My day

always wanted a career

that had a social as well
as a business impact. I
worked at Accion, a
global nonprofit
supporting microfnance institutions.
I loved the industry but wanted to
take my microfnance career to the
next level so did an MBA at London
Business School. Tat led to a role as
a strategy consultant, which gave me
a lot of diverse experience in a short
time. Ten, in 2010, the opportunity
with Credit Suisse arose.
Now, I work in the banks Zurich
HQ in Paradeplatz, in the heart of the
city. I lead the banks Microfnance
Capacity Building initiative. We have
been involved with microfnance
providing loans, savings, insurance
and other fnancial services to people
at the base of the economic pyramid
for more than 12 years and the
Initiative was launched in 2008.
Ive always been a big believer in
the power of fnancial services and
business to provide sustainable
solutions for social and economic
development. My job allows me to
be a part of this on a daily basis Im
one of the few who, fve years after
their MBA, is doing what they said
they wanted to do in their application!
I am in my ofce, shared with two
others, at 7.30 to 8am and leave around
seven or later. As a global initiative,
emails are often bouncing around
after I leave. A lot of my time is spent
building bridges between people and
organisations. I spend about 30 per

58 I s s u e

cent of my time in meetings.

We are the only large bank to do
microfnance in all of our divisions.
Our mission is to provide leadership
and develop innovative solutions to
link the top (our clients/the bank)
with the base of the income pyramid
and promote fnancial inclusion. We
currently have $2.8bn in assets under
management in microfinance and
impact investing.
Te Microfnance Capacity Building
Initiative aims to strengthen the
management, products and services
of microfnance institutions so they
can reach more people at the base of
the pyramid and develop into
sustainable and investable fnancial
services providers, which leads to
further business opportunities for
Credit Suisse.
We do this in lots of diferent ways,
including grants for capacity building
and innovation/research projects,
partnering across the bank to help
develop new investment opportunities
and, uniquely, sharing the expertise
of our employees through the Global
Citizens Program, which gives our staf
the opportunity to spend up to three
months in Africa, Latin America and
Asia, working directly with a microfinance institution. This might be
helping them to develop HR strategies,
IT systems, market research or product
development. Tis is where there are

1 - 2 015 LO N D O N B u s I N e s s s C H O O L r e v I e w

Laura Hemrika with

Martha Chawanda,
a microfnance client,
in Mulanje, Malawi

A lot of my
time is spent
building
bridges
between
people and
organisations

often bottlenecks. If we can break these

we can really advance the industry.
For people at Credit Suisse, this is
a unique leadership development
experience. Such programmes and
commitments are increasingly
important to our employees, especially
millennials. We have over 1,000
employees in our microfinance
employee network who spend a lot
of time outside their day jobs
contributing to what we are doing.
Te most exciting part of my job is
getting to see new trends and
opportunities on the ground. Recent
trips have included Tanzania, Rwanda,
Malawi, Kenya and Peru. Probably
20 per cent of my time is spent
travelling. In the field you really
understand whats going on and can
learn so much more by meeting all
the different actors involved in, or
impacted by, our programmes
whether the mother living on $2 a
day, the loan ofcer or the CEO of a
microfnance institution.
With our partners we have achieved
a lot. Tis evening we are celebrating
fve years of a successful programme.
I just spoke to one of our employees
who spent three months in Tanzania
helping an organisation with its
processes. It had a deep impact on
the employee and was a game changer
for the organisation. But there is a lot
more we can and want to do.
LO N D O N . e D u

PHOTOgraPH BerNarD vaN DIereNDONCk

Laura Hemrika, a
leader in Credit Suisses
wide-ranging involvement
in microfnance and impact
investing, opens her diary

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Copyright of London Business School Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its
content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the
copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email
articles for individual use.