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Team

Meet the people that make Mikro Kapital unique.

In Mikro Kapital Board of Directors you can find outstanding professional skills acquired by our partners over the years in various international markets.

Our team with a wide background in finance, banking and support to small and medium enterprises comes from many countries around the world making Mikro Kapital unique.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is vested with the broadest powers to perform all acts of administration and disposition in the Company's interests.

It is responsible to assess the overall direction and strategy of the business and provide the vision, mission, and goals of the Company.

The Board of Directors is also responsible for developing a governance system for the business aiming at the protection of the stakeholders’ interests in the Company.

Non-Executive Directors

Vincenzo Trani - Director A

Vincenzo Trani

Director A

Born in 1974, after graduating and completing his specialization he moved to Russia at the end of the 1990s to work for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and has worked continuously in Eastern Europe and Central Asia markets from that time onwards. He directed development initiatives on behalf of important private banks and industrial groups for eight years.

He gained official recognition as the initiator of some of the most important projects for small and medium-sized businesses in Moldova, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and other countries. He founded General Invest in 2007 and in 2008 Mikro Kapital, a micro-finance fund for financing small businesses in the regions that has established itself as one of the most successful such initiatives at a European level.

Vittorio Volpi - Director A

Vittorio Volpi

Director A

Vittorio began his professional career with the First National City Bank in Milan, working both in the United States and Europe. In 1971 he opened the offices of the first Italian bank in Japan (Comit), which he managed until 1981 with responsibility for the whole Far East. In that same year he set up a company offering strategic and financial consultancy, Parallels KK, Tokyo.

This was followed by his appointment to the Chairmanship of UBS Japan (1991), a position he held until 2001. On his return to Europe he took over the position of General Manager of UBS in Zurich with involvement in project Italy, helping to bring the Swiss presence in Italy up to standards of excellence, especially in Private Banking. He left his position in UBS in 2008, concentrating on reviving Parallels consultancy, but this time in Switzerland to develop strategic consulting projects.

Etienne Schneider - Director A

Etienne Schneider

Director A

Born in 1971, Etienne completed his secondary schooling at the Lycée Technique d’Esch-sur-Alzette before studying at the ICHEC Brussels Management School and at the University of Greenwich in London, where he graduated in business and finance in 1995.

Etienne joined the Socialist Party in 1991 and was elected municipal councillor in Kayl, Luxembourg in 1995. He then became secretary general of the Socialist parliamentary group from 1997 to 2004 before taking up his duties at the Ministry of the Economy.

He has been a member of the executive board of several companies, such as Société électrique de l’Our (SEO), Enovos International SA, Enovos Deutschland AG and National Credit and Investment Company (SNCI). Upon being appointed minister in 2012 he resigned from all these positions.

In 2013 he headed the LSAP list and became Deputy Prime Minister of the Bettel government, retaining the Ministry of Economy and also being assigned the Ministry of Internal Security and Defense.

After the 2018 elections he remained Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy. He was appointed Minister of Health.

In February 2020 he resigned from his position and left politics. He then created Beta Aquarii, specialized in economic consulting, and joined the boards of ArcelorMittal, LuxTP as chairman, Besix and Sistema. He is also an independent director of Jan de Nul Group.

He became a member of the Supervisory board of Mikro Kapital Management S.A. in January 2022.

Executive Directors

Johannes Feist - Chief Executive Officer<br>Director B

Johannes Feist

Chief Executive Officer
Director B

Johannes Feist is a development finance expert, experienced with mergers & acquisitions and restructurings, and with commercial, governmental and not for profit business models. He has deep knowledge of the functions of development finance institutions (DFIs), of MSME and rural financial services industries, and of investment fund regulations in Luxemburg, Germany and Mauritius.

He obtained a PhD and Diploma (MSc) in International Economics from University of Munich (Germany). He started his career at the EU Commission and European Centre of International Security (EUCIS), then became Assistant Lecturer at University of Munich. In 1999 he joined KFW Development Bank as Senior Project Manager. In the following 20 years in KFW, Mr. Feist covered different managerial and international roles, among them: Resident Director in Pristina and Belgrade, Vice President for European Financial Institutions (Berlin), Vice President for Corporate Strategy (Frankfurt).

Since 2015 he was Head of Division Financial Systems Development Southern Africa and Regional Funds, essentially KFW’s equity team. In 2020 Mr. Feist left KFW and founded his own company, JF Investment Advisory, supporting clients in the public (DFIs, International Organizations) and private / corporate space. He is member of Advisory Committee of DWM Displaced Communities Fund. In September 2022 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Mikro Kapital Management S.A.

Michele Mattioda - Director B

Michele Mattioda

Director B

Mr. Mattioda holds a Master’s degree in Automotive Engineering earned at Turin Polytechnic. He started his career in the automotive field in FCA and Bosch. He was involved in startup projects for sustainable mobility at the university, as a project manager. Later he moved to General Invest in Zürich, part of Mikro Kapital group, to support the Swiss Asset Manager focusing on HNWI investors for wealth planning through the use of various financial investment strategies and as well on institutional investors for due diligence on Mikro Kapital Group.

Following the development of Mikro Kapital group he moved to the headquarters in Luxembourg in 2020 as investor relations manager, coordinating all funding opportunities. In 2022 he was appointed a member of the Management board.

Dmitry Stepanov - Director B

Dmitry Stepanov

Director B

Dmitry Stepanov is a competent, analytical, and experienced legal professional with more than 20 years of solid and progressive track record in handling diverse areas of law; backed by a strong background in corporate law and corporate governance, international commercial law, intellectual property, and compliance.
He obtained an LL.M. (Magister Legum) in International Private Law in the University of Tübingen, Germany.
In the following years, Dmitry has been handling diverse leading legal and general management positions across Europe in IT-Sector (AltSoft), financial services (TMF Group) and international trading (Sodrugestvo Group).
Finally, he established in Luxembourg and joined Mikro Kapital Management S.A.. In August 2022 he was appointed Chief Legal Officer and member of the Board.

Pape Saliou Ndao - Director B

Pape Saliou Ndao

Director B

Mr. Ndao has extensive international experience in developing business through emerging markets analysis and designing strategies with a focus on African markets.

In 2017 Ndao joined Mikro Kapital Management S.A. in Luxembourg as manager for building business cases, timelines and growth/action plans driven by financial analysis, market trends, risk scenarios, economic factors and feasibility options.

He has been engaged in effective emerging market coverage by overseeing commercial and marketing strategies together with sales and marketing departments.

He was appointed a member of the management board in Mikro Kapital Management S.A. in 2018.

Thomas Heinig - Director B

Thomas Heinig

Director B

Thomas Heinig is a development finance expert, experienced in the implementation of complex fund structures and specialised in Local Currency and Guarantee vehicles. He has a deep understanding of different challenges in emerging and frontier market especially in the financial sector and has longstanding experience in the cooperation with ministries and development finance institutions (DFI).

He obtained a Diploma (MSc) in Business Administration from the University of Goettingen and studied at the University of Lisboa (UTL). He started his career as a credit analyst at a regional DFI in Germany, and worked at a risk management department of a commercial bank. He joined KfW in 2010 and as Senior Risk Manager. As of 2013 he moved to the team of Financial Systems Development Southern Africa and Regional Funds, essentially KFW’s equity team and was since 2015 the Deputy Head of the team. In 2020 he joined EDFI MC in Brussels as the Head of Risk being in charge of Risk Management (incl. Pillar Assessment), Internal Audit and Compliance.

In February 2023 he was appointed Chief Risk Officer of Mikro Kapital Management S.A.