ABOUT US

Julio Ayca, Managing Partner in charge of Portfolio Management. Previously, Portfolio Manager for Grassroots Business Fund (GBF) Latin America. Julio has 15 years of experience investing in and scaling SMEs in Latin America. Prior to GBF, Julio worked as a Senior Investment Officer at CASEIF, a venture capital fund in Central America. Julio holds a BA in Industrial Engineering from University of Lima and an MBA from INCAE Business School, where after graduating, he worked as a researcher and has written more than 35 documents, including case studies, technical notes, and papers about functional areas such as Finance, Operations, Strategy, Marketing, and Organization

Natasha Barantseva, Managing Partner in charge of Business Development. She has 15 years of experience in SME and impact investing. Previously Regional Director for Latin America at Grassroots Business Fund (GBF) Latin America, Natasha was a founding member of GBF and she was involved in the structuring of GBI-I. She launched GBF Latin America in 2012. Prior to GBF, Natasha worked as Transaction Leader at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Natasha earned her BA in economics with a specialization in management and marketing at the International University in Moscow, Russia, where she graduated magna cum laude. She also holds an MA in liberal arts with a concentration in Latin American Studies from Dartmouth College, and an MBA from McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Fiorella Capristan, Operation Analyst in charge of all office administration and reporting of AIP. Previously, Fiorella had served as Operations Analyst at Grassroots Business Fund (GBF) Latin America for 5 years. Before GBF, Fiorella had worked in service companies and was responsible for cash management, sales and customer service. Fiorella is studying Marketing at San Ignacio de Loyola Institute, and completing a Digital Marketing program at Biia Lab, Peru. Fiorella speaks Spanish (native) and English.

Olga Egorova, AIP Investment Officer. She conducts origination, due diligence, and supervision of investment transactions. Previously, Olga had been with Grassroots Business Fund (GBF) Latin America for 7 years. Prior to GBF, she worked in investment banking and corporate asset management. Olga holds a BSc and a MSc in Economics from Moscow State University and an MBA from the University of Michigan .

Jaime Ramirez, Managing Partner in charge of Operations. Previously, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Grassroots Business Fund (GBF). Jaime has over 20 years of experience in finance, project management, risk analysis, and operations. Prior to GBF, he managed an Information Technology company in Peru and provided consulting services on applied technologies to businesses throughout Latam and the Caribbean, for over 10 years. He holds an MBA from EAE Business School and a specialization in Structured Financial Products from IEF in Barcelona. He holds a BS in Physics from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, where he is originally from. Jaime is a registered investment adviser in Washington DC

Kaylene Alvarez

Athena Global Founder / Principal Consultant

Kaylene Alvarez is a global, technical specialist in impact investing, access to finance for SME, gender lens investing and risk management with work experience in nearly 40 countries, spanning a 20+ year career, both in private and public sectors, including with the IFC/World Bank Group, where she was the Global Advisory Lead for the Banking on Women Program ($1B+ in investments and advisory, using a blended finance model).

She is the Founder of Athena Global, a niche consulting firm that supports clients to develop investment structuring to move money to under-served populations. Most recently, Athena Global was nominated as the implementing partner for the BIDUK project (Indonesia), which is a DFAT Frontier Brokers and Investing in Women funded project to support debt financing for women entrepreneurs in Indonesia.

Mariana Posse

Posse Herrera Ruiz Founding Partner

Mariana has counselled multinational companies, banks and funds as well as leading American and European companies in matters pertaining to Corporate Governance and Corporate Management. She has ample experience advising companies and banks in matters relating to financings and has worked with various sectors of the economy including retail, telecommunications, mining, energy, oil and gas, infrastructure and manufacturing among others. Additionally she has experience in regulatory matters and in obtaining the necessary permits from the pertinent authorities for the incorporation of financial institutions.

Mariana has a JD from Universidad Javeriana, where she also obtained a Graduate Degree in Insurance Law.

Harold Rosen

GBF Founder and CEO

Harold is the founderand CEO of GBF, and is considered one of the leading innovators and entrepreneurs of the development field. After 30 years with International Finance Corporation (IFC), Harold led restructuring of GBF and its establishment as an independent non-profit organization in 2008. Over its 10+ history, GBF has established an important place in the social investing field, globally and also in the key markets of East Africa, India, the Andes, and Southeast Asia.

In his 30 years at IFC, Harold ran major investment operations, and a large technical assistance network which grew and improved substantially. He also oversaw World Bank Group’s leading enterprises, spearheading IFC’s moves into SMEs, microfinance, and a number of new geographic and sectoral markets.