Ishmael Kwesi Otchere

Ishmael is a Founding Member of Microfin Plus Ghana (MFPG), a FNGO which facilitated the formation of village savings and loan associations (VSLAs). Within a period of four years, this institution was successfully transformed to a rural bank- Microfin Rural Bank Limited - with VSLA groups as shareholders, the first of its kind in Ghana .Ishmael was the Team Leader of MFPG which managed two (2) VSLA Projects as a local implementing partner (Central Region of Ghana) for Plan International under the Banking on Change -BoC 1&2 (2009-2014)- funded by Barclays Bank International and Promoting African Grassroots Economic Security (PAGES) funded by CIDA (2011-2015). Over 1,196 and 816 VSLAs were formed under the BoC and PAGES respectively. Over 30% of these VSLAs have been linked to Microfin Rural Bank Limited. Almost 1,600 of members of the linked VSLAs are shareholders of the bank representing 85% of the shareholding. Ishmael has a track record of developing growth strategies, development of agribusiness products and creating linkages of savings groups to the formal financial institutions to ensure their growth and sustainability. Ishmael is a trainer and practitioner in Savings Groups and has provided several international trainings/workshops in savings groups. Ishmael has provided training/capacity building to several rural banks and microfinance institutions in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroun. Ishmael was one of the Resource Persons who provided orientation to the members of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy Ishmael Kwesi Otchere Committee-Ghana on Savings Groups (Village/Community Savings and Loans Associations) for inclusion in the National Financial Managing Consultant- Microfin Inclusion Strategy in Ghana which was coordinated and funded by United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in 2017. Consult Ishmael has offered training to over 40 rural banks and microfinance institutions in Ghana and the West Africa sub-region in microfinance, risk management and internal controls, credit management using practical approach/coaching to transform many of