Global SME Finance Forum 2025 Exhibitor List

Pat Patel is the business CEO driving GFTN’s growth in the USA, LATAM, Middle East and Africa and jointly leads on GFTN’s Forums around the world. During his time at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) between 2019-2022, he led the spinout of Elevandi Ltd in 2021, the first iteration of GFTN, building the strategy, plan, team and securing the seed capital. At MAS he led the International FinTech Office, a team which was responsible for building relationships in different jurisdictions between the public and private sectors and driving both FinTech and investment growth. Pat serves on the board of Mojaloop, an open-source software project of the Mojaloop Foundation. It was created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Level One Project in 2017. Prior to MAS, Pat led the growth and launch of Money20/20 into Europe in 2015 to become the most the successful and profitable FinTech event in the region and subsequently led the product launch into Singapore and China. In his early career he worked at VocaLink on the world’s first national retail real-time payments system, the UK Faster Payments Service, and built the international strategy for the product and drove opportunities across Asia and Europe. A seasoned international leader with experience of building products, teams and launches into new markets and leveraging networks to drive positive outcomes.

Rafael Castillo-Triana is a leasing and asset-finance specialist who has spent more than four decades helping emerging-market economies expand access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises. He leads the Latin American Region and Emerging Markets practice of The Alta Group, the world’s largest equipment-leasing advisory firm, advising governments, central banks, development finance institutions and the private sector on the legal, regulatory and market reforms that make leasing a practical, collateral-light source of capital for underserved businesses. Because leasing finances the asset rather than relying on the borrower’s credit history or real-estate collateral, it is one of the most effective instruments for reaching SMEs that the banking sector typically cannot serve. Mr. Castillo-Triana has built that case in practice across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caucasus — drafting national leasing laws, designing supervisory and tax frameworks, and training legislators, regulators, judges and lenders to put them to work. SELECTED WORK ADVANCING SME FINANCE • World Bank Group / IFC: diagnosed and reformed leasing laws and built market capacity in Tanzania (drafting the Tanzanian Leasing Act), Ghana, Madagascar, Rwanda, Cameroon, Kenya, Guatemala, Afghanistan and Yemen, and is currently supporting the Government of Angola on developing its leasing industry. • Global standards: member of the UNIDROIT Advisory Board for the Model Law on Leasing and government delegate to its diplomatic conferences — the international framework designed to extend leasing to emerging markets. • Market building: founder of the Colombian Leasing Association (FEDELEASING), long-standing contributor of emerging-market country reports to the World Leasing Yearbook, and chair of leasing forums across Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. • Thought leadership: author of books and studies on equipment leasing and, most recently, on climate finance as a commercial opportunity for asset financing in emerging markets. EDUCATION & LANGUAGES Doctor in Law and Master in Socio-Economic Sciences, Universidad Javeriana (Bogotá). Works in Spanish (native), English (daily working language), French and Portuguese.

Sophie is the World Bank Group Global Director for Financial Services where she is responsible for financial resilience and integrity, capital market development, financial inclusion, and disaster risk finance. Sophie is also the CEO of CGAP, an international partnership, housed in the World Bank Group, dedicated to promoting inclusive financial ecosystems that enable a green, resilient, and equitable world for all. Sophie has dedicated her professional career to the development of inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystems around the world, with more than twenty years of experience at the World Bank, where she has held different positions, including Director of Strategy and Operations at the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank and Director for the Caribbean region. Previously, Sophie worked as an expert in financial sector development and stability in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Among others, she led various Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs) in various countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Latin America, and she was the Manager who led the World Bank's response to banking crises in various countries of the European Union during the global financial crisis of 2008-2011. Prior to joining the World Bank, Sophie worked in JP Morgan's Financial Institutions (FIG) team on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in Europe, and for Halcrow Fox and Associates' Infrastructure team. Sophie holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Jonathan Kolozsvary serves as the Global Head of Small Business for Visa Commercial Solutions, the organization responsible for delivering innovative products and capabilities that support businesses of all sizes—ranging from small and midsize companies to large multinational corporations and government entities worldwide. Jonathan joined Visa in 2022 and has brought more than 15 years of experience across financial services, management consulting, and corporate innovation. Throughout his career, he has developed, launched, and scaled small business products, solutions, and strategic programs. He is deeply committed to advancing the small business segment, driven by his belief that small enterprises are fundamental to the strength and resilience of global economies. In addition to his role at Visa, Jonathan remains active in the small business FinTech community, advising start ups and scale ups on customer segmentation, monetization strategies, and go to market execution. He also contributes to the academic community in his hometown of New York, speaking at local universities on emerging trends in financial services and innovation. Prior to joining Visa, Jonathan was the Director of New Ventures at M&T Bank, where he founded the company’s corporate incubator and earned patents for two FinTech solutions. He also managed the bank’s limited partner (LP) venture capital investments, identifying opportunities for commercial pilots and emerging technologies. Earlier in his career, he served as a Manager in EY’s financial services and performance improvement practice, advising global banks on small business product roadmaps and capability development. Jonathan began his career as a small business product owner in banking, responsible for treasury and cash management solutions. Jonathan lives in Rochester, New York, with his wife and three children. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing, landscaping, and spending time with his family.