Afghan Biographies

Microfinance Investment Support Facility MISFA


Name Microfinance Investment Support Facility MISFA
Ethnic backgr.
Date of birth
Function/Grade Actors and Background
History and Biodata

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MISFA

Biographies

Wais Ahmad Barmak Chairman,
and Minister, Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD). Before this appointment, he served as MRRD’s Deputy Minister for Programs, and Executive Director of the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), also under MRRD. He is an MSc graduate (Development Studies) from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London, UK.

Ms. Rahela Siddiqi (Outgoing)
Vice‐Chairperson, and Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Independent Administrative Reform & Civil
Service Commission (IARCSC), also Executive Director of Civil Service Reform Project (CSRP). Ms. Sidiqi has obtained an MA in Social Development and Sustainable Livelihoods, from the Agriculture Faculty, University of Reading, in the UK (2004‐2005).

Mohammad Mustafa Mastoor
Board Member, and Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance. Prior to becoming the Deputy Minister, he
worked as Director General for Budget at the Ministry, and before that, in various fields, including
financial and aid management, policy/strategy development and public finance He obtained an MD
Diploma from Kabul Medical University in 1992, and an MBA from Preston University in Pakistan in 2002.

Mohammad Qurban Haqjo
Board Member, and Chief Executive Officer of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 2008. Mr. Haqjo also worked as legal advisor to different projects funded by the European Union in Afghanistan, as well as with the Embassy of Italy in Kabul. He has a degree in Political Science from Balkh University and completed a degree in International Business Relations in Germany.

Klaas Molenaar Board Member, and Founder/Owner/General Director of Triodos Facet, an international consultancy firm
based in The Netherlands, which develops new approaches in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) promotion, finance and capacity building. He earned his Diplomas in Economics, Management Sciences, and Naval Architecture from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands.

Ms. Ruth Goodwin‐Groen
Board Member, and AusAID Adviser on Financial Services for the Poor; also Financial Inclusion Adviser to the Australian Co‐Chair of the G20 Financial Inclusion Experts Group. Ruth holds an MBA (with distinction) from Harvard Business School, and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Bath, writing a thesis on the Development of Inclusive Financial Markets.

Ms. Nicola Armacost
Board Member, and Managing Director of Arc Finance, formed in the spring of 2008 to link the fields of finance, energy, water and sanitation. Ms. Armacost has 17 years experience in microfinance; from 1993 to 2008, she worked at Women’s World Banking, a global microfinance network. Ms. Armacost has the following degrees from institutions in Canada: a Bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Toronto, an LLB from Queen's University, and an LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Background
The Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) was set up in 2003 at the invitation of the Afghan government — to get donor coordination right from the start and avoid the counter-productive efforts that have emerged from conflicting donor objectives in other post-conflict situations. It was established as a vehicle through which the Afghan Government and international donors could channel technical assistance and funding to build Afghanistan’s microfinance sector. MISFA was the first facility of its kind, pooling diverse donor funding mechanisms and converting them into streamlined, flexible support to microfinance institutions in Afghanistan, tailored to local priorities and accompanied by technical assistance and strong performance monitoring.

In March 2006, MISFA registered as a limited liability non-profit company whose sole shareholder is the Ministry of Finance of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. MISFA Ltd is an independent apex organization with a number of implementing partners on the ground. In most cases, MISFA functions as either the exclusive or primary provider of funds to its partners. The legal status of MFIs has been transformed from NGOs to that of non-profit companies registered with the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), as permanent institutions under the laws of Afghanistan.

MISFA is supported by donors, international development agencies and the Government of Afghanistan.

Last Modified 2013-01-13
Established 2013-01-13