<a href="https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/1724007/afghanistan-was-making-me-microfinance-expert-tells-tedx-hong-kong" target="_blank">Afghanistan was the making of me, microfinance expert tells TEDx Hong Kong</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6f6f6f">South China Morning Post</font>

Afghanistan was the making of me, microfinance expert tells TEDx Hong Kong - South China Morning Post

Diplôme Supérieur de Comptabilité et de Gestion

Institut d'Etudes politiques de Paris

Institut national des Langues et Civilisations orientales

Chief Executive Officer at OpenCBS

Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

OpenCBS is Fintech company offering an affordable Core Banking System as well as other value-added digital transformation solutions for the financial services industry: a Tablet application for eKYC, Digital Field Application and appraisal, and a Loan Origination Solution.As the CEO, I am in charge of the general strategy of the company, which we refocused from being a Core Banking System provider only to an architect of solutions for Digital Transformation targeting a wider range of financial institutions. OpenCBS is now bringing efficiency gains and automating the processes of clients on four continents.

OpenCBS

Chief Executive Officer

Representative assignments:Développement international DesjardinsAdvisor for financial products and services (September 2017 – August 2019)Strengthening the People’s Credit Funds Network Project, aimed at reinforcing the capacities of rural membership-based financial institutions through the establishment of an Apex institution under local bank Co-opBankHanoi, VietnamGrowth Liberia (contracted through Adam Smith International)Credit Guarantee Specialist – Rubber (October 2016)Monrovia, LiberiaWeihai City Commercial BankNantong Rural Commercial Bank(contracted through German Savings Bank Foundation for International Cooperation) Team Leader (November 2014 – August 2016)Qingdao and Nantong, ChinaHong Kong based Family Office (through Business & Finance Consulting)Consultant (May 2014 – current)Creation of a Greenfield Microfinance Institution in MyanmarKfW (through Business & Finance Consulting)Bank strategy expert/Team Leader at NRSP Bank (September 2013 – June 2014)Bahawalpur, Punjab, PakistanBank of Kigali (through Business & Finance Consulting)Team Leader microfinance downscaling project (September 2012 – August 2013)Kigali, RwandaBetter Cotton Initiative (Switzerland based membership association)Programme Manager China and Tajikistan (September 2011 – December 2013)EBRD (through Business Finance and Consulting)Senior Bank Advisor for the Banking Environment & Performance Survey II (Autumn 2012)Tunisia and MoroccoKfW/IFC (through Horus Development Finance)Microcredit expert assigned at Renshou Village and Township Bank (August 2010 –  June 2013)Renshou County, Sichuan Province, ChinaKfW Entwicklungsbank (through Business Finance & Consulting)Feasibility study for a new greenfield institution in Afghanistan (March 2011)Kabul, Afghanistan

Wakhan Limited

Independent Consultant (microfinance, SME finance, strategy planning, digital transformation)

- Developed reporting standards for performance monitoring;•	Developed new Business Plans for existing and new MFIs and presented them to investors;•	Obtained private and donor funding to finance the growth of the OXUS network;•	Conducted feasibility studies in Democratic Republic of Congo, Southern Sudan and Uzbekistan;•	Registered new MFIs in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, DRC and other countries;•	Converted ACTED microfinance programmes into OXUS network affiliated MFIs owned by OXUS Holding, the group’s holding company in Luxembourg;•	Lead technical assistance assignments in various OXUS network MFIs;•	Participated in the conception and development of Octopus, a leading open-source information system developed by OXUS for its microfinance institutions.•	Started the South Asia Microfinance Network, a network of MFIs, Microfinance Associations and European Investors aimed at channeling investment to Second Tier South Asian MFIs.

OXUS Development Network

Development Director

- Developed the MFI from USD 20,000 to USD 3M portfolio (200 to 10,000 clients) by opening 9 branches, recruiting more than 200 employees and following their performance;•	Increased market share from 0.5% to 3%, bringing OXUS Afghanistan from the 15th to the 3rd rank in terms of portfolio;•	Prepared three funding proposals securing a total of USD 12M of funding (including USD 3M of grants and USD 9M of soft loans), and built-up a strong relationship with OXUS Afghanistan’s main donor, the Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA);•	Maintained a good portfolio quality despite huge challenges faced by the microfinance sector in Afghanistan and the collapse of 4 competitors;•	Developed and revised Credit Procedures, designed Credit Forms for both Group and Individual Loans;•	Led an up-scaling project to upgrade OXUS procedures for SME lending (up to USD 20,000) in cooperation with Shorebank International;•	Successfully implemented the transition from Excel to an automated Loan Tracking Software, and started a Mobile Banking project in partnership with the leading mobile phone operator in Afghanistan;•	Made all branches compliant with the OXUS corporate identity;•	Developed Finance, Cash Management and Procurement procedures, supervised the accounting department, prepared budgets and set-up a financial control system (as CFO).

CEO and Chief Financial Officer

- Conducted audits of the company’s worldwide subsidiaries (industrial and commercial operations) and assessed their level of internal control and compliance with group procedures;•	Performed follow-up of remediation of weaknesses identified;  •	Wrote audit reports and reviewed them in link with other auditors before submission to Head of Internal Audit and General Management.

Sanofi-Aventis

Internal Auditor

Program of capacity building, rural rehabilitation and development funded by the World Bank and other donors and implemented by ACTED in Northern Afghanistan•	Hired employees and oversaw their training for a major development programme employing more than 600 staff in Northern Afghanistan;•	Co-managed the programme operations and ensured timely delivery of projects to communities;•	Developed a methodology for the audit of Community Development Councils, elected bodies representing villagers for the programme, and managed a team of auditors;•	Ensured the respect of programme procedures both within ACTED and within Community Development Councils;•	Controlled programme expenditures in line with budget;•	Reported to donors about financial issues, prepared and submitted new budgets for programme extension;•	Set-up an Internal Audit Department for ACTED Afghanistan.

ACTED

NSP Operational Manager

- Performed external audits of companies in the financial services industry and prepared certification of accounts (experience of Retail Banking, Consumer Finance, Leasing, Factoring and Real Estate);•	Verified the correct application of French accounting rules, US GAAP or IFRS;•	Assigned at a leading British bank for a specific Sarbanes-Oxley/S404 compliance mission.

Alexis Lebel