Mr. Frederic Mao works at the Bridge Bank Group Côte D’Ivoire (BBG CI) since December 2005 as a Senior Relationship Manager in the department of Corporate Banking. BBG CI was at that time a newly created bank with the mission to address the specific needs of small and medium sized enterprises. Mr. Mao was in charge of designing and marketing an array of products that take advantage of the iterative relationships between small enterprises and large corporations that work as suppliers or customers to each other. By encouraging large companies to support small enterprises, BBG CI intends to address the problem of a lack of credit history and visibility that traditionally prevent those enterprises from getting support from the banking sector. BBG CI successfully launched its activities in July 2006.

Before joining BBG CI, Mr. Mao was a Senior Relationship Manager at Ecobank Côte D’Ivoire, where he demonstrated strong leadership within the Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Group in coordinating notable sub-regional transactions for top private and state own companies in the oil and gas, and telecommunication sectors. From 1998 to 2003 he worked for Banque pour le Commerce et l’Industrie de Côte D’Ivoire, an affiliate of the BNPParibas Group and the second highest ranked bank in the country, holding various positions, including Account Officer in charge of small and medium size enterprises.

Mr. Mao holds a graduate diploma in finance from the Institut Technique de Banque du Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers de Paris as well as a master’s degree in Business Law from the School of Law in Abidjan.

During his Humphrey Fellowship year, Mr. Mao will focus his studies on entrepreneurship and project management. He also plans to refine his skills in capacity building for entrepreneurs to gain from trade and investments with the United States under the African Grown Opportunity Act with an emphasis on financing post crisis projects.