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Susan Ndiritu

@susanndiritu

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Microfinance and SME credit leader specializing in risk-managed lending, portfolio growth, and financial inclusion.

Kenya

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What I'm looking for

I’m looking to lead credit and portfolio strategy in microfinance or SME/agribusiness lending—driving disciplined risk management, measurable collection performance, and financial inclusion through strong partnerships and practical, data-driven decision-making.

I’m a microfinance and financial advisory professional with over 15 years helping lenders make smarter credit decisions—assessing creditworthiness, managing risk exposure, and using data-driven insights to optimize lending outcomes.

As Head of Credit, I delivered measurable portfolio performance: a 136% expansion of the asset portfolio in 9 months, reduced impairment and loan loss provisions by 18%, and increased credit P&L profitability by 6%. I also improved call center collection efficiency by 20% and strengthened revenue collections by 10% (77% to 87%) through operational collection strategies.

I bring deep expertise across credit modelling, loan documentation, and governance/compliance, with a strong track record in partnering across internal and external stakeholders. I’ve also led digital and program initiatives—like implementing automated lending that reduced TAT to under 30 minutes per application and managing a $50M loan guarantee fund that enabled 2,000 MSMEs to access agribusiness finance.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Agribusiness Finance Specialist

GFA Holding Limited

Jan 2021 - Aug 2024 (3 years 7 months)

Supported sustainable income and employment creation for young people and women in agriculture/food sectors by improving access to finance through financial literacy training, business development services, and market linkages. Developed financial services product/catalog mappings and built financial linkages that enabled over 100 beneficiaries to access finance.

Agricultural Financial Services Credit Assessment Financial And Market Linkages Stakeholder Management Business Development

Head of Credit

Engie Energy Access Kenya

Nov 2019 - Oct 2023 (3 years 11 months)

Led renewable energy financing credit operations, achieving 136% asset portfolio expansion in 9 months via strategic B2B and financial institution partnerships. Reduced impairment rates and loan loss provisions by 18% for a 6% credit P&L profitability lift, improved call center collection efficiency by 20%, and increased loan collections from 77% to 87% (+10%).

Portfolio Management Collections Strategy Partnership Management Credit Strategy Loan Pricing

Credit and Portfolio Manager

Agri-Wallet Holdings Limited

Apr 2019 - Oct 2019 (6 months)

Managed loan portfolio monitoring and credit quality while facilitating input financing and market linkages for 5,000 smallholder farmers, driving 60% revenue growth from financing activities. Implemented a digital self-automated lending platform that reduced application turnaround time (TAT) to under 30 minutes.

Loan Portfolio Management Application TAT Optimization Delinquency Monitoring

Access to Finance Specialist

Global Communities Kenya

Aug 2016 - Mar 2019 (2 years 7 months)

Managed a $50M loan guarantee fund enabling 2,000 MSMEs to access agribusiness finance and technical support. Built lender capability and demand by training 400 agribusiness bankers from 6 financial institutions (to support 15% agriculture lending growth) and delivering financial literacy to 400 MSMEs, with 200 securing partner financing.

Capacity Building Partnership Development Monitoring and Evaluation

Credit Risk Manager

Rafiki Microfinance Bank

Apr 2011 - Jul 2016 (5 years 3 months)

Spearheaded credit function policies, systems, and end-to-end credit processes to drive quality growth in line with credit risk policies and regulatory requirements. Increased loan processing efficiency by 80% by rolling out Credit Quest to 17 branches and improved asset portfolio profitability by 8% through impairment reduction to below 10%.

Credit Risk Management Loan Processing Credit Quest Rollout Regulatory Compliance IFRS Prudential Provisioning