Welcome to Promicrofinance International

Leadership

John S. Kavyavu
Founder, Board Member, CEO

His mother’s social business and 3 year experience in India inspired this initiative. John earned his Bachelor degree at the University of Lukanga (North-Kivu/DRC) in Business Administration. He has an MA in Development Planning and Administration from the University of Pune (CDSA) India and made his debute in Microfinance working for Annapurna Parivar a Microfinance Institution for Slum dwellers of Pune City.

In his homeland the DR Congo, John co-founded “Solidarité International pour l’Education et le Developpement (SIED) a non profit organization involved in building schools in North Kivu for unprivileged children. As an entrepreneur, he ran a successful business in Kisangani, which connected Bean farmers from North Kivu to retailers in the City of Kisangani. John worked with the South African Management and Development Institute (SAMDI) in Kinshasa for the Project Planning and Management Training of the Congolese civil servants.

In the US, John volunteered with LEDC (Latino Economic Development Corporation) as an assistant to the Outreach manager and the Loan officer in Wheaton, MD. He worked with the Congolese delegation at the International Business Forum at the World Bank.

Lwanzo Amani, Founding member, Board member, COO

Amani is the Chief Operating Officer of Pro-Microfinance. Originally from North Kivu, DRC, Amani Lwanzo currently lives in Washington DC. Amani has a Masters Degree in Social and Public Policy from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA USA and lived in Cameroon where she pursued a Masters in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action and a Bachelors degree in Commerce and Distribution at Universite Catholique D’Afrique Centrale.

She has previously worked at the Save Darfur Coalition, Open Society Institute, Electoral Commission in the Congo, VODACOM, Research International and World Health Organization. She is an Amnesty International 2008 Human Rights Reebok Fellow. Amani is an activist, and uses her skills in business and passion for social justice to address the economic empowerment of women.

Kym Park Heimplaetzer, Founding Member, Board Member, CCO

Kym serves as the Chief Communication Officer of Promicrofinance. She has worked with non-profit and microcredit organizations in Washington DC for the last seven years, among them FINCA and RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund, which includes The Microcredit Summit Campaign, a grassroots advocacy organization to end hunger and poverty worldwide.

Kym has a BA in Cultural Ecology from The University of California, Santa Cruz. She has travel and volunteer experience in Mexico, Europe, India, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Africa.

Her experience includes seven years as a volunteer leader with Landmark Education, an educational company, and was a regional manager with CEO Space, an entrepreneurial company.

Kym currently works with College Summit, a non-profit increasing the U.S. college enrollment rate of low-income students. She lives with her husband in Washington DC.

Julia Smith, Board Member,
Chief Process Officer

Julia Smith brings four years of fieldwork and research experience in microfinance to Pro-microfinance. She has interned with the microfinance institutions FINCA Ecuador and Project Enterprise, as well as with the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, Children Better Way, the UN World Food Program, NJ Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, the Street Vendor Project, and the Centre for Microfinance. She has been involved in project development, cross-sector quality assessment, case management, and program development; in both the microfinance industry and with conflict-affected populations. She graduated from the Post-war Reconstruction and Development unit at the Univeristy of York with a master’s in Post-war Recovery, following an undergraduate degree in development studies with the Global College.

Julia currently works with the International Organization for Migration’s mission in Iraq as a capacity building program assistant.

Melissa R. Cecchine, Board Member, Chief Financial Officer

Melissa serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Promicrofinance. She has worked with non-profit organizations in Washington DC for the past 15 years in finance and accounting. In the beginning of her career, she worked at a public accounting firm auditing non-profit organizations. For the past 11 years she has worked for a few non-profits as a CFO or consultant.

Melissa has a BS in Accounting with Distinction from The Pennsylvania State University. In addition, she has Professional Designations in Photography and Apparel Manufacturing Management.

Her experience includes seven years as a volunteer leader with Landmark Education, an educational company.

Melissa currently works as the VP/CFO at the National Apartment Association, a non-profit trade association which serves the interests of multifamily housing owners, managers, developers and suppliers, and promotes a high level of professionalism in the multifamily housing industry to better serve the rental housing needs of the public.

Kevin Day, Board Member,
Chief Technical Officer

Kevin Day is a social entrepreneur with experience running both private and public companies. In 1998, he founded Riskebiz Internet Services Inc., a company which helps entrepreneurs in the developing world establish and grow local businesses by connecting them with microfinance services through the mobile web. Mr. Day is a Director of Beauty Night Society, non-profit volunteer-based organization that provides makeovers and wellness programs to marginalized women and youth