Development Finance Specialist

TarekKamal

PMP  ·  MBA
Infiniti Advisory  ·  Credit Guarantee & Development Finance Specialists

Small businesses are the backbone of emerging economies — yet millions are locked out of capital. The problem is not willingness to lend. It is risk. We design credit guarantee schemes that shift that risk, unlock finance, and build markets that work for everyone.

CGS
30+
Years of Practice
Financial Sector & Development Finance
16
Countries Served
Caribbean · Africa · Asia · Middle East
11
Credit Guarantee Schemes
Designed & implemented in 6 years
6 yrs
IFC Senior Financial Markets Spec.
South Asia · World Bank Group
Trusted by
World Bank IFC ADB KfW CDB IDB GIZ
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Capital is Locked
MSMEs across emerging markets are creditworthy but collateral-poor — a gap that kills growth before it begins.
⚖️
Risk Stops Lenders
Financial institutions want to lend. Without risk-sharing instruments, the economics simply do not work.
🛡️
Guarantees Change Everything
A well-designed credit guarantee scheme shifts the risk calculus — mobilizing capital at scale for underserved enterprises.
Areas of Expertise

Where Deep Practice
Meets Real Impact

Full Services →
02
Development Finance
Access to finance diagnostics, MSME financial inclusion strategy, blended finance architecture and financial sector deepening. Extensive experience with women and youth entrepreneur financing programmes.
MSME Finance Financial Inclusion Gender Finance Market Assessment
03
Credit Risk Management
Credit risk frameworks, guarantee portfolio modelling, provisioning methodology and financial institution capacity building. Grounded in 6 years as a corporate and SME credit risk manager before moving into development finance.
Risk Frameworks Credit Scoring FI Capacity Building Sensitivity Analysis
04
Climate & Sustainable Finance
Integrating climate risk and sustainable energy finance into guarantee programmes and financial sector reform. Experience spans energy efficiency lending, green guarantees, and climate-resilient MSME finance.
Climate Finance Energy Efficiency Green Guarantees Impact Assessment
"

Regardless of how small the equity that a micro or small business owner has invested in the business, it is often everything that they own. The biggest collateral they have to offer is that if the business should fail, they will have lost the ability to feed and shelter themselves and their families.

Tarek Kamal, PMP, MBA
On the true cost of MSME credit exclusion
Tarek Kamal
Tarek Kamal
PMP  ·  MBA
Principal · Infiniti Advisory
MBA, Venture Capital Management — Univ. of Wisconsin
BSc, Quantitative Economics — Univ. of Wisconsin
PMP Certified — PMI (2023–2026)
Credit Risk Management Professional — AmEx Bank, NY
Canadian & Bangladeshi National · Ottawa, Canada
Languages: English · Bengali · French
About

30 Years at the
Frontier of Finance

Tarek Kamal has spent over 30 years at the intersection of finance and development — working with governments, multilateral development banks, and financial institutions across the Caribbean, South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

His deepest expertise is in credit guarantee schemes: the instruments that shift risk, unlock capital, and make lending to small businesses viable at scale. He has been engaged in the planning and development of 11 credit guarantee schemes over the last six years, each with capacity building of women and youth entrepreneurs at their core.

2018–Now
Managing Partner & Principal Consultant
Infiniti Advisory
2007–2013
Senior Financial Markets Specialist
International Finance Corporation (IFC) · South Asia
2004–2007
Corporate & SME Credit Risk Manager
Eastern Bank Limited
1998–2000
Relationship Manager, Corporate Banking
American Express Bank
Get in Touch →
Selected Assignments

Global Practice,
Grounded Experience

View All on Map →
Jordan
🇯🇴
KfW / Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation · 2025–present
Financial modelling expert for a CGS focused on private sector employment creation — investment strategy, online MSME portal development, and sustainability-focused guarantee product design.
CGS Design Financial Modelling KfW
Lesotho
🇱🇸
World Bank / Lesotho National Development Corporation · 2023–present
Restructuring two government-owned CGS into a merged institution — business plan, process re-engineering, governance policies, operational procedures, and staff training.
CGS Reform World Bank Africa
Sri Lanka
🇱🇰
ADB / Business & Finance Consulting · 2022–2023
Senior Risk Management Advisor for Sri Lanka's new national CGS — risk management framework, treasury policy, credit scoring system, climate risk integration and leverage ratio strategy.
Risk Management ADB South Asia
Barbados
🇧🇧
Caribbean Development Bank · 2021–2022
Assessed financial sectors of all 16 CDB member countries for MSME access to finance — designing a Regional Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme with full IT/MIS roadmap and implementation plan.
Regional CGS CDB Caribbean
Jamaica
🇯🇲
World Bank / Development Bank of Jamaica · 2018–2019
Enhanced the Credit Enhancement Facility — comprehensive business plan, financial model, credit risk processes, operational manuals, and bespoke CGS management system design and implementation.
CGS Enhancement World Bank Caribbean
Bangladesh
🇧🇩
IFC / Bangladesh Bank · 2022–2023
Implemented the national CGS for Bangladesh Bank — full policy framework, loan processing, claims management, regulatory supervision tools, and capacity building of the CGS Unit.
National CGS IFC South Asia
Clients & Development Partners
World Bank IFC Asian Development Bank KfW Caribbean Development Bank Inter-American Development Bank GIZ UNCDF UK Aid / DFID European Union Global Affairs Canada Swisscontact
Field Diaries

Writing from
the Frontline

All Diaries →
Financial Inclusion
The Collateral Stranglehold: Why Access the Finance Elude MSMEs
After nearly three decades in finance, I've seen too many viable businesses fail simply because they couldn't pledge a building as security....
Financial Risk Mitigation
Minimize Risk: Finance MSMEs
Even as excessive levels of competition erode interest rate spreads, financial institutions continue to flock to what they consider safe space, namely...
Financial Risk Mitigation
MSMEs: Always All In!
When an MSME reaches out to financial institutions for a loan to grow their business, the financial institution only finances a part...
Climate Finance
A Low Hanging Fruit: Quick Wins in Energy Efficiency
I was recently thinking about the opportunity I had taken up to participate in a walk-through energy audit of an eco-resort in...
Proprietary Platform

Introducing
Infiniti CGS

The first dedicated SaaS platform for credit guarantee scheme management — built by a CGS practitioner, for CGS operators. Purpose-built for emerging markets and development finance institutions.

End-to-end guarantee lifecycle — application, approval, disbursement, monitoring, claims
Multi-tenant architecture for CGS operators, financial institutions and borrowers
Portfolio risk dashboards, exposure limits, utilisation tracking and early warning flags
Built for the operational realities of emerging market CGS programmes
Learn More →
Guarantee Portfolio · Dashboard
Active Guarantees1,247
Portfolio Exposure$42.3M
Claims Ratio (YTD)2.4%
FI Partners18
Scheme StatusOperational
Global Footprint

Practice Across
Four Continents

Consulting engagements across 16 countries. Hover or tap a pin to see assignment details.

Get in Touch

Let's Work
Together

Whether you are designing a new credit guarantee scheme, reforming an existing programme, or exploring how Infiniti CGS could serve your institution — I would be glad to hear from you.

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Location
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Web