My motivation to work for commercial banks in Latin-America was to help companies, so they can create more jobs and the people working for them can have a better quality of life. The same drive has brought me to FMO, from where I can make an even greater impact.
Before coming to FMO, I worked at one of FMO’s clients in Nicaragua for almost seven years. I started at this commercial bank as an investment officer and within a short time I was asked to lead a team and got the responsibility to look after one of the strategic products of the bank. I learned and grew during this period, built good reputation, became a member of the Credit Management team and one of the sixty key leaders in the bank.
After a few years in this role I was ready for new challenges and learning opportunities. I took a leap, moved to Europe and joined FMO. Here I am at the right place to achieve my goals, to learn and make difference. I started in a portfolio analyst position. I was in charge of monitoring part of our Agribusiness portfolio in Latin-America. People were asking me why took up this role, after having been a manager. For me, the most important thing was to have the opportunity to work for FMO. I believe in that if I show that I am adding value, I will be able to develop and progress within the organisation. It was a great recognition a year ago that I have been asked to take up an Associate position and have recently been promoted to Senior Associate. This showed that my managers appreciated my work and see potential in me to grow into an Investment Officer role.
Both in my work and in my free time I want to do something that has a purpose. I believe in entrepreneurship, something that FMO stands for. In Nicaragua, I worked on social projects that supported entrepreneurs. I was an active volunteer on the fundraising committee of Vega Baja. The mission of this organization is to educate underprivileged women on how to become financially independent through entrepreneurship. In Nicaragua this is extremely important, as women are the main breadwinners in the family. Supporting this project was important for me, because it created an opportunity for my fellow Nicaraguans to improve their living standards and have a better future for their families.
At FMO my goal is to make an even greater impact than in my previous roles. I am committed to supporting Latin-American projects. I understand the needs of this region and how much growth potential it has. I see my work at FMO as an opportunity to use the experience that I gather to help people. FMO is a large source of knowledge about regions, cultures, policies and there is a lot to learn from colleagues. I feel at home here and look at my colleagues as my family; people are respectful and are taking care of each other. In the future I would like to look back to my years at FMO with a smile on my face, feeling happy and proud of the difference we made for the growth of Latin America and a better life for its people.