Alejandro started working at the Fund in February 2021 and holds an MBA from HEC Paris and a MSC in Chemical Engineering.
How did you get into inclusive finance?
While doing my MBA in Finance, I got the opportunity to meet Dr. Muhamad Yunus in person who inspired me. I have always had a mixed interest, on one hand a deep interest in finance, financial markets and investment funds and on the other hand, my personal interest to deliver social impact with my work. Meeting Dr. Yunus gave me the life reassurance I needed to confirm that actually both worlds could be aligned. When I saw the opportunity to join the Fund, I took the decision to quit my job and embark into this new adventure.
What are your responsibilities at LMDF?
My responsibilities are split between our two funds LMDF and FCCF. I am in charge of managing the investment operations of the fund, meaning supporting the origination team for the financing of new investments opportunities and executing the decisions from our investment committees. I also manage the fund’s treasury, the hedging instruments and the fund’s portfolio database as well as the IT vendor management.
Having different responsibilities and participating in new projects is something I really like as every day I am learning something new by being outside of my comfort zone.
Personally, I have not a lot experience in Microfinance and impact investing, but here at the Fund we have the opportunity to learn from experts and leaders in the field, who are always willing to take you on board in new initiatives.
What excites you the most about your job?
What I really like about my job is how and what we aim doing. Specially what LMDF is doing in Microfinance plus and how FCCF is changing many paradigms of forest management, social development within a sustainable framework. Also, being able to meet people with different backgrounds and knowing that our work helps not only to contribute to poverty alleviation but also to support financial inclusion to those with entrepreneurial spirit and great ideas, has always been interesting to me.
What about the future?
The Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative stated that “The Luxembourg financial centre acts as a leading international platform for sustainable finance”. Personally, I think that we are only at the beginning when we think about Sustainable Finance and Inclusive Finance; the full integration and adoption of investment strategies, products and methodologies is underway. In the future I definitively see myself as an actor within the LMDF and FCCF fund to explore new business models and financing instruments and to push further the boundaries of financial inclusion.
