Find out more about our team members below
Management Team
Md. Jamilur Rahman Chowdhury
Chief Executive Officer & Managing DirectorMd. Jamilur Rahman Chowdhury
Chief Executive Officer & Managing DirectorMr. Md. Jamilur was appointed as Managing Director of ASA Microfinance (Rwanda) Plc on April 30, 2016. Since joining ASA, one of the top 3 microfinance institutions in Bangladesh, on November 16, 1991, he has gained extensive experience in operating a micro finance business by through various positions in the field and at management level, including Branch Manager, Regional Manager, District Manager, Divisional Manager, and Assistant Director. He has also been assigned to handle numerous oversea jobs in several critical positions – as Executive Director with ASA Ghana, Consultant with Bina Swadaya, the leading NGO in Indonesia, as Consultant with UNDP system in the Philippines for the UNDP Micro-start Support Program (MSP), and as General Manager with SAMIC PLC. in Cambodia. Mr. Md. Jamil graduated with a Master of Art in General History from Chittagong University of Bangladesh.
Md. Golam Mostofa
Deputy Managing DirectorMd. Golam Mostofa
Deputy Managing DirectorMr. Mostofa has served as Deputy Managing Director from 2021, having previously been Operations Manager from 2018. He has been working in Rwanda since 2016. Mr. Mostofa has over 15 years of experience in the microfinance industry. As a principal consultant he has served one year in Grooming Integrated Global services limited, a Nigeria based microfinance institution. Previously he held different positions in the field atASA Bangladesh, such as District Officer, Regional Manager, and District Manager. Mr. Mostofa obtained his master’s degree in Social Science from Chittagong University of Bangladesh.
Jean Claude Hagenimana
Chief Financial OfficerJean Claude Hagenimana
Chief Financial OfficerMr. Hagenimana joined ASA Microfinance (Rwanda) Plc in December 2020 as Chief Financial Officer. Before joining ASA Rwanda, he worked at PwC Rwanda Limited as Senior Associate Auditor and at Ernest & Young as Junior Auditor. Mr. Hagenimana has extensive experience and expertise in the following areas: Auditing commercial banks, insurance companies and consumer companies; IT controls review; tax advisory services; and financial reporting. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Rwanda and is also finalizing a Master’s of Science in Finance from the University of Kigali. He also holds a CPA and is a member of ICPAR.
Theoneste Iyakaremye
Head of Internal AuditTheoneste Iyakaremye
Head of Internal AuditMr. Iyakaremye is the Head of the Internal Audit department, having joined the company in 2021. Prior to joining ASA Rwanda, he worked at Equity bank (Rwanda) Plc as the senior internal auditor for 9 years. He has also worked in Operations, occupying positions as senior relationships agency and merchant operations. Mr. Iyakaremye holds a masters’ degree of Business Administration specializing in Accounting and Finance from the Mount Kenya University, and he is currently pursuing his CPA (Certified Public Accountants). He has undergone a series of training mainly in risk management, operational risk assessment, regulatory compliance and he is a certified internal controller.
Jean Paul Ndahiro
Head of ITJean Paul Ndahiro
Head of ITMr Ndahiro joined ASA Microfinance Rwanda PLC in 2021. He is internationally certified as PECB ISO 22301 Lead implementer and PECB Disaster Recovery Manager. Has over 8 years of experience in IT infrastructure at Equity Bank Rwanda PLC. Moreover, he has hands on experience in configuring and managing hub and spoke network topology, managing calls in call billing system, managing and deploying centralized Symantec antivirus software on both on promises and in the cloud, managing and deploying network access control using portnoc tools, configure dynamic routing (EIGRP, OSPF and BGP), implementation and management of Commvault backup solution, and system administration in both hyper-v and VMware environments. Mr Ndahiro holds a master’s degree in Information technology from Madras university of India.
Imanishimwe Abraham
Head of HR & AdministrationImanishimwe Abraham
Head of HR & AdministrationMr. Imanishimwe Abraham joined ASA International Rwanda on 12th September 2022, having previously been employed as Human Resource Officer for more than 7 years at different Hospitals (Kibogora, Rwinkwavu, and Gahini District Hospital) and as Secretary of Kibogora District Hospital for over 5 years. He has been chairperson of the Board of Director in African Community Sustainability Develop for 2 years. Experienced in Human Resource Management and Administration, he has skills in HR software such as IPPIS and iHRIS. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from Kampala International University in Uganda,
Board of Directors
Karin Kersten
Karin Kersten
Ms Kersten is the Chief Executive Officer of ASA International. She joined the Group Executive Committee as Corporate Development Director in October 2021. She previously worked for ABN AMRO Bank, where she had a distinguished career, most recently as Managing Director, Trade & Commodity Finance. Ms Kersten is a member of the Supervisory Board of Mondriaan Fonds and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Mondriaan Fonds. She is also a member of the selection committee of Hotelschool The Hague.
Azim Hossain
Azim Hossain
Azim Hossain assumed the role of Chief of Operations ('CO') of ASA International in July 2023, having served as the Group's Director of Investment, Treasury and Risk Management since 2005. Mr Hossain has over 34 years of experience in the microfinance industry, having worked for 20 years at ASA NGO Bangladesh, where he held various positions including Director of Finance & MIS and Senior Finance Professional. At ASA Bangladesh, Mr Hossain established the finance and MIS systems, was involved in the development and design of the AMMS, assisted in the establishment of risk management frameworks and was in charge of the NGO Partnership Programme, providing technical and financial assistance to microfinance institutions. He has also worked with the UNDP MicroStart programme in the Philippines and Nigeria, where he was responsible for development, products and services, financial management, performance analysis and business planning.
Md. Jamilur Rahman Chowdhury
Md. Jamilur Rahman Chowdhury
Mr. Chowdhury is an ex-officio member of the Board of ASA Rwanda by virtue of his position as Managing Director.
Nzamwita Kagwesage Adelaide
Nzamwita Kagwesage Adelaide
Mrs. Adelaide has twenty-five years (1996 – 2020) experience of developing and successfully implementing monetary policy processes as well as in project management for governmental development programmes from various donors such as the World Bank, IFAD, AFD and other bilateral organisations.
Martin Murenzi
Martin Murenzi
Mr Murenzi is a highly skilled banking professional with 18 years of working experience in banking with specialization in areas of bank supervision at the National Bank of Rwanda (Inspector and Principal Inspector of Banks from1996 to 2011), in risk management (Financial Risk Manager at the National Bank of Rwanda (2011 to 2014), and auditing (freelance consultant in financial and non-financial audit firms) from 2015. Mr Murenzi obtained his Master degree in Economics from University of Tunis, Tunisia in 1993. To enhance his knowledge, he has participated in about more than 15 seminars and workshops in banking supervision and risk management.
Aminur Rashid
Aminur Rashid
Since joining ASA International in 2011, Mr Rashid has held the positions of Exectutive Director Operations, Chief Coordinating Officer and Head of Operations. Prior to this, he was a Director of ASA Bangladesh, from 1992, which is closely associated with the Company’s microfinance programme. With over 29 years of experience in microfinance, he has held multiple senior industry positions, and worked in highly varied developmental contexts including Tajikistan, India, Mexico and Nigeria.
Farid Ahmed
Farid Ahmed
Md Farid Ahmed is the interim Managing Director of ASA Kenya. He has over 30 years of experience in microfinance and for the past 5 years has been the Regional Director for East Africa for ASA International, overseeing operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia. Prior to joining ASA International, he was seconded to various countries where he held management positions with ASA Bangladesh and implemented programmes with BRAC.
Muhammad Shah Newaj
Muhammad Shah Newaj
Mr. Newaj is the Managing Director of ASA Tanzania. Before that, he served as a Junior Deputy Director at ASA Bangladesh since 2011. He has more than twelve yearsmanagement experience in the field of finance management, Human Resource Management & administration, microfinance and banking operations. Prior to joining ASA International, he worked as an Operations Officer at City Bank Limited (Bangladesh). Mr. Newaj has a Masters degree in International Human Resource Management from Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and a Masters in Social Work from Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet-Bangladesh. He also holds a diploma in Sales & Marketing Management from the London Centre of Marketing in the UK.
Md. Nurul Islam Chowdhury Mafique
Md. Nurul Islam Chowdhury Mafique
Mr. Mafique is the Managing Director of ASA Uganda. He joined ASA Bangladesh in 1994 and obtained his post-graduate degree in Management from National University of Bangladesh in 1997. Since then he has been closely associated with the implementation of ASA’s microfinance program and impact assessment team. He was the Managing Director of ASA Afghanistan (previously part of ASA International) between 2009 - 2010. From 2005 to 2006 he provided consultancy services to the Centre for Community Transformation in the Philippines and the Cambodia Health Committeeto strengthen the Microfinance Service Delivery System, HR Management System, Monitoring/Supervision and implementation. . Mr. Mafique worked with various organizations as a Deputy Managing Director, such as Pag-ASA Philippines (part of ASA International) in 2008 - 2009, ASA Pakistan in 2011 - 2012 and ASA Savings and Loans in 2013-2014. He is member of the Board of Directors of ASA Uganda, ASA Kenya, ASA Tanzania and ASA Rwanda, He is also a member of AMFIU, an association for Microfinance institutions in Uganda.