Day 1 of my paternity leave. We didn’t know where to place her, so we made a pop-up bed in our living room, and the dining table became her first bed.
Gojo recently developed its leave policy by which everyone is entitled to 14 weeks maternity and paternity, 100% paid by the company up to a certain amount. According to our study, it is the most generous of this kind. I became the second person inside the organization to use it, and I was away from the office from late September until late October (I wish I could make it longer!). I am not alone — during the pandemic period, Gojo members are seeing a baby boom, and some more will take it soon.
Let me write about why we developed this policy and the things I hadn't realized before taking the leave.
A good parental leave policy is essential for pursuing gender parity in society. The gender pay gap is insignificant when both men and women don't have kids. The gap conspicuously widens after they become parents. In many countries, only women take maternity leave and look after the newborn babies, and their role tends to remain fixed even after the end of the maternity leave. Thus the gender gap widens. To prevent this from happening, both men and women should take ma/paternity leave.
Not only that. A strong leave policy makes the organization more sustainable. Che Guevara used to say something like, "no one is irreplaceable." Organizations should be able to run just as well even when key people are absent, including the founder CEO.
However, after taking my paternity leave, I learned a few more things.
First, I learned that it is an extreme joy to spend time with a newborn baby. Her face changes literally every day (I took a photo every single day, so I am sure). I learn something new about her every day, and vice versa. I felt that every input I gave to her impacted her development. It is a fantastic experience that all parents ought to enjoy.
Second, it makes a happy family. Especially under covid, even husbands are not allowed to spend the first several days with the neonatal baby. These days generate a significant “parental IQ” gap between women and men. If men don't take paternity leave, it is almost impossible to catch up. The result would be that wives always look after all kids-related matters, and husbands cannot be involved (some are deliberately not involved). The grudge gets larger every month. In the worst-case scenario, husbands become isolated from their family members. Some Japanese men told me things like, "after I became a father, my wife started focusing on kids only, and I felt like I became an ATM." In Japan, many old-age divorces are due to kids-related matters. It is a sad thing — they loved each other to the point of getting married, and the result of the marriage becomes the cause of divorce.
If you take paternity leave and actively join kids-raising, you will not experience this problem. At the very least, my relationship with my wife got even better after having a baby.
Third, after skipping the company's Executive Committee for 5 consecutive times, I confirmed that even without me, the organization would get going. I read the meeting minutes and watched the meeting videos, realizing that all the key problems are raised and analyzed well, and all the required solutions are executed.
The experience made me think about what is my raison d'etre. As the founder CEO, I am here to bring about non-linear change to the organization, delivering something the other colleagues cannot do. Following my period of leave, my work time allocation changed considerably, and I see some positive results already.
We are always looking for talent. If you are interested, please visit our website! https://gojo.co/join-us
Taejun is the co-founder and CEO of Gojo. He is passionate about equality of opportunity. Prior to founding Gojo, Taejun worked in investment banking and founded Living in Peace, an NGO.
Day 1 of my paternity leave. We didn’t know where to place her, so we made a pop-up bed in our living room, and the dining table became her first bed.
Gojo recently developed its leave policy by which everyone is entitled to 14 weeks maternity and paternity, 100% paid by the company up to a certain amount. According to our study, it is the most generous of this kind. I became the second person inside the organization to use it, and I was away from the office from late September until late October (I wish I could make it longer!). I am not alone — during the pandemic period, Gojo members are seeing a baby boom, and some more will take it soon.
Let me write about why we developed this policy and the things I hadn't realized before taking the leave.
A good parental leave policy is essential for pursuing gender parity in society. The gender pay gap is insignificant when both men and women don't have kids. The gap conspicuously widens after they become parents. In many countries, only women take maternity leave and look after the newborn babies, and their role tends to remain fixed even after the end of the maternity leave. Thus the gender gap widens. To prevent this from happening, both men and women should take ma/paternity leave.
Not only that. A strong leave policy makes the organization more sustainable. Che Guevara used to say something like, "no one is irreplaceable." Organizations should be able to run just as well even when key people are absent, including the founder CEO.
However, after taking my paternity leave, I learned a few more things.
First, I learned that it is an extreme joy to spend time with a newborn baby. Her face changes literally every day (I took a photo every single day, so I am sure). I learn something new about her every day, and vice versa. I felt that every input I gave to her impacted her development. It is a fantastic experience that all parents ought to enjoy.
Second, it makes a happy family. Especially under covid, even husbands are not allowed to spend the first several days with the neonatal baby. These days generate a significant “parental IQ” gap between women and men. If men don't take paternity leave, it is almost impossible to catch up. The result would be that wives always look after all kids-related matters, and husbands cannot be involved (some are deliberately not involved). The grudge gets larger every month. In the worst-case scenario, husbands become isolated from their family members. Some Japanese men told me things like, "after I became a father, my wife started focusing on kids only, and I felt like I became an ATM." In Japan, many old-age divorces are due to kids-related matters. It is a sad thing — they loved each other to the point of getting married, and the result of the marriage becomes the cause of divorce.
If you take paternity leave and actively join kids-raising, you will not experience this problem. At the very least, my relationship with my wife got even better after having a baby.
Third, after skipping the company's Executive Committee for 5 consecutive times, I confirmed that even without me, the organization would get going. I read the meeting minutes and watched the meeting videos, realizing that all the key problems are raised and analyzed well, and all the required solutions are executed.
The experience made me think about what is my raison d'etre. As the founder CEO, I am here to bring about non-linear change to the organization, delivering something the other colleagues cannot do. Following my period of leave, my work time allocation changed considerably, and I see some positive results already.
We are always looking for talent. If you are interested, please visit our website! https://gojo.co/join-us
Taejun is the co-founder and CEO of Gojo. He is passionate about equality of opportunity. Prior to founding Gojo, Taejun worked in investment banking and founded Living in Peace, an NGO.
A candid shot of the Gojo team at a recent members' meeting in November 2020
Since starting my career, I have worked for a few organizations that practiced diversity in different manners. As I’m in charge of HR at Gojo now, I’ve been working on increasing diversity, drawing on my lessons learned from past experience. In this blog post, I’d like to share my experience so that this might help those interested in joining Gojo or provide food for thought to those interested in promoting diversity at their organizations.
Diverse global firm, homogenous local office
I started my first job at the Tokyo office of a global firm. Despite being a part of an international company, the corporate culture of the Tokyo office was very Japanese back then (2005), due to the fact that Japanese staff accounted for the large majority of employees. I felt a strong pressure to conform to the social norm of the Japanese male-dominated corporate culture, which made me uncomfortable and created unnecessary stress, not only at work, but also at informal gatherings outside the office. As someone with a minority trait, I felt suffocated that I needed to adjust to the behaviors expected by the majority.
Fortunately, this situation changed completely when I got a 1-year assignment in Germany. I was assigned to cross-border projects which had an international team setting. Having team members from multiple countries, there was no need to force myself to adjust to a certain culture. I felt more comfortable, and started to perform better at work.
There was an incident which made me realize the benefit of diversity. When the end of the 1-year assignment was approaching, I started to feel stressed about going back to the Tokyo office. When I was casually lamenting about it, my Turkish and Mexican team members told me, “Why don’t you change your contract to Germany? You enjoy working here, so it makes more sense to stay.”
Before they brought it up, I had never thought about changing my contract as all of my Japanese colleagues were going back to Japan after the 1-year assignment. However, my team, coming from a different background, raised an otherwise very logical point to prioritize what was better for my performance and mental health. I actually managed to change my contract from the Japan office to the Germany office, and ended up staying there for 3 years. It became a turning point of my career. Without this question from my team, my career could have been very different.
From this, I learned that people can perform better in an environment where they don’t need to worry about unnecessary social pressure, and also that diversity brings new perspectives that question one’s common sense.
Intentional inclusivity at an international organization
Prior to Gojo, I worked for IFC (International Finance Corporation), which is part of the World Bank Group. I believe IFC must be one of the top organizations when it comes to embracing diversity. Its staff represent more than 150 nationalities, and work across more than 90 countries. In addition, IFC is owned by 185 member countries, who keep an eye on the organization’s pursuit of diversity as its shareholders.
IFC’s policy on diversity manifests in many HR processes as something similar to “affirmative action”. For example, in recruiting, there is a clear target for diversity. I joined IFC through the Young Professional Program, and out of 10 colleagues who joined IFC at the same year, exactly 50% were women, and 50% came from emerging markets, including 3 from Africa.
Another area in which IFC’s diversity goal can be seen is promotion. There is a certain target to promote gender equality in management, or promote staff from under-represented regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. To be honest, it can be frustrating at times when you are the one not prioritized by these criteria. However, diversity brought much more benefit than detriment to me, as I felt free to be myself without worrying about social stigma or intolerance. I felt protected as well, supported by many HR policies and welfare programs which were inclusive and available to all who have various family or personal situations.
From IFC, I learned that diversity leads to HR policy and an atmosphere which make not only specific groups, but everyone, feel comfortable at work.
Gojo’s principles on equality
When I was looking for jobs in Japan where I hadn’t worked for 13 years, my biggest fear was whether I could adjust back to Japanese corporate culture. I came to know Gojo for its work in microfinance, the sector I also covered at IFC; however, the biggest reason I chose Gojo was its corporate culture, which is far from the typical Japanese work environment I was afraid of.
What I personally think makes Gojo special as a workplace is its sympathy to minorities and underprivileged people, which is exemplified in Gojo’s mission and values. The CEO himself, Taejun Shin, is a minority and has had his own struggles in life. When I was debating whether to accept the offer to join Gojo, I asked for lunch with Taejun and shared my personal story being a minority. He immediately showed his understanding and made me feel accepted. Based on our own experiences, we share the same view that the more diversified the environment is, the more people can thrive.
When I started at Gojo in mid 2019, diversity was relatively limited, with a mostly Japanese team. Since then, by expanding our recruiting efforts, we have managed to build an international team made up of members from India, Taiwan, Myanmar, China (Uighur), Singapore, Poland, Italy, Germany, France, and beyond.
Celebrating a visit from our Cambodia- and Germany-based colleagues to the Tokyo office
How Gojo is evolving through diversity
There are many positive changes we have witnessed from the increased diversity. First, new perspectives have been brought on the way we work, from our communication style to work-life balance. For example, Japanese tend to prioritize consensus-driven decision making until reaching the best possible solutions, while Europeans tend to make quick decisions and then improvise along the way. In terms of work-life balance, when Europeans take vacations, they tend to take a week or more off at a time, whereas Asian people tend to take a day or two here and there. We don’t make quick judgements on which way is better, but we learn from each other and reflect on the areas for improvement and change.
Second, diverse cultures are giving us an opportunity to train ourselves to be better at handling cultural differences. In 2020, we certainly faced more cultural conflict than before, due to different backgrounds not only in terms of nationality but also profession (e.g. engineers and management consultants). Having overcome such conflicts, the individuals and also the company as a whole have become better at imagining the other side’s perspective, which is critical for our business, where we always imagine how our clients in the field live their life.
However, Gojo still has a long way to go. Japanese nationality still accounts for about 50% of our holdco members. The management and board of directors are all men, except for our newest board member, Royanne Doi. And needless to say, diversity goes way beyond nationality and gender, to cover various aspects of one’s background.
I believe that diversity will question the status quo and promote innovation, which is necessary to achieve our aspirational mission to extend financial inclusion to 100 million clients. As the person responsible for Gojo’s HR, I'd like to contribute to creating a workplace where everyone feels comfortable and passionate about pursuing the best version of themselves.
Takao Takahashi leads Corporate Planning, strategy setting, and HR at Gojo. Prior to Gojo, he spent 7 years at IFC as an Investment Officer, and was previously a Prime Minister's Fellow in Bhutan.
A candid shot of the Gojo team at a recent members' meeting in November 2020
Since starting my career, I have worked for a few organizations that practiced diversity in different manners. As I’m in charge of HR at Gojo now, I’ve been working on increasing diversity, drawing on my lessons learned from past experience. In this blog post, I’d like to share my experience so that this might help those interested in joining Gojo or provide food for thought to those interested in promoting diversity at their organizations.
Diverse global firm, homogenous local office
I started my first job at the Tokyo office of a global firm. Despite being a part of an international company, the corporate culture of the Tokyo office was very Japanese back then (2005), due to the fact that Japanese staff accounted for the large majority of employees. I felt a strong pressure to conform to the social norm of the Japanese male-dominated corporate culture, which made me uncomfortable and created unnecessary stress, not only at work, but also at informal gatherings outside the office. As someone with a minority trait, I felt suffocated that I needed to adjust to the behaviors expected by the majority.
Fortunately, this situation changed completely when I got a 1-year assignment in Germany. I was assigned to cross-border projects which had an international team setting. Having team members from multiple countries, there was no need to force myself to adjust to a certain culture. I felt more comfortable, and started to perform better at work.
There was an incident which made me realize the benefit of diversity. When the end of the 1-year assignment was approaching, I started to feel stressed about going back to the Tokyo office. When I was casually lamenting about it, my Turkish and Mexican team members told me, “Why don’t you change your contract to Germany? You enjoy working here, so it makes more sense to stay.”
Before they brought it up, I had never thought about changing my contract as all of my Japanese colleagues were going back to Japan after the 1-year assignment. However, my team, coming from a different background, raised an otherwise very logical point to prioritize what was better for my performance and mental health. I actually managed to change my contract from the Japan office to the Germany office, and ended up staying there for 3 years. It became a turning point of my career. Without this question from my team, my career could have been very different.
From this, I learned that people can perform better in an environment where they don’t need to worry about unnecessary social pressure, and also that diversity brings new perspectives that question one’s common sense.
Intentional inclusivity at an international organization
Prior to Gojo, I worked for IFC (International Finance Corporation), which is part of the World Bank Group. I believe IFC must be one of the top organizations when it comes to embracing diversity. Its staff represent more than 150 nationalities, and work across more than 90 countries. In addition, IFC is owned by 185 member countries, who keep an eye on the organization’s pursuit of diversity as its shareholders.
IFC’s policy on diversity manifests in many HR processes as something similar to “affirmative action”. For example, in recruiting, there is a clear target for diversity. I joined IFC through the Young Professional Program, and out of 10 colleagues who joined IFC at the same year, exactly 50% were women, and 50% came from emerging markets, including 3 from Africa.
Another area in which IFC’s diversity goal can be seen is promotion. There is a certain target to promote gender equality in management, or promote staff from under-represented regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. To be honest, it can be frustrating at times when you are the one not prioritized by these criteria. However, diversity brought much more benefit than detriment to me, as I felt free to be myself without worrying about social stigma or intolerance. I felt protected as well, supported by many HR policies and welfare programs which were inclusive and available to all who have various family or personal situations.
From IFC, I learned that diversity leads to HR policy and an atmosphere which make not only specific groups, but everyone, feel comfortable at work.
Gojo’s principles on equality
When I was looking for jobs in Japan where I hadn’t worked for 13 years, my biggest fear was whether I could adjust back to Japanese corporate culture. I came to know Gojo for its work in microfinance, the sector I also covered at IFC; however, the biggest reason I chose Gojo was its corporate culture, which is far from the typical Japanese work environment I was afraid of.
What I personally think makes Gojo special as a workplace is its sympathy to minorities and underprivileged people, which is exemplified in Gojo’s mission and values. The CEO himself, Taejun Shin, is a minority and has had his own struggles in life. When I was debating whether to accept the offer to join Gojo, I asked for lunch with Taejun and shared my personal story being a minority. He immediately showed his understanding and made me feel accepted. Based on our own experiences, we share the same view that the more diversified the environment is, the more people can thrive.
When I started at Gojo in mid 2019, diversity was relatively limited, with a mostly Japanese team. Since then, by expanding our recruiting efforts, we have managed to build an international team made up of members from India, Taiwan, Myanmar, China (Uighur), Singapore, Poland, Italy, Germany, France, and beyond.
Celebrating a visit from our Cambodia- and Germany-based colleagues to the Tokyo office
How Gojo is evolving through diversity
There are many positive changes we have witnessed from the increased diversity. First, new perspectives have been brought on the way we work, from our communication style to work-life balance. For example, Japanese tend to prioritize consensus-driven decision making until reaching the best possible solutions, while Europeans tend to make quick decisions and then improvise along the way. In terms of work-life balance, when Europeans take vacations, they tend to take a week or more off at a time, whereas Asian people tend to take a day or two here and there. We don’t make quick judgements on which way is better, but we learn from each other and reflect on the areas for improvement and change.
Second, diverse cultures are giving us an opportunity to train ourselves to be better at handling cultural differences. In 2020, we certainly faced more cultural conflict than before, due to different backgrounds not only in terms of nationality but also profession (e.g. engineers and management consultants). Having overcome such conflicts, the individuals and also the company as a whole have become better at imagining the other side’s perspective, which is critical for our business, where we always imagine how our clients in the field live their life.
However, Gojo still has a long way to go. Japanese nationality still accounts for about 50% of our holdco members. The management and board of directors are all men, except for our newest board member, Royanne Doi. And needless to say, diversity goes way beyond nationality and gender, to cover various aspects of one’s background.
I believe that diversity will question the status quo and promote innovation, which is necessary to achieve our aspirational mission to extend financial inclusion to 100 million clients. As the person responsible for Gojo’s HR, I'd like to contribute to creating a workplace where everyone feels comfortable and passionate about pursuing the best version of themselves.
Takao Takahashi leads Corporate Planning, strategy setting, and HR at Gojo. Prior to Gojo, he spent 7 years at IFC as an Investment Officer, and was previously a Prime Minister's Fellow in Bhutan.
A Master’s in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship graduate from the London School of Economics and a Chevening Scholar, Arya cares deeply about poverty alleviation, gender equality, education and youth development. At Gojo, Arya works on social performance management of Gojo’s partners and runs initiatives to measure the impact of Gojo’s partners’ products and services on clients’ lives.
Before Gojo, she worked for 5 years in strategy, business development, community building, program management and leadership in NGOs, social enterprises and for-profit enterprises. Most recently, she served as the Vice President of Women in Technology International in India, a 30 year old pioneer in empowering women in technology across the globe, where she built and led WITI’s India business. She has in the past built communities of 5000+ women in tech and conducted several online learning and mentorship programs.Arya is also a TEDx speaker and one of the 18 young women to receive the prestigious WeTech Qualcomm Global Scholarship.
In her spare time, she enjoys reading non-fiction books, writing blogs on her website (aryamurali.com) and listening to countless hours of Indian music.
Works in: India
Mehnaaz Rehman
HR & Admin
Mehnaaz joined Gojo in March, 2023 as a Deputy Manager- HR & Admin. She has 7 years of experience in HR and has managed Recruitment, Employee Engagement along with managing end to end employee lifecycle. Prior to joining Gojo, Mehnaaz was associated with Universal Sompo general insurance company where she worked as a HRBP heading North region , taking care of various employee greviances , and conducting GPTW surveys . Apart from Universal Sompo, she has also worked with Maxbupa Health insurance company which has given her exposure across industries.
At Gojo, she works under Human Resource and manages end to end employee life cycle with Admin related activities.
Mehnaaz did her Masters in Business Administration from RIT, Roorkee and did her BCA from her hometown Roorkee.
Mehnaaz lives in Ghaziabad , Uttar Pradesh with her family. She has a keen interes in Decoring , Dancing and travelling . She also loves to socialize with all age group people to establish more powerful bonds.
Works In: India
Kana Koda
IR & Fundraising / IPO Project Lead
Kana joined Gojo’s finance team in June 2023, where she is involved in investor IR, debt/equity financing and the IPO project.
Prior to joining Gojo, she worked at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) since 2015, where she was mainly in charge of structuring and managing loans for various overseas projects in which Japanese companies participate, including infrastructure projects in developing countries. She also gained experiences in developing ALM strategies based on profitability and market risk analysis for the bank at the Treasury Department. In 2022, she graduated from the University of Cambridge, UK, with a Master of Public Policy.
She enjoys cafe-hopping, cooking, travelling and hot springs. Mother of one child.
Prior to joining Gojo, Kohei has served as Senior Vice President of Finance at SmartNews, Inc., a developer of a news discovery app. As its 7th employee and part of its management team, he led $80 million of equity financing and undertook a wide range of responsibilities including financial control, accounting, recruiting, people operations, legal, and investor relations.
As one of the founding members and as Chief Financial Officer at LIFENET INSURANCE COMPANY, a leading online life insurer in Japan, Kohei led it’s successful $100 million Initial Public Offering in 2012, and also setup a joint venture in Korea.
Kohei started his career at Morgan Stanley in its Investment Banking Division, where he was involved in multiple cross-border M&A transactions. In 2005, he moved to Hong Kong and joined Och-Ziff Capital Management, a global asset management company.
Kohei has a B.A. in Law from the University of Tokyo. While at school, he did an internship at a local NGO in Bangladesh where he was inspired by the power of microfinance that can unlock the potential of micro-entrepreneurs.
Kohei enjoys playing with his two boys over the weekends. He loves sports and has successfully finished the long-distance triathlon.
Works: Tokyo, Japan
Arnaud Ventura
マネージング・パートナー
世界有数の金融包摂グループ2社を設立、CEOとして率いた。
Jacques Attaliとムハマド・ユヌスの支援を受け、プラネットファイナンスを共同設立し、世界中でアドバイザリーサービスを提供。またアフリカ9カ国と中国でBaobab（旧MicroCred）を設立・CEOとして主導。退職前の2019年にBaobabは100万人の顧客に10億ドルを貸し出し、約2億ドルの総収益と4000万ドル以上の経常利益を創出。
世界経済フォーラムのヤング・グローバル・リーダーであり、the French China FoundationとShare Africaの共同設立者でもある。パリのEFREIでコンピュータサイエンスを、La Sorbonneで哲学を学んだ。フランス語、英語、スペイン語を流暢に話し、歴史と哲学を愛する。スキーとハイキングが好きな二児の父。
Mercy works in Gojo’s Financial Diary (FD) projects as a Research analyst. She assisted in the data processing of baseline & endline surveys and the respondent diaries of Cambodia FD. She is currently involved in the analysis of the Sri Lanka FD project. She also supports the SPM team with the client survey analysis of the partner companies. She has a Masters in Computer Applications and Diploma in Materials Management with Information Science.
She started her career as a Lecturer in Computer Science and later joined the Indian Army as an Officer in the Army Ordnance Corps where she was involved in data analysis, process automation and system implementation of Oracle database system. She is an Oracle Certified Associate in Database Administration. She also has other work experiences in web designing, content management and migration.
Apart from work, she supports emotional and mental health groups and has been serving in the International Bible Study Fellowship since 2015. She likes to travel, cook and watch athletics.
Cheriel Neo
Impact Lead
Cheriel works on initiatives to measure and learn from the impact of Gojo’s partners’ products and services on our clients’ lives. She has a BA (Hons.) in History and English from Exeter College, Oxford University, and an MSc. in Translation Studies from the University of Edinburgh. Cheriel got started in the world of social impact during her time in Oxford, where she ran a homeless outreach, and helped found what would become a national student-led charity for social justice.
After graduating, she joined Social Finance, a social investment financial intermediary, where she designed Impact Bonds in the UK, Cameroon and the West Bank, and helped create an app to track young people’s outcomes after leaving state care. She is a founding director of Proof Bakery, a social enterprise training and employing refugee women in the UK.
In her spare time, Cheriel enjoys reading, snacking, and exploring her neighbourhood. She is an accomplished knitter and an avid home cook.
Works in: Japan
Arya Murali
SPM & Impact
A Master’s in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship graduate from the London School of Economics and a Chevening Scholar, Arya cares deeply about poverty alleviation, gender equality, education and youth development. At Gojo, Arya works on social performance management of Gojo’s partners and runs initiatives to measure impact of Gojo’s partners’ products and services on clients’ lives.
Prior to Gojo, she worked for 5 years in strategy, business development, community building, program management and leadership in NGOs, social enterprises and for-profit enterprises. Most recently, she served as the Vice President, India at Women in Technology International, a 30 year old pioneer in empowering women in technology across the globe, where she built and led WITI’s business for India. She has in the past built communities of 5000+ women in tech and conducted several online learning and mentorship programs.
Arya is also a TEDx speaker and one of the 18 young women to receive the prestigious WeTech Qualcomm Global Scholarship. In her spare time, she enjoys reading non-fiction books, writing blogs on her website (aryamurali.com) and listening to countless hours of Indian music.
Works in: India
カウンセット・リン
Innovation Lead
米国のSarah Lawrence Collegeでリベラルアーツを学び、一度ミャンマーに帰国し、金融セクターで6年以上の経験を持つ。マイクロファイナンス機関であるProximity FinanceでMISを管理。その後、KBZ Bankでミャンマーの銀行セクターに参入し、Huaweiとのパートナーシップのもと、さまざまなステークホルダーと協力してKBZ Payを開発し、同銀行のアウトリーチを拡大させた。五常入社前は、Yoma Bankのデジタル部門に所属し、SMART Creditというデジタル融資商品を作成し立ち上げた。
財務計画・分析を担当。JP Morgan の元金融アナリストとして、財務分析、予算編成、予測、差異分析などを専門としていた。以前は、DeloitteにTax seniorとして勤務し、Tax戦略等を担当したほか、恵まれない人々のコミュニティを向上させ、社会的、経済的、慈善的な意識を広めるための同社イニシアチブである「Impact Days」に積極的に参加していた。
Jai Hind Collegeで商学を学び、IBSでMBA（Management Finance）を取得。分散型金融とデジタル通貨プロトコルに情熱を注いでいる。
Why did you join Gojo?
Prior to joining Gojo, I worked with one of India’s largest impact investing groups covering many sectors like healthcare, financial services, agriculture, education etc. After 5 years, I felt the need to build deep expertise in a particular area so as to make a meaningful contribution. With financial inclusion as its core theme, Gojo not only gave me an opportunity to work directly on the field but also think about how I can make real impact.
What does a day in your life look like?
Even after a year at Gojo, my days are still intellectually stimulating! Typically I have a bunch of calls/meetings on various issues – managing partner companies, fundraising, building investment pipeline, technology strategies for a group, etc. Initially, it did look overwhelming, but I like the fact that it gives me an opportunity to cover multiple facets related to building a strong foundation for the group. There are also a lot of casual chats with colleagues between meetings which make for a fun day!
What do you find challenging and rewarding about your job?
The only challenge I see at Gojo is our remote style of working. Throughout my career, I have worked with colleagues co-located in a physical office so this was definitely new to me. But the rewards outweigh the challenges and make it all worthwhile. The opportunity to understand the hardships of our clients, experience their lives, and constantly strive to make them better keeps me going. You feel that you’re making a dent in the universe, in your own small way, and that feeling has been very satisfying for me.
Sheetal Bhandari
Audit Manager
Sheetal joined Gojo in the Internal Audit Team as a consultant in Apr-23. In Apr-24, she joined Gojo as a full time member. At Gojo, she is responsible for conducting/supporting HoldCo and Partner audits. Also, she would assist in developing the Risk framework for Gojo and Partner companies.
She is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 15 years experience in Process & Internal Audit, IFC (Internal Financial Controls), development of RCM (Risk Control Matrix), SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) & CSA (Control Self Assessment), SOX documentation. Prior to Gojo, she has worked at consulting firms,Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Trent, Axis Bank in full time/part time roles.
In her free time she likes to read, travel and write.
Works in India
Kshama Fernandes
Outside Director
Kshama has three decades of experience in Capital Markets, Risk Management and Structured Finance, with the last 15 years focussed on the financial inclusion space in India. Respected for her knowledge and commitment towards the cause of unleashing the power of finance for the greater good, Kshama has been a member of various High Powered Committees setup by the Government of India and has worked on consulting assignments for the World Bank, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and NSEIT. Through her innovative and pioneering work, she has been instrumental in creating and developing the market for debt for the underbanked in India. Kshama is recognised as a leading figure in the Indian financial markets, and in the world of impact investing. She is also the Vice Chairperson of the Northern Arc Group, a leading finance company in India that invests and connects underbanked institutions and businesses to capital markets investors.
She has a bachelors in Mathematics, a Masters in Management and a Ph.D. in Finance. An adventure sports enthusiast, Kshama is a trained mountaineer, sailor, sky diver and an ardent biker.
Almira Zejnilagic
Outside Director
Almira has two decades of experience in risk and crisis strategy management, having worked as an advisor, board member and management, as well as having extensive Investment Committee experience. Most recently she was a senior executive in a global, fast-growing Web 3 financial services business and previously a Partner at FTI Consulting where she spent a decade and helped build and ran Global Risk and Investigation Practic in Europe, Central Asia and Africa.
During her formative years, as a Bosnian refugee, Almira experienced challenges relating to remittances and access to finance, which later shaped her keen interest in finacial inclusion and digital finance as well as broader issues of social justice.
Almira is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She speaks English, Serbo-Croatian and Russian (as well as some basic Tajik). She enjoys reading and cooking with her family.
Abhishek Iyer
Regional Finance
Abhishek has joined Gojo & Company as part of the Finance team. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and have over 6 years of experience across banking and financial sector & has worked across housing finance, NBFC, Micro Finance and fintech. He is originally from Mumbai (India) & currently living in the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka in India.
Prior to joining Gojo, he worked at Rupeek Fintech which is asset backed gold lending co. At Rupeek he was responsible for managing the financial reporting & audits of Rupeek Fintech & its subsidiary Rupeek Capital.
Outside of work, he enjoys playing cricket, badminton & loves cooking.
Works In: India
Rania Manayra
Corporate Planning Officer
Rania started her journey with Gojo in January 2022 as an intern, working closely with the Corporate Planning and SPM/IM team. She mainly helped develop Gojo’s Impact Reports, write and implement group-wide policies, and conduct social and environmental due diligence. She transitioned to becoming a full-time member in October 2023.
Prior to joining Gojo full-time, Rania studied at Keio University as a MEXT scholarship recipient and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in strategic management. During her time in university, she was a seminar lead for the International Business and Entrepreneurship Research lab, where she often served as student consultant for various companies and published several papers. She also interned at a global manufacturing company and volunteered at an Indonesian education NPO.
In her spare time, Rania enjoys cooking, reading sci-fi, and going to museums and art galleries.
Works in: Japan
Pooja Kumari Singh
Junior Internal Auditor
Dedicated to analyzing, assessing, and mitigating risks, Pooja is a part of the Internal Audit team at Gojo. She earned her master’s degree in Post Graduate Diploma in Management with her major in Finance from Management Development Institute Murshidabad in April 2023. Certified as an ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management Specialist, Pooja started her journey with Gojo in June 2022 as an intern, working closely with the IA team, taking care of the data room, managing communication with the partner companies and building reports to be submitted to the Audit committee. Post completing her studies, she successfully transitioned her internship into full-time work at Gojo in July 2023 and is currently supporting the team with Audit functions and developing various policies such as the Internal Credit Risk Policy. Pooja had previously worked as an intern in a CA firm in India, where she drafted financial statements and was a business analyst for Purv Technologies, among other organisations
Outside of work, she enjoys taking part in case study competitions primarily in finance and marketing. She is a sports enthusiast and loves travelling.
Grateful for the opportunities that have shaped her career so far, she is motivated to explore the world of finance!
Works in: India
Ignacio Mas-Ribo
Board Member
Ignacio is a non-executive director at Gojo & Company, Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School’s Council on Emerging Market Enterprises at Tufts University, and an independent consultant.
During 2015-2020, Ignacio was co-founder and executive director at the Digital Frontiers Institute, a not-for-profit that develops professional development training courses around digital money and payments. Previously, he was Deputy Director in the Financial Services for the Poor program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Senior Advisor at the Technology Program at CGAP. I have been Director of Global Business Strategy at Vodafone Group, Executive VP of Marketing and Account Management at DoCoMo interTouch, and Senior Manager responsible for telecoms investments in Europe for Intel Capital.
Ignacio has undergraduate degrees in maths and economics from MIT and a PhD in economics from Harvard University. He has been Adjunct Professor at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.
Vidary Inthamone
Debt Fundraising & Treasury Manager
Vidary joined Gojo in September 2022, working part of her time in the finance team. She has over 10 years of experience in microfinance – in the investment department at the holding company Advans International, and in the operations department whilst working for a Mexican MFI at the beginning of her career.
The other part of her time as an independent consultant is still dedicated to the microfinance industry, working mostly on ESG related matters.
Vidary graduated from EM Lyon, Master of Science in Management, specialized in Finance & International business.
She speaks French, English, Spanish fluently and can be conversational in Slovak and Laotian.
Vidary loves soul music, cooking, travelling, mountain climbing and surfing. She’s the mother of 2 young boys.
金融機関で働くかたわら、2007年にLiving in Peaceを設立し(2017年に理事長退任)、日本初のマイクロファイナンス投資ファンドを企画した。過去15年以上にわたり社会的養育を受ける子どもの支援に携わっており、2021年に日本児童相談業務評価機関を共同設立した。
単著は9冊。日本縦断1648kmウルトラマラソン完走。空手黒帯、ブラジリアン柔術青帯(2022年時点)。世界経済フォーラムのYoung Global Leader 2018選出。一般財団法人五常代表理事。朝鮮大学校法律学科、早稲田大学大学院ファイナンス研究科卒。趣味はストリート写真を撮ること。時々バンドでドラムを叩く。
投資銀行業務の専門家。以前はBank of Americaにシニアアナリストとして勤務していた。グローバル投資銀行チームに所属し、ヘルスケア分野に重点を置き、数十億ドル規模のM&A取引に関与。それ以前は、インドのFortune Financial Services LtdとNYのCrucible Capital Groupの投資銀行チームに所属していた。
ビール好きであるほか、個人的にエンジェル投資家としても活動。家族と一緒にプネに住んでいる。
勤務地：インド
伊藤駿
Investment
ミャンマーのMicrofinance Delta International (MIFIDA)社の副社長と、五常のパートナー会社のための資金調達・事業開発を兼務。
2022年8月、人事部のアシスタント・ディレクターとして五常に入社。12年の人事経験を持ち、採用、従業員エンゲージメント、業績評価、従業員のライフサイクル管理などを行ってきた。五常入社前は、EYで職場におけるウェルビーイングを推進するプロジェクトを担当し、調査、従業員の考え方の理解、ウェルビーイングプログラムのカスタマイズなどの仕事を経験した。また、Genpact、HCL、Max Bupa Health Insurance、Pearl Academyなど様々な企業で働き、業界を超えた経験を積んできた。
ミレーナは、スタートアップ向けアドバイザーのTherion Advisersの共同創業者兼Managing Partner、気候変動の課題解決に取り組む革新的なソリューションに投資するグローバル・ベンチャーキャピタルであるAera VCのVenture Partner、ベンチャーキャピタルAntlerのVenture Partnerを務めています。以前はロンドンでUBSグループ投資銀行部門のExecutive Director、シンガポールのウェルスマネジメントのコンサルタントを歴任。慈善活動にも力を注いでおり、複数のNGOの創設者やパートナー。米国証券アナリスト。London School of EconomicsでInternational Accounting and Financeの修士号を取得。
数社の起業を経験の後、マッキンゼー・アンド・カンパニーの日本およびドイツを拠点に主に海外企業の経営支援に従事。その後、オックスフォード大学に移籍し、経営学の優等修士号と博士号を取得。立命館大学経営学部を経て、2016年より現職。専門は、経営戦略、国際経営、および、制度と組織の関係。慶應義塾大学政策・メディア研究科委員、上場企業を含む複数のスタートアップの社外役員を兼務。著書に『STARTUP優れた経営者は何を考え、どう行動したか』、『経営戦略原論』、『領域を超える経営学』、分担著に『Japanese Management in Evolution』などがある。
勤務地：日本
マルコ・ジァンコッティ
IT Manager
学生時代は物理学と宇宙工学を学び、Sapienza University of Romeと宇宙航空研究開発機構（JAXA）で博士課程を修了。2019年までは超小型人工衛星メーカーの株式会社アクセルスペースで衛星の開発とプロジェクトマネジメントを経験。
大学在学中にバングラデシュのNGOにおけるリサーチ・インターンを通じて、マイクロファイナンスの可能性と課題を認識。大学卒業後、インドの英文校正スタートアップの立ち上げに関与したのち、モルガン・スタンレー証券 投資銀行本部においてM&Aアドバイザリー業務に従事。Och-Ziff Capital Management(Hong Kong)を経て、2008年にライフネット生命保険に入社し、経営管理、事業開発、組織開発、韓国におけるJV設立などを担当。IPO準備の責任者として同社を東証マザーズ上場に導き、執行役員CFOに就任。
キャリアをスタートさせた当初から、イノベーションとインパクトに関心があり、現在ドイツ1位にランクインする初の完全自動化オンラインクレジットソリューション、easyCreditを開発。五常入社以前は、Vision Fund MyanmarのCOOとして、完全デジタル化されたマイクロファイナンスシステムを開発・導入し、貧困顧客30万人以上にローン、預金、教育へのアクセスを提供。現在は、デジタル化と変革のプロセスについて、いくつかの銀行にアドバイスをしている。
Yoshi joined Gojo and currently is leading the company’s analytics projects. Having graduated from Tokyo University and worked for Dai-ichi Life Insurance for 2 years, he spent 10 years as a quantitative analyst at Goldman Sachs Asset Management where he used to work for Global Alpha, a hedge fund of the investment bank.
At Goldman Sachs, Yoshi managed quantitative global tactical asset allocation of the fund and developed various quantitative investment management products and tools. After leaving Goldman Sachs, he founded his own company and used to run a music studio business while providing consulting services for financial institutions. He loves finance theory, music, and skiing.
Works in: Japan
Takao Takahashi
Chief People & Inclusive Officer
At Gojo, Takao leads corporate planning and HR. Before joining Gojo, Takao was an Investment Officer at International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, based in both Washington DC and Jakarta. In his 7 years with IFC, he led investments in microfinance institutions, banks and fintech startups in emerging markets. Before IFC, Takao worked as the Bhutan Prime Minister’s Fellow, developing microfinance regulations and financial inclusion policy to contribute to Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH). He also worked for 4 years as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company based in Frankfurt and Tokyo.
Takao graduated from Georgetown University, USA, with a Master of Science in Foreign Service and completed his Bachelor of Laws from Kyoto University, Japan.
Takao loves singing, both opera and karaoke. Tennis is his favorite sport. He has authored a book in Japanese, the English translation of the title being; ‘What is true happiness? Thoughts from Bhutan’
Works: Japan
Sohil Shah
Principal/Head of VC
Sohil graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a Masters in Finance and completed his under graduation in Electronics Engineering from the University of Mumbai. Before joining Gojo, Sohil was a part of the Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group where he led Intellecap Impact Investment Network, an early-stage angel network focused on making investments in social impact start-ups. In his five years with the group, he led around 35 investments in India and East Africa of which they exited from 6 companies and another 15 companies raised follow-on round of investment.
An Investment Banking professional with over six years of experience in India and US, Sohil previously worked as a Senior Analyst at Bank of America. He was part of the Global Investment Banking team, with a key focus on the healthcare sector, where he was a part of a few billion-dollar M&A transactions. Prior to that, he worked with the investment banking teams at Fortune Financial Services (India) Ltd and Crucible Capital Group in New York.
Apart from being an avid brewer, Sohil is an angel investor in his personal capacity as well. He lives in Pune with his family.
Works in: India
Shun Ito
Investment
Based in Myanmar, Shun is the Deputy CEO at Microfinance Delta, and also takes on a role in fundraising and business development activities for all Gojo’s partner companies.
After studying at Keio University, Faculty of Economics, and graduating from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, Shun joined Roland Berger and worked in the Japan and Singapore Offices. As a management consultant, he was involved in multiple projects across Southeast Asia.
As a freelance consultant, Shun worked in rural Japan in Akita for a local supermarket chain. His early childhood was spent in the UK and Brazil. Proficient in English and Japanese, he also has basic Burmese skills. Tennis is his favourite sport. During an earlier stint in Myanmar, Shun ordained at a Buddhist monastery and practiced meditation.
Works in: Myanmar
Sheetal Bhandari
Audit Manager
Sheetal joined Gojo in the Internal Audit Team as a consultant in Apr-23. In Apr-24, she joined Gojo as a full time member. At Gojo, she is responsible for conducting/supporting HoldCo and Partner audits. Also, she would assist in developing the Risk framework for Gojo and Partner companies.
She is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 15 years experience in Process & Internal Audit, IFC (Internal Financial Controls), development of RCM (Risk Control Matrix), SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) & CSA (Control Self Assessment), SOX documentation. Prior to Gojo, she has worked at consulting firms,Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Trent, Axis Bank in full time/part time roles.
In her free time she likes to read, travel and write.
Works in India
Sanjay Gandhi
Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer
Sanjay co-founded Gojo in 2014 as Gojo’s Chief investment Officer and has led the Investment Division since then. Apart from recommending the investments to be made by Gojo, he also represents Gojo on the Board and Committees of the partner entities and contributes actively towards strengthening the governance at the partner level.
Sanjay qualified as a Chartered Accountant (CPA) before graduating from Delhi University. After his first job as an Audit Manager in India in early 1990s, he led the Corporate Banking (North India) team for a Finance company.
Sanjay joined the microfinance industry in 2003 and has been part of it ever since: conducted about 125 MFI ratings & assessments in 29 countries; approved more than 400 MFI Rating reports. Some of the assignments were for the World Bank, ADB, UNDP, Cordaid and Mercy Corps. After his CEO assignment at a Cambodian MFI in 2013, Sanjay and Taejun got together to set up Gojo, where Sanjay’s extensive experience in the microfinance sector has been invaluable.
Sanjay operates from India, where he stays with his wife and two daughters. He speaks English, Hindi, and Punjabi. Loves reading; movies; and music. “The Beatles” is his all-time favourite music band.
Rahul Rokade
Senior Data Engineer
Rahul holds a masters degree in Computer Science & Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay, India.
After graduating, he joined Quikr India Pvt. Ltd. and led implementation of various in-house systems there. Prior to joining Gojo, Rahul worked for leading Indian matchmaking platform Shaadi.com in their Data Engineering team, and was responsible for implementing and enhancing cloud-based data lake and data warehousing systems.
At Gojo, Rahul is working as a part of the Technology/Data team on building a data management platform to support the company’s data strategy.
Rahul likes photography and cooking. He has a keen interest in topics related to the existence and evolution of life, and has recently developed an interest in learning about the influence of religion and mythology on modern technological advancements.
Rahul is an animal lover. He loves to spend his free time with family, friends and his dog Eathen.
Works in: India
Pooja Kumari Singh
Junior Internal Auditor
Dedicated to analyzing, assessing, and mitigating risks, Pooja is a part of the Internal Audit team at Gojo. She earned her master’s degree in Post Graduate Diploma in Management with her major in Finance from Management Development Institute Murshidabad in April 2023. Certified as an ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management Specialist, Pooja started her journey with Gojo in June 2022 as an intern, working closely with the IA team, taking care of the data room, managing communication with the partner companies and building reports to be submitted to the Audit committee. Post completing her studies, she successfully transitioned her internship into full-time work at Gojo in July 2023 and is currently supporting the team with Audit functions and developing various policies such as the Internal Credit Risk Policy. Pooja had previously worked as an intern in a CA firm in India, where she drafted financial statements and was a business analyst for Purv Technologies, among other organisations.
Outside of work, she enjoys taking part in case study competitions primarily in finance and marketing. She is a sports enthusiast and loves travelling.
Grateful for the opportunities that have shaped her career so far, she is motivated to explore the world of finance!
Works in: India
Mercyline Manoj
Researcher in Residence
Mercy works in Gojo’s Financial Diary (FD) projects as a Research analyst. She assisted in the data processing of baseline & endline surveys and the respondent diaries of Cambodia FD. She is currently involved in the analysis of the Sri Lanka FD project. She also supports the SPM team with the client survey analysis of the partner companies. She has a Masters in Computer Applications and Diploma in Materials Management with Information Science.
She started her career as a Lecturer in Computer Science and later joined the Indian Army as an Officer in the Army Ordnance Corps where she was involved in data analysis, process automation and system implementation of Oracle database system. She is an Oracle Certified Associate in Database Administration. She also has other work experiences in web designing, content management and migration.
Apart from work, she supports emotional and mental health groups and has been serving in the International Bible Study Fellowship since 2015. She likes to travel, cook and watch athletics.
Mehnaaz Rehman
HR & Admin
Mehnaaz joined Gojo in March, 2023 as a Deputy Manager- HR & Admin. She has 7 years of experience in HR and has managed Recruitment, Employee Engagement along with managing end to end employee lifecycle. Prior to joining Gojo, Mehnaaz was associated with Universal Sompo general insurance company where she worked as a HRBP heading North region , taking care of various employee greviances , and conducting GPTW surveys . Apart from Universal Sompo, she has also worked with Maxbupa Health insurance company which has given her exposure across industries.
At Gojo, she works under Human Resource and manages end to end employee life cycle with Admin related activities.
Mehnaaz did her Masters in Business Administration from RIT, Roorkee and did her BCA from her hometown Roorkee.
Mehnaaz lives in Ghaziabad , Uttar Pradesh with her family. She has a keen interes in Decoring , Dancing and travelling . She also loves to socialize with all age group people to establish more powerful bonds.
Works In: India
Masahiro Kotosaka
Outside Director
Masahiro Kotosaka is an Associate Professor at Keio University and a non-executive director of Gojo & Company since March 2017. He is an expert in Internationalization strategy and early stage business development, and advisor/non-executive director of several start-up/multinational companies.
Before moving to Keio, he was an associate professor of multinational management at Ritsumeikan University, a teaching & research associate at the University of Oxford, and a consultant at McKinsey & Company based in Frankfurt and Tokyo. As a practitioner, he worked for strategy/marketing projects with sixteen client organizations across nine industries and nine countries and spent four years running three profitable IT/Retail businesses before joining McKinsey.
He graduated from the University of Oxford with D.Phil. (Ph.D) in Management Studies and MSc in Management Research with Distinction. His recent publication includes STARTUP (Co-authored, NewsPicks Publishing, 2020), The Element of Strategic Management (Toyo Keizai, 2018), and The Japanese Business in Evolution (Co-authored, Routledge, 2017).
Works in: Japan
Marco Giancotti
IT Manager
Marco studied physics and aerospace engineering, up to doctoral studies at the Sapienza University of Rome and the Japanese Space Exploration Agency (JAXA). Before joining Gojo in 2019, he worked as an engineer and then as a project manager at Axelspace, a maker of small commercial satellites.
At Gojo, Marco participated in several tech initiatives, ranging from DX support for partners around the world to the creation of novel financial service platforms. He led the creation of a digital field application (DFA) as product manager from 2020 to 2022.
Marco reads and writes most of the time. He speaks Japanese and is doing independent research in several scientific fields.
Works in: Tokyo
Kaung Set Lin
Innovation Lead
Kaung Set Lin studied Liberal Arts at Sarah Lawrence College in the United States and returned to Myanmar at the end of 2012. He has over 6 years of experience in the financial sector in Myanmar. He started out his career in microfinance managing the MIS while exploring digital products and partnerships at one of Myanmar’s leading MFIs, Proximity Finance. After this, he entered Myanmar’s banking sector with KBZ Bank, where he worked with different stakeholders in partnership with Huawei to develop KBZ Pay to expand the outreach of the bank. Before joining Gojo & Co in late 2019, he worked for Yoma Bank’s Digital Division, where he created and launched a digital lending product called SMART Credit.
When he is not busy working, Kaung Set likes to travel and read along with learning new skills. He also likes going to music festivals and would travel to go to different events around the region.
Works in: Myanmar
Karthik Pai Nejigar
Regional Finance Manager
Karthik has joined Gojo & Company as part of the Finance team. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and have over 8 years of experience across multiple areas of the finance function. He is based out of the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka in India.
Prior to joining Gojo, he worked at Avanti Finance, a fintech startup. At Avanti he was responsible for the entire finance function and was part of the team that successfully closed Avanti’s first equity fund raise of USD 26 Million. He has also worked at CapitaLand where he was responsible for financial reporting for India business and led the setup of the treasury function for their India business.
Outside of work he enjoys cooking and also tries to keep fit by cycling and running. He is an avid traveller and has travelled extensively across India.
Works In: India
Ignacio Mas-Ribo
Outside Director
Ignacio is a non-executive director at Gojo & Company, Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School’s Council on Emerging Market Enterprises at Tufts University, and an independent consultant.
During 2015-2020, Ignacio was co-founder and executive director at the Digital Frontiers Institute, a not-for-profit that develops professional development training courses around digital money and payments. Previously, he was Deputy Director in the Financial Services for the Poor program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Senior Advisor at the Technology Program at CGAP. I have been Director of Global Business Strategy at Vodafone Group, Executive VP of Marketing and Account Management at DoCoMo interTouch, and Senior Manager responsible for telecoms investments in Europe for Intel Capital.
Ignacio has undergraduate degrees in maths and economics from MIT and a PhD in economics from Harvard University. He has been Adjunct Professor at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.
Haruna Tanaka
Head of Corporate Planning
Haruna is a professional with expertise in strategy, business development and incubation. She is the IPO Project Lead of Gojo, while working on corporate governance, social performance management, impact measurement, stakeholder impact management and any other projects that are needed to further enhance Gojo’s work.
Prior to Gojo, she worked for Rakuten, a Japanese internet services company for 10 years. As a member of the CEO’s office, she worked on special projects and other items on the CEO’s agenda, including acquisition of overseas companies, enrollment of Englishnization at Rakuten, strategy development of Rakuten Mobile and more. Amongst other things, she also led Rakuten’s ebook business as business manager in Japan and Taiwan, Asian business development, and innovation activities, including internal and external accelerator programs. Before Rakuten, she was a strategy consultant at Booz and Company. She graduated from Tokyo University majoring in Economics. She has lived 3 years in UK and a year in US in her childhood and is fluent in Japanese and English.
Outside of work, Haruna is a partner and board member of Social Venture Partners Tokyo, an NPO supporting seed stage social entrepreneurs to succeed. She is also a mother of 2 children, and enjoys reading and playing the flute.
Works in: Japan
Arisa Oba
IR Manager
Arisa works on investor relations and funtraising with the team.
After graduating from Keio University, Department of Political Science, and studying abroad at the University of Manchester as an exchange student, Arisa joined the Investment Banking Division of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley. She was involved in cross-border and domestic M&As, equity offerings and financial advisories, primarily for the real estate industry.
Building on her long-standing interest in global inequality and her experience interning at a local NGO in Tanzania providing empowerment programs for women and children, she aims to dedicate herself to solving injustice in the world.
She loves yoga, traveling, and reading books to find beauty and peace inside and outside.
Works in: Japan
Vidary Inthamone
Debt Fundraising & Treasury Manager
Vidary joined Gojo in September 2022, working part of her time in the finance team. She has over 10 years of experience in microfinance – in the investment department at the holding company Advans International, and in the operations department whilst working for a Mexican MFI at the beginning of her career.
The other part of her time as an independent consultant is still dedicated to the microfinance industry, working mostly on ESG related matters.
Vidary graduated from EM Lyon, Master of Science in Management, specialized in Finance & International business.
She speaks French, English, Spanish fluently and can be conversational in Slovak and Laotian.
Vidary loves soul music, cooking, travelling, mountain climbing and surfing. She’s the mother of 2 young boys.
Works in: Slovakia and France
Tomohiro Isozaki
CEO, Maxima
Tomo joined Gojo in 2018 as a Country representative of Cambodia and became the CEO of Maxima Microfinance Plc. in 2022. He oversees the strategic and operational development of Cambodian business. He leads the MFI by managing strategy, corporate planning, operation, credit, HR, digital initiative, marketing, fundraising, and social performance management.
Prior to Gojo, he worked for Healthbank Pte.Ltd. as a Business Development Associate, working in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. Next, he joined McKinsey (Tokyo office) and was involved in multiple projects. Later, as a member of the strategic planning division of the Food Business Unit of Mitsui &Co.,Ltd. Tomo was engaged in projects of strategy, investment, research, and group company management.
Tomo is proficient in English and Japanese and is also learning Khmer. His motto is “Be tough, wise and tolerant, enjoying your own life.” Throughout the business activity, he tries to establish a fair and free society based on trustworthy relationships.
Works in: Cambodia
Tomasz Ociepka
Data Analytics
Tomasz graduated from Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom, with a Master of Science in Mathematics.
Before joining Gojo, Tomasz was an independent data scientist based in Oxford, United Kingdom. He was providing services in the area of data analysis and data management for startups and SMEs. He was also a consultant for academic research using advanced quantitative methods.
In 2019 he joined Gojo to fight income inequalities in the world. Among others, he is responsible for data analysis and data projects in Gojo as well as support partner companies with his knowledge and experience.
Likes hiking and ink paintings. When inspiration strikes, he writes haiku.
Works in: Japan
Shraddha Kumari
HR Assistant Director
Shraddha joined Gojo in August, 2022 as an HR Assistant Director. She has 12 years of experience in HR and has managed Recruitment, Employee Engagement, Performance Appraisal along with managing end to end employee lifecycle. Prior to joining Gojo, Shraddha was associated with EY (Ernst & Young) where one of the most fun project she worked was around driving Wellbeing at work which included surveys, understading employee mindset and customizing Wellbeing programs under diffferent pillars like Social, Financial, Physical and mental wellness. Apart from EY, she has worked with different organizations like Genpact, HCL, Max Bupa Health Insurance and Pearl Academy which has given her exposure across industries.
At Gojo, she leads Human Resource and manages end to end employee life cycle along with focusing on building the right culture.
Shraddha did her Masters in Business Administration from IBS, Kolkata and did her Psychologu Hons. from her hometown Jaipur.
Shraddha lives in Jaipur, Rajasthan with her family. She loves to travel, enjoys going on treks and is an ardent dog lover. She also enjoys meeting new people and building meaningful connections.
Works In: India
Sajin J S
PMO Pasio Youth Banking App
Sajin has over 7 years of experience in Android application development. He joined Gojo as a Software Engineer as part of the technology team. He is a Bachelor of Engineering graduate, passed out from Nagarjuna college of Engineering and Technology, Bangalore, India.
Before joining Gojo, Sajin was a Lead Engineer at Seqato, and was responsible for leading the mobile team and developing mobile applications. Prior to Seqato, Sajin worked in companies Rainconcert Technologies, Codeleven Technologies and Businocrats. In his career, he developed Android applications in different categories like Weather, Health & Fitness, Finance, Social, Business, Productivity, Food & Drink, Maps & Navigation etc.
Sajin likes spending free time with family and friends. He loves playing cricket, chess and carrom board, also he loves to listen to all types of songs.
Works In: India
Ryo Satake
Head of Accounting and FP&A
Ryo is a Certified Public Accountant and works at Gojo as a head of Accounting and FP&A. Ryo has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Keio. While at university he passed the CPA exam, the youngest to do so that year. He did an internship at Ernst & Young Philippines, where one of his clients was a microfinance institution, and was impressed with the purpose of microfinance and its business model.
After graduating, he joined Ernst & Young in Tokyo, where he engaged in financial audits, internal control audits, operations/financial management advisory and financial due diligence for potential M&A. He also spent 2 years on secondment at the EY Los Angeles office, where he was in charge of supporting a unicorn startup company headquartered in the United States. He has experience auditing under IFRS, US-GAAP and J-GAAP.
Ryo is very fond of traveling, reading books, watching soccer and going to the sauna.
Works in: Japan
Rania Manayra
Corporate Planning Officer
Rania started her journey with Gojo in January 2022 as an intern, working closely with the Corporate Planning and SPM/IM team. She mainly helped develop Gojo’s Impact Reports, write and implement group-wide policies, and conduct social and environmental due diligence. She transitioned to becoming a full-time member in October 2023.
Prior to joining Gojo full-time, Rania studied at Keio University as a MEXT scholarship recipient and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in strategic management. During her time in university, she was a seminar lead for the International Business and Entrepreneurship Research lab, where she often served as student consultant for various companies and published several papers. She also interned at a global manufacturing company and volunteered at an Indonesian education NPO.
In her spare time, Rania enjoys cooking, reading sci-fi, and going to museums and art galleries.
Works in: Japan
Rajnish Roy
Head of Internal Audit
Rajnish has joined the Gojo Group as the Head of Internal Audit from Dec 2021. He is responsible for internal audit function in Gojo Group and collaborating with the internal audit functions with each partner of Gojo. He is a Chartered Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and ISO9001:2015 Lead Auditor. He has a total experience of 20 years in the Banking and Financial space and has worked in various banks and financial institutions.
In his last assignment with Axis Bank, he was responsible for Anti Money Laundering Compliance. He has also worked with the Lulu Financial Group as the Chief Internal Auditor, at their Global Headquarter in Abu Dhabi. In his other job assignments, he has worked with ICICI Bank, PwC, YES Bank and HDFC Life.
In his free time he runs marathon, hikes and listens to music.
Works In: India
Milena Nikolova
Outside Director
Milena has over 20 years of finance experience spanning across investment banking, wealth management, venture capital investing and startup advisory. She is a strong believer that directing capital for impact can be a powerful force for good without compromising financial returns.
Milena is Partner at Aera VC, a global venture capital firm investing in radical solutions to climate change. She is also Founding Partner of Therion Advisers, a startup advisory firm. Prior to that as Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank in London, she advised leading European banks and insurance companies on mergers, acquisitions and IPO transactions totaling over $10bn in deal value. In Wealth Management in Singapore, she worked with ultra high net worth individuals on financial assets allocation, wealth planning or corporate structuring.
Milena also devotes considerable time to charitable causes and is a partner/founder in several NGOs. She has 3 children and is an adventurer, outdoor sports and salsa dancing lover. She is a CFA charterholder and has a MSc degree in International Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics.
works in: Singapore
Koharu Suganuma
Financial Reporting / Accounting
Koharu is a Certified Public Accountant and Tax Accountant in Japan and works at Gojo with a focus on accounting, tax, and financial reporting.
Koharu has a B.A. in Policy Management from Keio University. She passed the CPA exam when she was a sophomore in university and started her career at Ernst & Young Tokyo as an auditor. After spending 4 years focusing on statutory/internal control audits and IFRS implementation projects, she joined Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory and experienced cross-border and domestic M&A advisory, mainly financial due diligence, overall support for carve-out transactions, deal structuring, and PMI projects for 3 and half years.
Outside of Gojo, Koharu delivers several supports to start-ups by building and improving business flows and providing accounting/tax services.
Koharu loves listening to music, watching movies, traveling and visiting hot springs. She also enjoys road biking and hopes to take a long vacation and go around Taiwan by bike in the future.
Works In: Japan
Joydeep Bandyopadhyay
Internal Audit
Joydeep has joined Gojo Group in the Internal Audit Department from June 2022 and would collaborate with the partners and also involve with Group Internal Audit functions. He has undetgone graduation in Computer Science and professionally undergone Insurance and stock market trading certification. Apart from that, also a diploma holder in software technology and have undergone certification in KYC and AML.
He has started his career way back in 2004 and have a total experience of almost 18 years in the Banking and Financial Services industry with experience in Retail Banking Business and operations, Micro-Banking Operations, Internal Audit functions for different verticals, Fraud Investigations, Process Reviews, Compliance Testing.He has worked with various organizations such as Microland Ltd, Wipro Infotech, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank at different capacities and lastly with Bandhan Bank in the Internal Audit Department.
On the personal side, he likes to spend leisure time with family and also take out playing time with his adorable two pets, that is a Beagle and a Rottweiler.
He is from Kharagpur and now settled in Kolkata with his family and his wife is a homemaker and they are blessed with a son of age of 13 years.
Works In: India
Ishaq Sutarwala
FP&A officer
For Gojo, Ishaq works on Financial Planning & Analysis. As an ex-financial analyst at JP Morgan, he specialised in analysing financials, budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis. Before being an analyst, he worked with Deloitte as a tax senior taking care of all statutory compliances for its clients, assisting in quarterly projections and annual tax planning strategy. At Deloitte, he actively participated in ‘Impact Days’- the company’s initiative to spread social, economical and philanthropic awareness by uplifting underprivileged communities.
Ishaq did his MBA from IBS in Management Finance and graduated in Commerce from Jai Hind College, Mumbai. He is passionate about decentralised finance and digging deep into digital currency protocols.
Ishaq is scrupulous and professionally valued for using agile methods in executing financial analysis. Driven, he targets to grow in leadership positions pertaining to finance. He enjoys watching sports and comedy.
Hiroko Watanabe
Financial Reporting / Accounting
Hiroko is a Certified Public Accountant and works at Gojo as a member of the finance team, primarily working on accounting and financial reporting.
She passed the CPA exam in Japan while studying at Keio University and after graduation, she joined PwC Aarata LLC, where she engaged in audits of the asset management industry, internal control verification services, financial regulatory advisory services, and experienced audits under IFRS and J-GAAP.
Outside work, she enjoys playing the clarinet and watching baseball games.
Works in: Japan
Gürol Sari
Chief Operating Officer
Gürol Sari joined Gojo in June 2020 as our Chief Operating Officer, and oversees the strategic and operational development of our partner institutions. Gürol has extensive leadership experience in retail banking, SME finance, microfinance & financial digitalization, as well as experience in turnarounds of several institutions. He has worked in the banking sector for over 30 years in many countries, including Germany, Austria, Myanmar, Turkey, Albania, Russia, Australia, and Tanzania.
From the start of his career, his interest was drawn towards innovation and impact: Gürol created the first fully automated online credit solution in Germany, easyCredit, which is ranked No.1 today in Germany. Prior to joining Gojo, Gürol worked as Chief Operating Officer of Vision Fund Myanmar, where he developed and implemented a fully digitized microfinance system that provided over 300,000 clients in extreme poverty with access to credit, savings, and education. He currently advises several international banks on digitization and change processes.
Gürol has a creative spirit and is always active. He is passionate about architecture, gardening, handicraft (particularly remodeling houses), and loves to bike and to play tennis. He dreams of sailing with his wife once his two children are independent.
Works in: Germany
Grace Leung Wing Yan
Financial Reporting / Accounting
Grace has joined Gojo & Company as part of the Finance team with a focus on accounting and financial reporting. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in professional accountancy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Grace started her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC) Hong Kong and later relocated to PwC Japan in 2012. At PwC, she engaged in statutory audits and financial reporting advisory projects including IFRS/USGAAP conversions and accounting policy advisory. She was also seconded to the IFRS Foundation Asia-Oceania Office between 2014 – 2016, performed research on tax disclosure and IFRS reporting by jurisdictions. Just prior to joing Gojo, she spent 2 years at Japan Computer Vision Corp., an IT startup company where she was responsible leading the accounting and financial planning and analysis team.
Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoor with her family and she also loves watching soccer games.
Works In: Japan
Arnaud Ventura
Managing Partner
Arnaud has founded and led two of the leading European financial inclusion groups active in Micro and SME finance, as well as digital finance.
Between 1998 and 2008, Arnaud cofounded and led PlaNet Finance with the support of Jacques Attali (Chairman) and Muhammed Yunus (Chairman Advisory Board). It was one of the most successful European financial inclusion groups, providing mainly advisory services in the sector. Between 2008 and 2019, Arnaud founded & led Baobab (formerly MicroCred), the leading Micro&SME digital bank in Africa & China. In 2019 alone, Baobab lent $1 billion to 1 million clients, generating around $200 million total revenues and more than $40 million pre-tax profit.
Arnaud is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. He also cofounded the French China Foundation, the leading network of Young Leaders between France and China, and Share Africa, a platform to promote Africa’s innovation and creativity. Arnaud graduated from EFREI, Paris, in Computer Science, and La Sorbonne in Philosophy. He speaks French, English and Spanish fluently and loves reading history & philosophy. He loves skiing and hiking in the mountains (particularly in the South of France), and has 2 young boys.
Works in: France
Almira Zejnilagic
Outside Director
Almira has two decades of experience in risk and crisis strategy management, having worked as an advisor, board member and management, as well as having extensive Investment Committee experience. Most recently she was a senior executive in a global, fast-growing Web 3 financial services business and previously a Partner at FTI Consulting where she spent a decade and helped build and ran Global Risk and Investigation Practic in Europe, Central Asia and Africa.
During her formative years, as a Bosnian refugee, Almira experienced challenges relating to remittances and access to finance, which later shaped her keen interest in finacial inclusion and digital finance as well as broader issues of social justice.
Almira is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She speaks English, Serbo-Croatian and Russian (as well as some basic Tajik). She enjoys reading and cooking with her family.
Abhishek Iyer
Regional Finance
Abhishek has joined Gojo & Company as part of the Finance team. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and have over 6 years of experience across banking and financial sector & has worked across housing finance, NBFC ,Micro Finance and fintech. He is originally from Mumbai (India) & currently living in the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka in India.
Prior to joining Gojo, he worked at Rupeek Fintech which is asset backed gold lending co. At Rupeek he was responsible for managing the financial reporting & audits of Rupeek Fintech & its subsidary Rupeek Capital.
Outside of work he enjoys playing cricket ,badminton & loves cooking.
Works In: India
Kshama Fernandes
Outside Director
Kshama has three decades of experience in Capital Markets, Risk Management and Structured Finance, with the last 15 years focussed on the financial inclusion space in India. Respected for her knowledge and commitment towards the cause of unleashing the power of finance for the greater good, Kshama has been a member of various High Powered Committees setup by the Government of India and has worked on consulting assignments for the World Bank, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and NSEIT. Through her innovative and pioneering work, she has been instrumental in creating and developing the market for debt for the underbanked in India. Kshama is recognised as a leading figure in the Indian financial markets, and in the world of impact investing. She is also the Vice Chairperson of the Northern Arc Group, a leading finance company in India that invests and connects underbanked institutions and businesses to capital markets investors.
She has a bachelors in Mathematics, a Masters in Management and a Ph.D. in Finance. An adventure sports enthusiast, Kshama is a trained mountaineer, sailor, sky diver and an ardent biker.
Yoko Matsumura
Legal & Compliance Officer
Starting in October 2023, Yoko is responsible for legal and compliance matters at Gojo. She is a qualified attorney-at-law in Japan.
After becoming a registered attorney-at-law in 2009, Yoko spent five years working in the corporate department of Clifford Chance’s Tokyo office. Subsequently, she joined Recruit Co., Ltd. right after its initial public offering, where she handled a wide range of legal matters, including major M&A transactions, venture investments, stock-based compensation, and disclosure requirements.
In her personal life, Yoko is a mother of two children. She aspires to balance her work at Gojo with parenting and actually enjoying the process. Yoko loves browsing stunning photographs from around the world while contemplating her next vacation destination.
Location: Tokyo
Charm Cai
Office Manager
Charm takes care of Gojo team members as the office manager. Having worked in various industries and a strong understanding of different cultures and people from all walks of life, she always strives to make a difference for others. In Gojo, she is dedicated to creating a positive, welcoming, and inclusive environment for everyone.
In her spare time Charm likes to cook, play with cats, doing volunteer work, and watch the sea. She is thankful for her peaceful life with family and friends.
Works in: Japan
Michelle Chang
Innovation Product Director
Michelle joined Gojo in September 2022 as the innovation product director. She is a seasoned technology and VC executive with pan-Asian experience at leading VC funds and diverse insight spanning e-commerce marketing, venture building, and finance.
Before joining Gojo, she was venture manager at Launcho Ventures focusing on scaling consumer brands focusing on SEA and the US market. Her career has included her significant time at Vertex Venture Holdings, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings. In her four years at Vertex, she made investments across the SEA market and Taiwan. Before Vertex, Michelle was the first employee of Reebonz Taiwan, scaling a luxury e-commerce platform and led the growth of the digital business from the ground up to nearly $USD1 million in its first year. She also worked at the leading grocery startup Honestbee as C-suite manager
During her free time, Michelle enjoys doing yoga, reading, and listening to music.
Royanne Doi
Outside Director
Royanne Doi is the former Corporate Chief Ethics Officer of Prudential Financial Inc., and former Advisor for Global Legal, Ethics & Compliance to Yamaha Corporation.
Prior to Yamaha, Royanne held senior legal positions with major global financial institutions. At one point, she managed 200+ staff around the world, with business experience in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. During her tenure as a global ethics officer, Prudential Financial received Ethisphere’s designation as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the first time in 2015, and multiple times thereafter. As a member of Gojo’s board, she will further accelerate the strengthening of internal audit and corporate governance to enable the sustainable growth of Gojo group.
Royanne has an undergraduate degree in Philosophy, from Washington University in St. Louis, graduating Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law. She is married to her law school sweetheart and has lived in Japan since 1994. She has three passions: economic empowerment for women, Asia with an emphasis on Japan, and the intersection between neuroscience and behavioral ethics.
Works in: Japan
Taejun Shin
Founder & CEO
Taejun cofounded Gojo in 2014 and has led the company’s growth until today as the CEO. Before Gojo, Taejun worked as an investment professional at Morgan Stanley and Unison Capital. To deal with an enormous number of investment projects, Taejun studied programming and automated many financial models, some of which are used even today.
While working in the sector, Taejun founded Living in Peace, an NGO, in 2007 and created the first microfinance investment fund in Japan. Taejun has been involved in Japan’s child foster care for more than a decade and co-established Japan Office for Standards on Children Services in 2021 to conduct third-party inspections on the local authority children services in Japan.
Taejun is the Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and is the youngest founding board member of Endeavor Japan. He is an author of 9 books, a finisher of the 1648 km ultra-marathon, and a Karate black-belt holder (he just recently started Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and owns a blue belt as of 2022). Taejun is fluent in Japanese, Korean, and English. He plays drums and loves shooting street photos of the world.
