People
The European Microfinance Network is administered by a Board of Directors made up of a maximum of seven organisations, chosen from the network’s list of members. At least two thirds of the board members must be social purpose organisations (MFIs or “practitioners”) that deliver financial services to the underserved or that facilitate access to such services. No more than two members can be from the same country.
Each Board member is appointed for a three-year term and can be re-elected a maximum of two times. The Board is empowered nominate two independent board members to reinforce the activities and capacity of the organization.
Mobilized on field activities with entrepreneurs, she developed the action of Adie in Seine-Saint-Denis (Paris region) for 5 years, with a particular focus on deprived areas of this vulnerable territory. She set up the 1st Adie branch in the department in 2001. She was in charge of fundraising (local governments) and onboarding and training of volunteers for Paris region. She then joined the Adie headquarters in 2004 to manage the network in metropolitan France and overseas, develop innovative distribution projects in deprived urban and rural areas, and create new financial services (personal microcredit, microinsurance).
Since 2018, as Deputy Director General, she supervises the finance department, the human resources department, the credit risk department, and the information systems department and holds a board position with Microstart in Belgium.
Role at EMN:
Laure Coussirat-Coustère
Drawing from his extensive experience, Emanuele has held leadership roles as CEO and Managing Partner in consultancy firms. He is deeply committed to social innovation and local development. He is currently Director at COOPFIN S.p.A.
Role at EMN:
Emanuele Cabras
Stefan gained a strong experience in banking, risk & sales during his career of 20 years in financial services, within international groups like Erste, Raiffeisen and Unicredit. He is currently heading BCR Social Finance and he has been president of the Romania Microfinance Association for the past two years.
Role at EMN:
Stefan Buciuc
Director at Autoocupació, Guillem is an economist and social entrepreneur with expertise in developing and scaling up inclusive entrepreneurship programme, focusing on financial and non-financial support for entrepreneurs to create, sustain, and grow businesses and jobs.
Role at EMN:
Guillem Arís
Herjola Spahiu has close to 20 years of proven experience in strategic planning, retail, operations and projects, organisational development and change management in the banking and financial sector. After in-depth banking experience, she took over the lead of NOA Albania in April 2014 as CEO and Vice Chairman of the Steering Council, focussing on the fulfilment of the social missions of the institution, building a strong senior managers’ team able to collectively drive the growing business and achieve high customer service standards, ensuring the company complies with legal and regulatory framework, Code of Conduct, etc. In the spirit of advocating and promoting the role of the microfinance sector in Albania, Herjola held the position of Chairwoman of the Albanian Microfinance Association during 2014-2016.
Role at EMN:
Herjola Spahiu
For Claudia, peace, equality and respect for Nature are both universal needs and rights for everybody in the planet. Since January 2022, Claudia is Head of Sustainability Advocacy and Inclusive Finance, member of the Executive Committee of Company Engagement of BNP Paribas.
Role at EMN:
Claudia Belli
Panagiotis is the CEO and Executive member of the Board of Directors of Cooperative Bank of Karditsa. He is also Vice- President of the Board of Directors and member of the Executive Committee of the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks (FEBEA).
Role at EMN:
Panagiotis Tournavitis
Dominique de Crayencour is Secretary General of both the European Long-Term Investors Association (ELTI) and the Club of Long-Term Investors (LTIC). He is also a board member of Inpulse and member of the European Commission’s expert group on “Social Economy and Social Enterprise“.
Dominique began his career at the World Bank before moving to commercial and investment banking with the Morgan Guarantee Trust Company of NY. He joined the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 1980 where he spent some 32 years in various positions until 2012 when he retired as honorary Director General.
Dominique has also been alternate Director of the EBRD Board, EIB representative in the EU Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), EIB Sherpa in the Club of Long Term Investors (LTIC) and Board Member of the Microfinance Centre (MFC).
Role at EMN:
Dominique De Crayencour
As the Managing Director of the European Microfinance Network (EMN), he oversees the strategic direction and operations of the leading microfinance network in Europe. With over 20 years of experience in strategic management, media, communications, and public relations, Georgios has a proven track record of managing and promoting social impact and minority media platforms, advocating for community interests and values, and engaging with diverse stakeholders across the continent.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Georgios Papadakis
Alex joined the team in January 2023 and is responsible for coordinating, supervising, and monitoring the organization’s activities related to finance and administration, human resources, information technology, and legal support. He is closely involved in supporting and outreach for membership and grant financial reporting and monitoring.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Alex Rankin
Nicola Benaglio is responsible for coordinating tenders and work programmes for research activities, identifying EU policy trends relevant to the sector, developing partnerships with peer networks at the EU level, overseeing the Maria Nowak Research Award and Annual Overview Survey, and he coordinates the EMN Research Committee.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Nicola Benaglio
Joerg is responsible for coordinating and implementing the network’s capacity-building activities, such as the SIFTA Programme, including peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, dissemination of best practices, financial literacy training for third-country nationals, and corporate-funded projects, including the last Ploutos Project and current Ready 4 Work projects.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Joerg Schoolmann
Marie leads the network’s advocacy activities. She serves as the key contact between European policymakers and advocacy stakeholders within the EMN network and supports members in improving regulatory frameworks at the national level. She is a member of the OECD YEPA Working Group, Social Economy Europe, and the EU Financial Services Working Group.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Marie Vial
Francesca supports the implementation and reporting of EU-funded projects, assists with office and administrative tasks, and helps organize EMN events. She is the coordinator for EMN’s peer-to-peer visits as well as the SIFTA Programme’s activities assigned under EMN.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Francesca Preve
Ioana has worked for almost 20 years in the Romanian market in projects related to community resource mobilisation, fundraising, sustainability and grant-making. Ioana has participated in, or coordinated projects that contributed to local community development and long-term, systemic change. She manages the workflow for EMN’s project and supports extensively with project management and reporting.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Project Manager
Ioana Szatmari
At EMN, Adrian is responsible for fostering collaboration among microfinance practitioners. With a background in sales, communication, and marketing, he has a strong understanding of various business types and excels in connecting with people. This expertise is invaluable in his role as Membership Manager at the European Microfinance Network, enabling him to effectively meet the needs and engage with the organizations he works with.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Adrian Suteu
Martina coordinates EMN’s communication activities across social media, the website, and YouTube, manages the European Microfinance Day campaign, and organizes key events, including the EMN Annual Conference and the European Microfinance Day event.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Martina Volpe
She supports with the workflow for EMN’s projects and supports extensively with project management, research and reporting.
Role and responsibilities at EMN:
Marie Clémence Ndour
Septimiu supports EMN’s outreach in Eastern Europe and provides assistance to new members (Eastern Europe)
