Mrs. Felistas Coutinho

Chief Executive Officer

Felistas is a seasoned microfinance practitioner with over 24 years in the industry. Her first five years with FINCA in both Uganda and Tanzania took her from a frontline position as Loan Officer to Managing Director. She later moved on as founding Director and Shareholder in Tujijenge Afrika and Tujijenge Tanzania from 2006. She has carried out many consultancy assignments geared towards microfinance product development, renewable energy promotion at country levels, capacity building and industry network strengthening in Uganda, Tanzania, Namibia and Ethiopia. Her last five years have brought her back to being the Managing Director of Tujijenge Tanzania.

Felistas holds a degree in Social Sciences, Masters in Business Administration and intermediate level at ACCA

Mr. Thomas Ponniah

Chief Operations Officer

Thomas is an experienced banking and Microfinance expert with over 25 years in the sector. He has a proven history of setting up and growing microfinance institutions in challenging environments.

He started his career at Seylan Bank Limited and joined the LOLC group in 2003. In his previous role, he was General Manager of Fina Trust from 2019 and then the Chief Executive Officer from 2022. He steered the ship of Fina Trust by assisting in increasing the bank's visibility, expanding the client base, increasing profitability, and supporting the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka and a chartered microfinance practitioner having obtained the microfinance certification program licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Mr. Nalinda Jayasinghe

Head of Finance

Nalinda Jayasinghe counts more than two decades of corporate finance experience in the financial services sector. He stepped into the corporate world in 1999 by joining People's Bank, one of the largest state banks, and then gained audit experience by serving at a reputed audit firm in the country from 2003 to 2005. Subsequently, he worked at Ceybank Assets Management Ltd from 2005 to 2007.

In 2007, he made a decision to join the LOLC family which was an important milestone in his life.  As a result, he was exposed to many aspects of financial management which has given and continues to give an invaluable exposure to corporate financing. At LOLC, he started his career as a Senior Assistant Accountant at LOLC Finance PLC and has managed to reach the present position of Head of Finance – LOLC Tanzania within a span of 14 years. Over the years, he has been a part of many developments in the financial sphere of the company and has actively contributed to finetune and streamline financial processes.

Nalinda is highly skilled in Corporate Finance, Islamic Banking, Unit trust operation, and external audit with over 20 years of experience in both local and international finance operations. He holds a B.Sc. in Accountancy and Financial Management (Special) degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, is an associate member of AAT Sri Lanka-(MAAT). and has part qualifications from ICASL and ACCA (UK).

Mr. Dilan Jayawardena

Head of Information Technology

Dilan Jayawardena is a Sri Lankan, who has over 17 years of experience in the IT/Finance industry, he started his career as an associate Software Quality assurance Engineer and currently he is appointed as the Head of IT in East African Region since 2021. He is responsible for managing and providing IT system solutions for multiple business operations in several East African Region Countries.

He has been with LOLC for over a decade and held several positions within the LOLC Group and contributed to the company to take measures to bring efficiency improvements and cost reductions through ICT solution implementations. He is a skilful professional and profound for his utmost dedication towards work.   

Dilan holds a Higher National Diploma in IT, and he was the batch top in the awarded year. Subsequently, he graduated from Middlesex University in the UK, followed by a Master of Business Administration at the University of Cardiff.

Mr. Lalantha Fernando

Head of Channels

Lalantha Fernando commenced his career as a Junior Accounts Officer in the year 1997. He has held various Managerial and Senior level positions in Banking and Finance throughout the past 25 years. He is currently the Regional Channel Head LOLC – Tanzania. Lalantha has been a successful Banker for over 14 years and have gained vast experience in managing the Banks' branch network and also heading branch management of financial institutions.

Lalantha holds a Masters in Business Administration.

Mr. Thushara Dahanayake

Head of Channel Lake Zone

Holds an MBA from the Institute of Charted Financial Analysts of India and Completed an Intermediate level of banking conducted by the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka.

Banking exposure is over 25 years and ended my career as a senior manager

Mr. Felix Julius

Supervisor Human Resource

Felix Julius is a distinguished HR and Administration professional celebrated for his proficiency in steering organizational metamorphosis and enhancing employee involvement. With a wealth of experience in HR, Felix has ascended to senior management, amassing considerable knowledge in strategic development and execution.

Felix holds a Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources Management and boasts a versatile career spanning parastatal organization, the logistics and transportation sector, and the financial services sector. His multifaceted industry exposure underscores his adaptability and expertise in HR leadership

Miss. Christina Mkundi

Manager – Legal and Company Secretary

Christina Pius Mkundi, an advocate of both subordinate and High court of Tanzania, from Tujijenge Tanzania Financial Services Limited,  joined Tujijenge Tanzania Financial Services Ltd since December 2017, as Legal Communication Officer and was promoted to Legal Manager.

Advocate Christina holds a degree of Law at University of Dodoma  and Post Graduate Diploma (Law) from Law School of Tanzania in Dar es salaam, she is a legal practioner both in Criminal and Civil Cases.

Mr. Emmanuel Hamaro

Manager IT

Emmanuel is an IT specialist with over 15 years’ Banking Experience in IT Systems. He has been working as Systems Support Engineer at Computer Centre for one year from July 2006. He also worked with the National Bank of Commerce as the Zonal Systems Support Officer, a position he held up to May 2009. Thereafter, He joined Tujijenge Tanzania ltd (Microfinance company) in June 2009 as a Senior IT Officer before rising to the position of IT manager in July 2010. He is the one who set up Tujijenge Networks and its systems, IT policy and procedure as well as a business continuity plan.

Emmanuel holds a Master of Business administration in information technology management (MBA-ITM) from the Institute of accountancy Arusha and a BSc.in Computer Science from the University of Dar es Salaam. He has attended various other short courses including Sybase administration and Performance (Neptune Nairobi Kenya), Cisco CCNA1: Networking Basics, CCNA2: Router and routing), System Audit Training (Dar es salaam), Operational Risk Management, and Senior managers leadership program from Strathmore University (Nairobi).

Mrs. Fausta Simon

Manager Recovery

Fauster Simon is technically qualified competent and experienced in the microfinance industry with over 16 years. She gained her first experience in the microfinance framework in 2006 working as Branch Manager with Brac Foundation Microfinance. In 2008 she joined Tujijenge Tanzania as a loan officer later on promoted to different positions including Credit Supervisor, Senior Compliance and Recovery coordinator, and currently, she is holding the Recovery Manager  position at Tujijenge Tanzania Financial Institution

Fauster experience has been nurtured by a solid background of a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology at the University of Dar-es-Salaam and a Postgraduate Diploma in Microfinance and Community development at Uganda’s Martyrs University. Additionally, she attended various courses including. Internal Audit Training (Micro Africa- Nairobi)Strategic Management and Administration, Leadership and Team building, Business Networking Management and Senior Management Leadership Development Program from Strathmore University (Nairobi).

Mr. Elia Nkya

Senior Internal Audit

Mr Elia possesses extensive expertise spanning over ten years within the banking sector. Throughout his career, he has successfully held various positions, thereby acquiring invaluable leadership skills and a profound comprehension of Enterprise Risk Management(ERM), Controls and Corporate Governance. His experience includes performing audits directly with cross-functional teams including Business Banking, Finance, Operations and Investigations.

Mr. Elia is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-T) and holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from Mzumbe University. He currently maintains active membership with both the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the National Board of Accountants and Auditors (NBAA).