Microfinanza is a Limited Liability Company committed to establishing financial inclusion as a universal and enduring right.

• Roberta Bisazza
• Isabella Zaupa 

This area involves the team members leading the implementation of the different projects at national or international level. The area involves internal staff collaborating with external experts for performing project activities, developing operational tools and improving internal working methodologies.

The operational team is composed of Senior and Junior profiles, with the specific aim of investing in the future of the Company, in a generational transfer of knowledge. The team is also integrated by youths involved through internship programs; moreover, the Company counts on an important network of highly specialized expert consultants.

Team

Giampietro Pizzo

President and founding partner of Microfinanza, Giampietro is a seasoned microfinance specialist with 30 years of experience in coordinating and implementing technical assistance activities, evaluations, and research initiatives for numerous international and bilateral entities. His primary areas of expertise include financial inclusion frameworks as well as rural and SME finance. Prior to Microfinanza, Giampietro worked for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other development cooperation clients (including the EC). His global experience spans some 25 countries, most notably in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, but also in North Africa and the Middle East. Giampietro is the current president of the Italian Microfinance Network (RITMI) and former vice president of the European Microfinance Network (EMN).
Giampietro has a Master’s equivalent in Economics and Commerce from the University of Venice (Venice, Italy). He is fluent in English, French, and Spanish and has a working knowledge of Portuguese.

Katia Raguzzoni

Partner and member of Microfinanza’s BoD Katia is an experienced project manager with an almost 20-year background in the design, implementation, and monitoring of multidisciplinary development cooperation initiatives. She has worked in some 15 countries primarily in North and sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but also in Asia as well as Latin America and the Caribbean. At Microfinanza, Katia is primarily involved in institutional diagnostics and capacity building (mostly governance related) of financial service providers as well as the provision of financial education and business start-up support to refugees and migrants. She also has experience in supporting the internationalization of SMEs and cross-border initiatives of local public authorities. Katia is a regular professor in project cycle management at the higher education level.
Katia holds a Master’s equivalent in History from the University of Bologna (Bologna, Italy) as well as a Master diploma in Cooperation in Developing Countries from the IFOA Business Management and Training Center (Reggio Emilia, Italy) and a graduate training diploma in Business Internationalization from the Aldini Valeriani Foundation / Bologna Chamber of Commerce (Bologna, Italy). She is fluent in English and French, and has some basic knowledge of Arabic.

Fabio Malanchini

Founding partner of Microfinanza, Fabio is an economist with more than 20 years of experience in the impact investment and microfinance fields in some 50 countries worldwide. During the last seven years, he has established and managed Impact Finance Management, an investment fund financing innovative companies, projects and products with a high financial, social and environmental impact. After coming back to Microfinanza recently, Fabio is now mainly engaged in business development activities. As one of the founders and former executive director of Microfinanza Rating, he also has a strong background in the performance analysis and rating of financial service providers.
Fabio holds a Master’s equivalent in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University (Milan, Italy). He is fluent in English and Spanish and has a working knowledge of French.

Alessandro Baroni

Alessandro Baroni is a Financial Inclusion specialist with over 15 years of experience in the development and humanitarian sector, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. He has worked as a resident consultant in Jordan, Kenya, Eritrea, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique while providing advisory services in Sudan, Tunisia, Ethiopia, and other Sub-Saharan countries. Alessandro has experience in projects funded by EU, AICS, KFW, USAID, UNICEF and UNDP on emergency response, poverty reduction and local economic development. He implemented projects in coordination with MFIs, Central Banks, Coops, local and national authorities, civil society, and both formal and informal private sectors.
As a member of the KFW “Investing for Employment” project, Alessandro has reviewed project proposals in Ethiopia, Tunisia and Cote D’Ivoire (2020-2021). From 2016 until 2019, he has served as Financial Inclusion Senior Technical Advisor and Project Support Specialist for the USAID Jordan Local Enterprise Support Project, launching Islamic and traditional financial services, digital products and innovative alternative channels for vulnerable populations in remote areas (women, youth, host communities). With Microfinanza, he has worked as a Technical Assistance Analyst for the Regmifa Sub-Saharan M-SME fund, providing financial and non-financial services to Partner Lending Institutions and entrepreneurs (2013-2016). Before that, he worked as manager and administrator for NGOs in Southern and Eastern Africa, providing emergency response and livelihood support to local vulnerable communities, refugees and IDPs (2004, 2009-2013).
Alessandro is a certified expert in SME finance. He holds a Master’s in Business from the University of Bergamo and a Degree in Political Sciences from the University of Milano. He speaks Italian, English, French and has practical knowledge of Levantine Arabic.

Davide Libralesso

Davide Libralesso is a manager in the beyond profit sector who has recently joined Microfinanza as senior expert, in the sustainable and development finance sector. He has been operating in this context from fifteen years. Before joining Microfinanza he has been consulting the Switch Med Programme of the EU- Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production (CP/RAC), in the design of innovative financial solutions to boost the adoption of SCPs and the transition towards sustainability among the SMEs in the Mediterranean. Earlier Davide acted as head of Programmes and International Relations at Etimos Foundation, where he was responsible for the development of international programmes and partnerships, focusing on the role of the private sector in development.
He previously worked for international organizations, EU cooperation programmes, and Italian public institutions, mainly designing and promoting innovative financial solutions to leverage the potential of the private sector in developing and emerging contexts.
He has directly promoted the role of diaspora through several innovative international programmes, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where migrants play a pivotal role as development actors for their Countries of origin.
Davide has been part of the working group on Migration and Development at the Italian Council for Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From 2016 to 2020 he has also been member of the Board of Directors of FEBEA, the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks.
Davide holds a degree in International Politics and Human Rights from the University of Padua, Italy.

Riccardo Capocchini

Riccardo Capocchini has a master degree in tropical and subtropical agriculture and 30 years of professional experience in international cooperation with bilateral cooperation agencies, NGOs and independent consultant.
Riccardo has worked in the African countries during 25 years and 5 more years between Latin America and Asia. Its main areas of expertise are: management of programs/projects, development of rural areas, agricultural value chains, support to community social services, capacity building of state actors and civil society, program/project formulation, implementation and follow-up of monitoring systems, program/project evaluation, training and management of multicultural and multisectoral teams.
Riccardo is convinced that the impact of actions depends on our technical and management capacities but also, and above all, on our ability to listen and adapt.

Matteo Solivo

Matteo has more than 6 years of experience in impact evaluation, financial markets and investment analysis, as well as an extensive expertise in environmental and social sustainability and business governance. He has a strong background in capital markets and internal organization processes, besides expertise in financial guidance and business and administration consulting, thanks to training in qualitative and quantitative financial tools. He graduated from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice with a Bachelor degree in Economics and Management and a Master degree in Economics and Finance. He also earned a post-graduate program in Finance at Fondazione CUOA.
He joined Microfinanza Srl in 2017 and his activity mainly focused on data analysis, research activities on microfinance markets and business development. His field of activity nowadays also includes impact measurement and management, and sustainability. He is in charge of the implementation of two substantive projects related to self-entrepreneurship.
He fluently speaks English and has a good knowledge of Spanish.

Ana Maria Brinzanu

Ana Maria Brinzanu is a practitioner with a strong background in international political issues and sustainable development. Ana Maria Brinzanu has acquired a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted challenges arising from the convergence of contemporary crises, thanks to her pursuit of an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s degree in Sustainable Territorial Development (STeDE) from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and Università degli Studi di Padova. This educational journey equipped her with a holistic perspective and equipped her with a diverse array of approaches to effectively address these challenges.  She has practical experience as an intern in Action Research for the Dominia Research project at VUB and Ku Leuven, where she conducted research on local food systems and public policies related to agri-food systems at different policy-making levels, and organized multiple action research activities. Additionally, Ana Maria has volunteered in various domanins, such as immigration, leading workshops on international relations and sustainability. She is fluent in Italian and Romanian, with advanced proficiency in English and French. Currently, Ana Maria works as a Junior project officer in Tunisia. 

Marianna Martino

Marianna Martino is an expert in the field of communication and social development. She has a solid experience in strategic planning and implementation of communication projects related to impact programmes. With a decade of experience in cultural and social inclusion projects, she has worked with cultural institutions in Italy and France and coordinated international projects in Europe, Armenia, Africa and Myanmar. Marianna joined Microfinance in 2022 and is in charge of the communication for the different intervention areas. She is also the general coordinator of the Italian Microfinance Network (RITMI), with which she develops projects on financial education, women’s entrepreneurship and financial inclusion. She is fluent in French and English.

Elisabetta Carruba

Elisabetta Carrubba is an international professional with solid experience in managing European and multilateral programmes in the fields of social innovation and territorial development. She studied international law and international relations at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Liverpool, and has contributed to initiatives supporting entrepreneurship in fragile contexts (Global Roadmap for Refugee Entrepreneurship – UNHCR), youth empowerment (Oxfam IBIS), and sustainable tourism development in the Mediterranean (Interreg, ENI CBC MED), combining research, impact assessment, and participatory methodologies. She has also built significant experience in strengthening local micro-enterprises in Sicily. In a creative start-up active in experiential tourism and cultural production, she played a key role in both operational and project management, coordinating processes, engaging stakeholders, and supervising multidisciplinary activities. She is fluent in Italian and English, with basic knowledge of French.
At Microfinanza, Elisabetta Carrubba serves as the focal point for the Catania office, supporting activity coordination, contributing to partnership development and client engagement, and helping drive local initiatives forward.

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Network of Experts & Collaborators

• Luca Borella

Luca Borella is a financial economist with experience in impact assessment, credit data management and Open Banking.
Luca is particularly interested in digital platform business models applied to financing use cases for their ability to create capital and well-being for end-users. He is a strong support of Open Source and Open Data principles.Luca holds a Master’s equivalent in Econometrics and Engineering in Financial Mathematics from Sorbonne University and Ca’ Foscari University.

• Marcel Chiranov

A senior professional experienced in leading teams towards reaching their strategic objectives, designing and managing the implementation of Performance Management Plans/Systems (Monitoring & Evaluation Systems), and Impact Assessment Plans. Implemented projects for various industries: financial services, business services, ITC, health care, manufacturing, education, governance reform, policy reform, labor market restructuring, program management, and economic development, anti-trafficking. Successfully designed and managed implementation of Performance Management Plan (M&E System) for programs cumulatively worth over $12 billion. Used to work with private, or public organizations, with international donors (USAID, Bill and Melinda Gates, USDoL, World Bank, EU, UNDP); experienced in working in transition economies. MSc in Physics and Certified Project Management Professional by Project Management Institute, USA.

• Marco Ferrarato 

Marco is an accountant analyst with 11 years of experience in assistance and development in the administration-finance-control area. After graduating from the University of Ferrara with a degree in Business Administration and Management, he worked as a chartered accountant in a well-known accounting firm in Padua, while attending the Management Development Programme (PSM) at SDA Bocconi (Milan). Particularly interested in issues related to management control, management control, performance improvement and business evaluation, he has carried out refresher courses dedicated to Business Process Management (BPM) at MIP – Politecnico di Milano School of Management. He has been working for years as a teacher/trainer at training organisations and schools and in the last period he has established himself as an Innovation Manager working on projects dedicated to Business Intelligence and Strategic Management in private companies.

• Carmelo Galeano

Carmelo is a consultant specialized in EU and national funds. Within Microfinanza, his main activities include looking for new partnership opportunities, writing grant proposals and coordinating national and international projects (European level). He has extensive experience in the main EU programmes, such as LIFE, Horizon 2020, EASI, and COSME and not EU ones, such as EEA Grants.
Graduated in Political Science and International relations at the University of Bologna in 2013, Carmelo fluently speaks English and has a basic knowledge of French.

• Maria Grandinson

Maria is an economist with 20 years of experience in the private sector development and investment climate related fields (including access to finance). She is engaged in assignments for various international organizations (EC, ECOWAS, IFC, UNCDF, etc.) and has worked in some 20 countries worldwide (mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, but also in Asia and Eastern Europe). Main areas of activity include program evaluations (assessing relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability using various quantitative and qualitative techniques) as well as capacity building and policy advice. With Microfinanza, Maria is primarily involved in the evaluation of financial inclusion initiatives and the provision of diagnostics and training (mostly related to Social Performance Management).
Maria holds a Master of Arts in International Relations and International Economics from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University (Washington DC, USA and Bologna, Italy) as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Gothenburg (Gothenburg, Sweden). Apart from her native Swedish, she is fluent in English and Italian and has a working knowledge of French.

• Marco Pasini

Marco is a microfinance specialist with close to 15 years of experience in development cooperation and emergency assistance. He has worked for international and national donors as well as NGOs in some 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and the Balkans. With Microfinanza, Marco is mostly engaged in the promotion of agricultural and rural finance (including the provision of financial education) as well as green microfinance (namely the development of business models supporting the use of clean or renewable energy products through access to finance). His experience also includes the administration, management, and monitoring of various projects, including health and food security interventions.
Marco has a Master’s equivalent in International and Diplomatic Services from the University of Bologna (Forlì, Italy) and is a certified expert in microfinance by the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (Frankfurt, Germany). In addition to being fluent in English and French, he has a working knowledge of Spanish as well as some knowledge of German, Haitian Creole, Kiswahili, and Polish.

• Valeria E. Pujia

Valeria Eleonora Pujia has more than 13 years of professional experience in the financial inclusion sector. Her key qualifications comprise: (i) social and financial assessment of financial institutions; (ii) training and technical assistance mostly on social performance, client protection, and credit operations; (iii) client-level market research on low-income household financial behaviors, studies/research on poverty and social outcome measurement; (iv) program monitoring and evaluation, and (v) financial education. She is currently involved in the establishment of the Research and Social Performance Department, of a Zambian MFI. Her key activities include defining the SPM framework, designing and implementing ad hoc and regular staff and client research. Valeria has conducted 45+ assignments, closely worked with 45+ FSPs, in different developing and emerging countries, including a long-term experience in Cambodia. She is graduated in Economics with a Bachelor and Master of Science Degree from Bocconi University in Milan and a diploma in Development and International Cooperation from ISPI (Italian Institute for International Political Studies).

• Shibaji Roy

Shibaji Roy is an international consultant specializing in monitoring and results measurement, with extensive experience in development projects across Market Systems Approach, financial inclusion, agriculture, renewable energy, climate change, and women’s economic empowerment. He has worked in numerous countries across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, supporting initiatives funded by major international donors. He collaborates regularly with leading global agencies such as DAI, Palladium, Swisscontact, ITAD, Care, GIZ, Chemonics, and Microfinanza, helping projects align with the DCED Standard and adopt best practices in monitoring, evaluation, and audit preparation. He has also conducted multiple mid-term and final evaluations of private sector development programmes.