FEATURED SPEAKER
Arnaud Ventura
Co-founder and CEO, PlaNet Finance Group
Founder & CEO, MicroCred
Co-founder & Board Member, mBank Holding
Founder, LH Forum
Arnaud Ventura is a serial entrepreneur, and after founding PlaNet Finance Group in 1998, he also founded and became the CEO of MicroCred in 2006, mBank Holding in 2010 and the Positive Economy Movement (LH Forum) in 2012.
Since he first discussed the idea with PlaNet Finance Group Chairman, Jacques Attali in 1997, to the creation of PlaNet Finance in 1998, Arnaud has led the evolution of the group from a young microfinance start up to one of the worldwide leading microfinance group working in four main areas of microfinance.
In 2014, PlaNet Finance Group provides the following services: 1. Consulting and technical advisory in microfinance and microenterprise development 2. Rating in microfinance 3. financing microfinance and microentrepreneurs 4. Insuring microentrepreneurs.
From its start as a non profit organization, PlaNet Finance Group matured in a group that includes an international non profit organization, a foundation and more than 10 social businesses. Today, PlaNet Finance Group is one of the leading organizations developing microfinance worldwide. With more than 2,000 staff wordlwide, PlaNet Finance Group is active in close to 80 countries.
Arnaud built MicroCred (www.microcredgroup.com) in 2006 as an investment company investing and running a group of microfinance banks. MicroCred takes controlling equity participation in the capital of banks or financial institutions in Africa and China and invests jointly with International Investment Funds and Local partners. As of today, MicroCred run 8 institutions, including two banks, in Africa and China. Those banks serve in August 2014 about 290,000 clients with more than USD 265 million of loan portfolio. Microcred’s banks usually reach profitability in the first 2 to 3 years of their operations while serving among the most undeserved small and micro-entrepreneurs.
After creating MicroCred, Arnaud founded mBank Holding (www.mbankholding.com) in 2010, a holding company investing in microfinance bank leveraging mobile operator technology and distribution network, to offer financial services to underserved clients. mBank first investment (a USD 10 million investment) was done in 2012 jointly with SMART, the largest mobile operator of the Philippines, to create mBank Philippines. mBank Philippines got a bank licence in 2013 and started its operations then.
In 2012, interested by the development of a the Triple Bottom Line sector, through the examples of microfinance, social business, fair trade, or more generally looking at how different economists (Porter, Stiglitz, etc.), entrepreneurs and large corporate had developed an interest in approaches combining economic value creation with social and environmental value creation, Arnaud created the Positive Economy Movement a Movement to promote and develop an economy that create value for future generations. One of the key elements of the movement is the LH Forum (www.lhforum.com) a TED-like event gathering entrepreneurs, economists and people interested in the movement. LH Forum 2013 gathered 4,000 people and 300 speakers.
Arnaud is also cofounder of the French China Foundation (https://www.francechinafoundation.org/).
Arnaud was nominated Young Global Leader from the World Economic Forum in 2013. Arnaud was nominated French American Young Leader in 2005.
Before co-founding PlaNet Finance, Arnaud worked for BNP Paribas in France and Argentina and participated in the creation of two leading Internet providers in France and in Thailand (Club-Internet & Internet Thailand).
Arnaud speaks English, Spanish and French fluently, he was born in Antibes in the South of France in April 1973, he is married and has 2 young children (3 and 7 year old).