-out of innovative financial products, including savings, health insurance, digital financial services, and credit for low-income women.

Prior to joining Women’s World Banking, Anna worked for the Council on Economic Priorities and the United Nations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Politics and Economics from Middlebury College and a Master’s in Public Affairs from the University of Pennsylvania.

Country Expertise: Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Paraguay.  Eastern Europe: Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Sub-Saharan Africa: Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania.  MENA: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia.  Asia-Pacific: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam.

Topical Expertise: Gender-intelligent Finance, SME Banking, Retail Banking, Microfinance (group & individual lending), Microinsurance, Mobile Payments, Savings products, Youth Banking, Non-financial services, Regulation & Policy, National Financial Inclusion Strategies, Digital Technologies & Solutions, Strategy Design, Piloting & Implementation, Product Innovation & Value Proposition Design, Market Research (focus groups, surveys, desk research), Upscaling of Microfinance Institutions, Organizational Development, Strategic Partnerships.