How does a community lift itself out of poverty? One increasingly popular method is through microfinance: small loans, provided by a mix of donors and financial institutions, are given to those without access to traditional capital to help kickstart business ventures. These loans have a tangible impact on members of struggling communities, often causing a ripple effect that lifts up more and more people over time. This life-changing impact sits at the heart of Care Australia’s mission: delivering targeted microfinance support to women in underserved communities to help make their ambitions a reality. But setting up the infrastructure to facilitate these loans comes with its own set of challenges, from security and compliance to balancing the needs of individual lenders and larger institutions. In this episode of Transformation @ Work, we recount how Gerent ANZ helped Care Australia bring its microfinance portal to life and provide communities with unprecedented access to entrepreneurial opportunities. Key Talking Points 02:21: Introducing Care Australia’s mission: helping to provide capital and financial support to members of underprivileged communities 03:30: What is microfinance, and how can it help individuals without access to capital achieve their business goals? 04:36: Exploring the ripple effect of microfinance; what really happens when one woman is enabled to achieve her long-term business goals? 06:30: How Care Australia’s microfinance portal works, and how individuals and financial institutions can contribute 08:39: Understanding the project: what did Care Australia need to bring their microfinance portal to fruition? 10:00: Unpacking Gerent ANZ’s transformation planning process; how do you build a first-of-its-kind microfinance portal? 11:02: Addressing common nonprofit budgetary challenges through out-of-the-box Salesforce functionality 13:12: The challenges of building two separate digital experiences for different user audiences 15:24: How Gerent ANZ ensured that operating costs were minimal so that as much money as possible could go towards Care Australia’s mission 16:16: Maintaining compliance, security, and governance throughout the transaction process 18:17: Taking a “divide and conquer” approach towards implementation to ensure maximum efficiency from beginning to end 21:11: Putting it all together: the impact that Care Australia’s microfinance portal has on individuals and communities in need Guest Speakers Arnaud Charlier, Head of Data and Platforms Performance, Care Australia Arnaud brings over 18 years of experience in the nonprofit and automotive consulting sectors to his current role as head of data and platform performance with Care Australia. For over 20 years, Care Australia has provided direct financial support to women in underprivileged communities through managed loans and microfinance. Their goal is to uplift not just the women themselves, but family members, loved ones, and the communities at large through successful business ventures. Pradeep Laxminarayana, Managing Director, Gerent ANZ As Managing Director, Pradeep Laxminarayana is responsible for directing Gerent’s business strategy, growth initiatives, and Salesforce consulting staff in Australia and New Zealand. Over the course of his 20-year career, Pradeep has successfully executed transformation programs across the utilities, telecom, retail, insurance, and public sector ecosystems. Amit Kumar, Salesforce Principal Consultant, Gerent ANZ As Program Delivery Director, Amit Kumar oversees all of Gerent ANZ’s Salesforce work programs. A veteran IT leader, Amit has over 17 years of experience in the professional services sector and has successfully led digital transformation initiatives in the utilities, NFP, and public sectors. He is well-versed in Scrum Agile, Scaled Agile, Waterfall, and Hybrid methodologies.
