Pieter has worked at Boerenbond for over 12 years and currently serves as a Board member after seven years as an Advisor on European and international policy.
Jean-Marc Debricon, Managing Director, Alterfin
“Alterfin is very much committed to make Kampani a success. Not just as a shareholder, but also as a stakeholder determined to work with like-minded Belgian organisations focused on the Missing Middle.”
Jean-Marc has been involved in a number of social impact and non-profit organizations active in the developing world. Since January 2015, he is the General Manager of Alterfin cvba, a financial cooperative with a social mission, active in 40 countries in the South and reaching out to 1.4 million people. Jean-Marc is the founder of Green Shoots Foundation, a UK charity promoting the transfer of knowledge in Asia. He is the founding director of Children of the Mekong, the UK branch of “Enfants du Mekong” a French NGO supporting children and poor communities across Southeast Asia. He was a director of the Research, Education, Direction (RED) Foundation, a UK charity providing long term medical assistance and training for medical staff treating AIDS patients in Asia and Eastern Europe.
Prior to that, he was an investment banker for 16 years and served as a Portfolio Manager for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and as a Managing Director in the global financial markets division of Rabobank International, responsible for a budget of €100 million and a team of 40 people.
Jean-Marc holds a Masters in Business Administration and DESS in International Business from Université Paris IX Dauphine.
Sybren Devoghel, investment manager, King Baudouin Foundation
Sybren works as investment manager for the King Baudouin Foundation, where he is responsible for co-managing the portfolio of the foundation and assisting his colleagues on impact (first) investing.
Within its International Program, the KBF mobilises the resources of some one hundred philanthropic funds that it manages to support general interest projects led by local civil society actors in several domains, including agriculture and agri-business.
Sybren has vast international working experience having executed assignments in Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, the USA and Australia. He has worked both in non-profit as well as for-profit environments where he has been mainly involved in operational roles.
Sybren holds a Master degree in Applied Economics from the University of Ghent and an Advanced Master degree in Development Evaluation and Management at the Institute of Development Policy (UAntwerpen) .
Chris Claes, Executive Director, Rikolto International (formerly known as Vredeseilanden/VECO)
"If you want to see development actions result in real change, that is realizing sustainable food systems that supply consumers with sustainably, healthy, and nutritious food and reward producers fairly for their efforts, then you need to invest in the missing middle, provide capital for those businesses that can make this connection between farmers and consumers work. And Kampani is part of the solution. Our fund is not so big it can change the world, but it certainly will inspire a lot of bigger ones."
Chris is executive director of Rikolto International. Rikolto works globally on making food systems future proof with a special focus on smallholder farmers. Chris has 25 years of experience in supporting sustainable agriculture, supply chains and other food initiatives. His experience lies mainly in Latin America and Europe, but he has also been involved in a large number of initiatives in Africa and South-East Asia. He has a large experience as board member of various institutions engaged in agri-finance, fair trade and sustainable agriculture. He is also co-founder of Kampani.
Berg de Bleecker, Board Member Fair Trade Original Foundation
Berg has a rich career in the investment world – having passed through BNP Paribas and PGGM, she has held several executive roles at impact investment firms with a focus on emerging and frontier markets. She is currently a Senior Investment Manager at OostNL, the regional development agency for the east of the Netherlands, where she focuses on fund investments and food & agriculture ventures. In addition, Berg is on the board of FTO Foundation, one of Kampani’s shareholders, which invests in the development of fair and sustainable trade value chains and promotes market access for farmers and SMEs in developing countries.
Berg is a CFA Charterholder and holds master's degrees in language & literature (Ghent University) and business administration (Vlerick Business School).
Pieter Verhelst, Senior Advisor, Boerenbond
Pieter has worked at Boerenbond for over 12 years and currently serves as a Board member after seven years as an Advisor on European and international policy.
Jean-Marc Debricon, Managing Director, Alterfin
“Alterfin is very much committed to make Kampani a success. Not just as a shareholder, but also as a stakeholder determined to work with like-minded Belgian organisations focused on the Missing Middle.”
Jean-Marc has been involved in a number of social impact and non-profit organizations active in the developing world. Since January 2015, he is the General Manager of Alterfin cvba, a financial cooperative with a social mission, active in 40 countries in the South and reaching out to 1.4 million people. Jean-Marc is the founder of Green Shoots Foundation, a UK charity promoting the transfer of knowledge in Asia. He is the founding director of Children of the Mekong, the UK branch of “Enfants du Mekong” a French NGO supporting children and poor communities across Southeast Asia. He was a director of the Research, Education, Direction (RED) Foundation, a UK charity providing long term medical assistance and training for medical staff treating AIDS patients in Asia and Eastern Europe.
Prior to that, he was an investment banker for 16 years and served as a Portfolio Manager for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and as a Managing Director in the global financial markets division of Rabobank International, responsible for a budget of €100 million and a team of 40 people.
Jean-Marc holds a Masters in Business Administration and DESS in International Business from Université Paris IX Dauphine.
Sybren Devoghel, investment manager, King Baudouin Foundation
Sybren works as investment manager for the King Baudouin Foundation, where he is responsible for co-managing the portfolio of the foundation and assisting his colleagues on impact (first) investing.
Within its International Program, the KBF mobilises the resources of some one hundred philanthropic funds that it manages to support general interest projects led by local civil society actors in several domains, including agriculture and agri-business.
Sybren has vast international working experience having executed assignments in Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, the USA and Australia. He has worked both in non-profit as well as for-profit environments where he has been mainly involved in operational roles.
Sybren holds a Master degree in Applied Economics from the University of Ghent and an Advanced Master degree in Development Evaluation and Management at the Institute of Development Policy (UAntwerpen) .
"Innovative finance is risky, but the commitment and partnerships are outstanding and rewarding. That is what Kampani is about."
Hannelore is an agricultural economist with long term experience in research in political economy of food markets and field work and consultancy in value chain development in Africa and South East Asia. She was the CEO of AgriCord, an international alliance of 13 agri-agencies, mandated by farmers’ organisations and their cooperative businesses (from Asia, Brazil, Canada, Europe and Senegal) to support their peers in low income countries. AgriCord finances, advices, mentors and facilitates farmers’ organisations and cooperative businesses (at least 600 annually) for their organisational and sustainable economic and professional development. There lays a strong focus on low cost innovations and access to financial markets.
Hannelore is former Chair of ENABEL, the Belgian Development Agency and member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Development Policy of the University of Antwerp.
In all her work, whether working with farmers in Africa or in addressing policy questions at university or with policy makers, she has been coming across the challenge of the ‘missing middle’ in financial markets for farmers and small scale businesses in agricultural value chains. She judges that innovative, joint initiatives of impact investors like Kampani, are essential to bring farmers and small businesses to a tipping point for sustainability and investments for their future. Apart from bringing Kampani to scale, strategically, she hopes to contribute by facilitating concrete deals originating from farmers’ organisations.
Chris Claes, Executive Director, Rikolto International (formerly known as Vredeseilanden/VECO)
"If you want to see development actions result in real change, that is realizing sustainable food systems that supply consumers with sustainably, healthy, and nutritious food and reward producers fairly for their efforts, then you need to invest in the missing middle, provide capital for those businesses that can make this connection between farmers and consumers work. And Kampani is part of the solution. Our fund is not so big it can change the world, but it certainly will inspire a lot of bigger ones."
Chris is executive director of Rikolto International. Rikolto works globally on making food systems future proof with a special focus on smallholder farmers. Chris has 25 years of experience in supporting sustainable agriculture, supply chains and other food initiatives. His experience lies mainly in Latin America and Europe, but he has also been involved in a large number of initiatives in Africa and South-East Asia. He has a large experience as board member of various institutions engaged in agri-finance, fair trade and sustainable agriculture. He is also co-founder of Kampani.
Berg de Bleecker, Board Member Fair Trade Original Foundation
Berg has a rich career in the investment world – having passed through BNP Paribas and PGGM, she has held several executive roles at impact investment firms with a focus on emerging and frontier markets. She is currently a Senior Investment Manager at OostNL, the regional development agency for the east of the Netherlands, where she focuses on fund investments and food & agriculture ventures. In addition, Berg is on the board of FTO Foundation, one of Kampani’s shareholders, which invests in the development of fair and sustainable trade value chains and promotes market access for farmers and SMEs in developing countries.
Berg is a CFA Charterholder and holds master's degrees in language & literature (Ghent University) and business administration (Vlerick Business School).
Pieter Verhelst, Senior Advisor, Boerenbond
Pieter has worked at Boerenbond for over 12 years and currently serves as a Board member after seven years as an Advisor on European and international policy.
Jean-Marc Debricon, Managing Director, Alterfin
“Alterfin is very much committed to make Kampani a success. Not just as a shareholder, but also as a stakeholder determined to work with like-minded Belgian organisations focused on the Missing Middle.”
Jean-Marc has been involved in a number of social impact and non-profit organizations active in the developing world. Since January 2015, he is the General Manager of Alterfin cvba, a financial cooperative with a social mission, active in 40 countries in the South and reaching out to 1.4 million people. Jean-Marc is the founder of Green Shoots Foundation, a UK charity promoting the transfer of knowledge in Asia. He is the founding director of Children of the Mekong, the UK branch of “Enfants du Mekong” a French NGO supporting children and poor communities across Southeast Asia. He was a director of the Research, Education, Direction (RED) Foundation, a UK charity providing long term medical assistance and training for medical staff treating AIDS patients in Asia and Eastern Europe.
Prior to that, he was an investment banker for 16 years and served as a Portfolio Manager for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and as a Managing Director in the global financial markets division of Rabobank International, responsible for a budget of €100 million and a team of 40 people.
Jean-Marc holds a Masters in Business Administration and DESS in International Business from Université Paris IX Dauphine.
Sybren Devoghel, investment manager, King Baudouin Foundation
Sybren works as investment manager for the King Baudouin Foundation, where he is responsible for co-managing the portfolio of the foundation and assisting his colleagues on impact (first) investing.
Within its International Program, the KBF mobilises the resources of some one hundred philanthropic funds that it manages to support general interest projects led by local civil society actors in several domains, including agriculture and agri-business.
Sybren has vast international working experience having executed assignments in Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, the USA and Australia. He has worked both in non-profit as well as for-profit environments where he has been mainly involved in operational roles.
Sybren holds a Master degree in Applied Economics from the University of Ghent and an Advanced Master degree in Development Evaluation and Management at the Institute of Development Policy (UAntwerpen) .
"Kampani sits at the nexus of my passion dealing with business development, social impact and multi-stakeholder management."
Steven is CEO of EVPA and chair of EVPA’s Corporate Initiative.
Having worked extensively with both social and business actors, his focus is very much on the sweet spot where doing business and doing good are coming together.
Steven has also invested in several social/business entreprises, is an investor and member of the Investment Committee of SI², a for profit social impact fund, providing growth capital to European for profit social enterprises, and is board member of the Impact Investment Institute in the UK.
Hannelore Beerlandt, former Chair of ENABEL
"Innovative finance is risky, but the commitment and partnerships are outstanding and rewarding. That is what Kampani is about."
Hannelore is an agricultural economist with long term experience in research in political economy of food markets and field work and consultancy in value chain development in Africa and South East Asia. She was the CEO of AgriCord, an international alliance of 13 agri-agencies, mandated by farmers’ organisations and their cooperative businesses (from Asia, Brazil, Canada, Europe and Senegal) to support their peers in low income countries. AgriCord finances, advices, mentors and facilitates farmers’ organisations and cooperative businesses (at least 600 annually) for their organisational and sustainable economic and professional development. There lays a strong focus on low cost innovations and access to financial markets.
Hannelore is former Chair of ENABEL, the Belgian Development Agency and member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Development Policy of the University of Antwerp.
In all her work, whether working with farmers in Africa or in addressing policy questions at university or with policy makers, she has been coming across the challenge of the ‘missing middle’ in financial markets for farmers and small scale businesses in agricultural value chains. She judges that innovative, joint initiatives of impact investors like Kampani, are essential to bring farmers and small businesses to a tipping point for sustainability and investments for their future. Apart from bringing Kampani to scale, strategically, she hopes to contribute by facilitating concrete deals originating from farmers’ organisations.
Chris Claes, Executive Director, Rikolto International (formerly known as Vredeseilanden/VECO)
"If you want to see development actions result in real change, that is realizing sustainable food systems that supply consumers with sustainably, healthy, and nutritious food and reward producers fairly for their efforts, then you need to invest in the missing middle, provide capital for those businesses that can make this connection between farmers and consumers work. And Kampani is part of the solution. Our fund is not so big it can change the world, but it certainly will inspire a lot of bigger ones."
Chris is executive director of Rikolto International. Rikolto works globally on making food systems future proof with a special focus on smallholder farmers. Chris has 25 years of experience in supporting sustainable agriculture, supply chains and other food initiatives. His experience lies mainly in Latin America and Europe, but he has also been involved in a large number of initiatives in Africa and South-East Asia. He has a large experience as board member of various institutions engaged in agri-finance, fair trade and sustainable agriculture. He is also co-founder of Kampani.
Berg de Bleecker, Board Member Fair Trade Original Foundation
Berg has a rich career in the investment world – having passed through BNP Paribas and PGGM, she has held several executive roles at impact investment firms with a focus on emerging and frontier markets. She is currently a Senior Investment Manager at OostNL, the regional development agency for the east of the Netherlands, where she focuses on fund investments and food & agriculture ventures. In addition, Berg is on the board of FTO Foundation, one of Kampani’s shareholders, which invests in the development of fair and sustainable trade value chains and promotes market access for farmers and SMEs in developing countries.
Berg is a CFA Charterholder and holds master's degrees in language & literature (Ghent University) and business administration (Vlerick Business School).
Pieter Verhelst, Senior Advisor, Boerenbond
Pieter has worked at Boerenbond for over 12 years and currently serves as a Board member after seven years as an Advisor on European and international policy.
Jean-Marc Debricon, Managing Director, Alterfin
“Alterfin is very much committed to make Kampani a success. Not just as a shareholder, but also as a stakeholder determined to work with like-minded Belgian organisations focused on the Missing Middle.”
Jean-Marc has been involved in a number of social impact and non-profit organizations active in the developing world. Since January 2015, he is the General Manager of Alterfin cvba, a financial cooperative with a social mission, active in 40 countries in the South and reaching out to 1.4 million people. Jean-Marc is the founder of Green Shoots Foundation, a UK charity promoting the transfer of knowledge in Asia. He is the founding director of Children of the Mekong, the UK branch of “Enfants du Mekong” a French NGO supporting children and poor communities across Southeast Asia. He was a director of the Research, Education, Direction (RED) Foundation, a UK charity providing long term medical assistance and training for medical staff treating AIDS patients in Asia and Eastern Europe.
Prior to that, he was an investment banker for 16 years and served as a Portfolio Manager for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and as a Managing Director in the global financial markets division of Rabobank International, responsible for a budget of €100 million and a team of 40 people.
Jean-Marc holds a Masters in Business Administration and DESS in International Business from Université Paris IX Dauphine.
Sybren Devoghel, investment manager, King Baudouin Foundation
Sybren works as investment manager for the King Baudouin Foundation, where he is responsible for co-managing the portfolio of the foundation and assisting his colleagues on impact (first) investing.
Within its International Program, the KBF mobilises the resources of some one hundred philanthropic funds that it manages to support general interest projects led by local civil society actors in several domains, including agriculture and agri-business.
Sybren has vast international working experience having executed assignments in Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, the USA and Australia. He has worked both in non-profit as well as for-profit environments where he has been mainly involved in operational roles.
Sybren holds a Master degree in Applied Economics from the University of Ghent and an Advanced Master degree in Development Evaluation and Management at the Institute of Development Policy (UAntwerpen) .