Arnaud Ventura 2021 Speaker

Managing Partner

Gojo.co

Biography

Arnaud Ventura founded and led two of the leading financial inclusion group in the last 20 years active in Micro&SME finance, and digital finance before joining Gojo as its managing partner to support the development of the Group in Asia and build the Africa’s activity.

Between 1998 and 2008 Ventura cofounded and led with Mr Attali & Mr Yunus PlaNet Finance, one of the global and most successful European Financial Inclusion Group. Between 2008 and 2019, Arnaud Ventura founded & led Baobab (formerly MicroCred), the leading Micro&SME digital bank in Africa & China.

Additionally, Arnaud Ventura has been appointed Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2013 and he cofounded the French China Foundation the leading network of Young Leaders between French and China.

Arnaud Ventura founded Baobab Group www.baobab.bz, the leading Micro & SME digital finance company in Africa & China. With the initial support of leading international investors such as IFC (World Bank Group), AXA & SocGen Arnaud built in the last 10 years the leader in SME & Micro finance in Africa and China with 10
banks and financial institutions, more than 1000 branches and agents and 4500 employees. In 2019 alone Baobab lent 1 billion EUR to about 1 million client generating 200 MEUR of revenues and about 40 MEUR of Profit before Tax. Between 2016 and 2019 Baobab went through a successful digital transformation program to
become one of the leader digital Micro&SME players.

Prior to Baobab (former name MicroCred), Arnaud cofounded with Jacques Attali and Muhamed Yunus, PlaNet Finance, a leading international group focusing on financial inclusion. As PlaNet Finance’s CEO from 1999 to 2008, Arnaud developed primarly a consulting business developing more than 100 consulting assignment every with banks, specialized microfinance institutions, telcos and international finance institutions. PlaNet Finance 200 staff worked on issues such as microinsurance, fund advisory & management, national microfinance strategies in more than 20 countries in Asia, Africa & Latin America.

Arnaud also co-founded the French China Foundation www.francechinafoundation.org/, a network of Young Leaders between France and China. Arnaud was born in Antibes, France in 1973, he speaks fluently French, English and Spanish. Arnaud has been nominated Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2013 and French American Young Leader by the French American Foundation in 2005.

 

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