Skills of the Future

Overview

Grameen Australia is part of the global family of Grameen organisations founded by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, committed to creating a world of three zeros - zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions. The Grameen model has reached over 300 million people worldwide, creating sustainable livelihoods particularly for women.

Inspired by the success of Grameen America, Grameen Australia commenced its establishment phase in 2021 to bring microfinance and inclusive finance to Australian communities - starting with branches in Broadmeadows (Melbourne) and Fairfield (Sydney). I was brought in as part of a team of consultants during this establishment phase, which ran longer than initially estimated. As the Digital and Technical Transformation Lead, I was responsible for designing and building the entire digital foundation to support this mission.

What I Did

Technology Strategy & Enterprise Architecture

Developed the technology strategy and enterprise architecture for Grameen Australia's operations, aligning digital capability with the organisation's ambitious goal of reaching 10% of the 360,000 Australians with enterprise aspirations experiencing unemployment, financial exclusion, and poverty.

Core Banking Platform Selection

Led the end-to-end evaluation and selection of the core banking platform to support microfinance loan operations. This involved assessing composable banking solutions suited to a not-for-profit microfinance model, working through vendor demonstrations, requirements gathering, and platform shortlisting.

Digital Presence & Website

Set up Grameen Australia's digital presence from scratch, including the WordPress website, establishing the organisation's online identity and public-facing communications platform.

Environment Setup & Security

Established and secured the organisation's technology environment, including cloud infrastructure, collaboration tools, and operational systems to support a distributed team working across multiple states.

Hardware & Field Team Enablement

Selected and provisioned hardware for the Grameen mobile field team operating in local communities, as well as technology for corporate office operations. Supported the technical fitout of office and branch locations to ensure staff were equipped from day one.

Design Systems & Remote Collaboration

Set up design and collaboration systems including Miro to enable remote collaboration, process design, and visual planning across the distributed team - critical for a start-up operating across Melbourne and Sydney.

Technology Governance Group

Established a governance group of external volunteer experts to review technology approaches on a regular basis, providing independent assurance and guidance on architecture decisions during the critical establishment phase.

Microfinance & CRM Vendor Integration

Worked closely with microfinance platform and CRM vendors on requirements definition, solution design, and integration planning - ensuring the technology stack could support the member journey from onboarding through to loan management and repayment tracking.

Adobe Digital Signatures for Loan Approval

Implemented Adobe digital signature workflows to support the loan approval process, enabling a streamlined, paperless experience for both members and staff.

AML/CTF Compliance Support

Worked through Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) requirements, ensuring the technology platform and processes met regulatory obligations for a financial services operation.

Operational Management

Beyond the technology remit, contributed to broader operational management and issue resolution during the critical establishment phase, supporting the CEO and leadership team in getting the organisation operationally ready.

Impact

This work directly supported Grameen Australia's vision of enabling entrepreneurial people on low incomes - especially women, migrants, and Aboriginal people - to create businesses and achieve economic mobility. The digital foundation built during this period was designed to scale from pilot operations to a projected reach of over 36,000 people by 2025.