Marnix Mulder, RIM Steering Committee Chairperson, Fundraising Working Group member 

Marnix is development finance professional with more than 15 years experience from grass root to board level. His passion is to make impact investing at the bottom of the pyramid a success. His key expertise areas are SME finance, impact measurement and risk management. His specialty is the development and management of cost-effective technical assistance and capacity building services.

In 1996 he started to work in Guatemala as technical advisor for communities of returnees. In 2000 he moved back to the Netherlands where he worked for Dutch Development NGO’s (Cordaid, SNV) on strategy development, performance management and finance. Since 2008 he works for Triple Jump, first as responsible for advisory services in Latin America, and now as Head of Advisory Services responsible for all operations.

In 2008 many clients approached Marnix Mulder with the request for TA in the field of risk management. That was when he got his hand dirty, built a practice area around the topic and launched the idea of the graduation model. Thanks to many others who supported and propelled the idea it has culminated into the RIM experience.

Marnix holds an MBA from RSM Erasmus University and an MSc in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from Wageningen. Marnix is a Dutch national and speaks Dutch, English and Spanish.

Julie Abrams

Ms. Abrams is a senior advisor and expert consultant with over 25 years of experience in microfinance, impact investment, and financial services, focused on risk management, governance, investment, and strategy. She has authored over 20 seminal publications on microfinance risk management, foreign exchange risk, investment, capital structure, debt restructuring and default, financial performance and standards, profitability, and ratings. She has collaborated extensively with numerous institutions such as EIU, MIX, CGAP, GIIN, and others to develop best practice microfinance and impact investment industry standards.  Ms. Abrams served as microfinance risk management program coordinator for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), including editing its flagship microfinance risk management training curriculum and serving as project lead for the risk management advisory services component of its largest microfinance holding company investment.

Ms. Abrams serves on the investment committee of the global MicroBuild Fund since its 2012 inception, appointed by the Omidyar Network. She also sits on the Calvert Social Investment Foundation external investment committee since 2003, during which time she has introduced risk management criteria, all of which were adopted for the investment due diligence process.  Ms. Abrams previously was a Senior Consultant with PwC’s Strategic Management Services in its finance practice, serving Fortune 500 clients globally. She began working with Women’s World Banking in 1985 in the early days of “microcredit.”

She is a Certified Expert in Risk Management from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management in Germany, and a Citi/WWB Certified Trainer in Microfinance Financial Risk Management. Ms. Abrams was a Fellow at the Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies, where she earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management, and M.A. in International Studies and Latin American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Sociology from Oberlin College, and is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Günter Jansen

Günter began his career with Deutsche Bank where he held various positions for nearly a decade. Responsibilities included SME advisory work and loan restructuring in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). With increasing authority he gained deep experience in governance and legal aspects of SME financing. He had the unique and challenging experience of working and living for two years in East Germany shortly after the wall fell.

After Deutsche Bank, Günter pursued an opportunity to work with what is today Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (giz) in the Federal Republic of Chad in Central Africa with European Union-backed infrastructure projects and a savings and credit project.

Günter has been with Oikocredit since 2002 in various management positions including Manager of the Credit Analysis Unit and Portfolio Risk. Today, he is a member of the Credit Committee and responsible for Risk Management for the organization, including portfolio risk, procedure compliance, know your client (KYC), money laundering, reputational and currency risk exposure.

Being a German national, Günter speaks German, English, Spanish, French and basic Dutch.

Kevin Fryatt, RIM Director

Kevin brings a wealth of experience and knowledge within the microfinance industry particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa having worked the past 10 years on the continent as well as 20+ countries globally. In addition to serving as the RIM Director, Kevin also serves as Subject Matter Expert – Risk Management in Accion’s Africa Board Fellowship Program. Prior to RIM, Kevin was the Director of Advisory Services at MFX Solutions, one of RIM’s Founding Members, leading their risk management advisory services focused on financial risk management and Asset/Liability Management. Prior to MFX, he served as Microfinance Technical Advisor for World Relief overseeing the World Relief Microfinance Network globally. He structured and led technical assistance engagements focused on governance, technology, risk management, and capacity development while also sitting on the Board of Directors of post-conflict MFIs in Burundi, DRC, Liberia, and Kosovo. Kevin has previously served with the SEEP Financial Services Working Group (FSWG) on the development of the Microfinance Reporting Standards. He is currently a Board Member and Finance Committee Chairperson for Turame Community Finance in Burundi. Kevin has an MA in International Development (with concentration in Microfinance) from Eastern University and a BBA (with concentration in Accounting and focus in Economics) from the University of the Fraser Valley in Canada. Kevin also has specialized Asset/Liability Management training from the IFF in London and is a Certified Expert in Risk Management from Frankfurt School of Finance and Management in Germany. Kevin is currently based in Washington, DC.