Alberto Didoni 2017 Speaker

Managing Director

Varcando Limited, Africa

Biography

Alberto is the Founder of Varcando and has worked on impact investments for the past 15 years. He started off his career as a consultant for major development agencies such as the Inter- American Development Bank and the World Bank before becoming an Operations Officer at the International Finance Organisation (IFC) in Lima (Peru). In these roles, Alberto performed assessments and market studies on behalf of various financial institutions and advised clients on products related to micro and small business lending, in particular leasing, microfinance, home improvement finance, agri-lending and energy efficiency lending.

In 2008, he joined the Investment Team of Horus Development Finance as an Investment Officer for Advans SA, an impact investment fund specialized in microfinance and SME banking. Amongst other responsibilities, he performed feasibility studies, produced business plans and negotiated terms of transactions for new greenfielding financial intermediaries in Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria, Philippines and South Africa. In 2013, he created Varcando to facilitate cross-border investments in fragile markets. He performed various fund-raising assignments on behalf of investors and funds across Africa. Alberto sat on the Board of various African banks/MFIs: Advans Bank Tanzania, Advans Banque Congo, Advans Pakistan, Oxus DRC, La Fayette Microfinance Bank and Advans Cameroun. Alberto is fully fluent in English, French and Spanish.