About the Team
Kap Tower Partners brings together a group of experts with decades of experience in emerging markets. The team has worked across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Their expertise covers everything from mobile technology, to policy, to digital financial services and education to agriculture.
The Founders
Anne Craib founded Kap Tower Partners following two decades of a successful work in technology and emerging markets. During her career, she has developed a breadth of experience working with global foundations, Fortune 500 companies, start-up companies and entrepreneurs, governments and multinational bodies including the United Nations. At Kap Tower, she heads a team of experts serving clients in technology and emerging market projects around the world.
Anne Craib
Co-Founder and Principal
Anne Craib has led complex international strategy, policy and implementation projects in the private, non-profit and government sectors around the world. Anne has a long history of creating commercially sustainable, scalable projects in emerging markets. She focuses on understanding both commercial and customer interests.
Anne recently led a multi-stakeholder effort to expand the use of digital financial services for under-served populations in Uganda. In that capacity, Anne led the efforts provide implementation support for the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
Anne has managed multinational teams in e-health, education, mobile technology, and digital financial services in China, Nigeria, Brazil, South Africa, India and Uganda. Her clients include Fortune 500 technology companies and global non-profits and foundations.
For over ten years, Anne directed the Semiconductor Industry Association's international trade and research departments. In that capacity, she ran the industry's international trade negotiations. Her work included leading negotiations with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Customs Organization (WCO) among others. She also headed the industry's research efforts on trade policy and practices in China, India and elsewhere.
Anne holds a Master of Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, a Master of International Affairs from the University of California at San Diego and Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley.
Kinfemichel Abraha
Consultant
Kinfemichel Yibkaw Abraha is a financial services and financial inclusion expert based in Ethiopia. For over seven years, Kinfe has been working in the development sector with local and international NGOs, including projects funded by USAID and DFID. he currently works to develop and assesses financial inclusion interventions. Kinfe has worked in the microfinance sector, supporting projects that support women's financial inclusion and also supporting agriculture value chains.
Kinfe worked in banking for many years, doing domestic retail, trade service, corporate lending and credit banking. In this capacity, he developed a deep understanding of the regulatory environment.
Kinfe holds a Bachelors in Economics from Unity University College in Addis Ababa, and an MSC from the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance at the University of Maastricht. He also obtained diplomas in accounting from Addis Ababa University Commercial College and microfinance from Uganda Martyrs University in Kampala.
Chris Malwadde
Senior Consultant
Chris Malwadde is a senior microfinance and financial inclusion specialist with deep policy, implementation and operational experience. Chris has worked across Africa, the Middle East and Asia building inclusive financial systems, enhancing the capacity of financial services providers, developing measures to strengthen financial infrastructure and working with policymakers to adopt appropriate policies to create a conducive ecosystem for the spread of financial goods and services. Chris led the Women Entrepreneurship Development Program (WEDP) in Ethiopia, served as the Chief Technical Advisor for UNCDF Lesotho, and served Mercy Corps in Afghanistan advising on financial services for two years. Chris is a certified CGAP trainer in financial analysis and business planning, he is a faculty member of the School of African Microfinance in Mombasa, and taught at the Boulder Institute for Microfinance.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Makerere University in Kampala; a CPA from Strathmore College, Kenya; a Diploma in Financial Management from the International Institute of Management (now the University of Maastricht), an MBA from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) in collaboration with the Maastricht School of Management, and a Diploma in Development and Management of Small Businesses from Galilee College in Israel.
Andrew Tumwesigye
Consultant
Andrew Tumwesigye brings broad experience with mobile money implementations to Kap Tower, having worked across a wide variety of industries - from education to agriculture - to introduce and strengthen digital payments. His expertise covers everything from extensive market research to piloting and taking payments to scale. He has worked to build the business case for both the organizations adopting digital payments as well as the recipients taking up digital services for the first time.
Andrew holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from Makerere University and a Master of Business Administration from Multimedia University in Malaysia.
Jim Farmer
Technical and Data Advisor
With over 20 years of engineering experience at some of Silicon Valley's leading technology companies, Jim brings a wealth of knowledge to his role as an advisor to Kap Tower Partners. Jim aids in the analysis of data, and strategy.
Jim holds both a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.