Bezant Chongo has been working in the sustainable development and inclusivity space with a focus the financial inclusion for over eighteen years, twelve of them in capacity building and consulting. Other than facilitating access to finance for micro-entrepreneurs, his area of expertise includes product development and roll-out in themes such as affordable housing, environmental and social performance management and digital financial services. Bezant has worked with a wide range of financial service providers such as banks, MFIs, NGOs and MNOs. Countries of experience include Brazil, Ghana, India, Lebanon, Lesotho Kenya, Namibia Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
In recent years, Bezant has worked with some of the leading business schools in South Africa [GIBS (University of Pretoria), WITS Business School (University of the Witwatersrand) Regensys Business School] in the design and implementation of the Executive Development Programme in Inclusive Finance sector and led study tours of senior executives to Uganda and Kenya in 2015 and Brazil, Ghana and Tanzania in 2018. In 2021 and 2022 he was also a guest speaker for the University of Toronto Summer School – in Cape Town. Since 2017, he delivers an annual lecture on Housing Microfinance at the University of Cape Town under the Housing Finance Course for SSA.
Bezant is currently the Head of Capacity Building at Symbiotics, a Geneva-based social impact investor, dedicated to financing micro small and medium enterprises and low and middle-income households in emerging and frontier markets. He is also the Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Development Microfinance Association of South Africa.
Bezant holds a Diploma in Banking and Finance, a Bachelor of Business Administration, and a Master’s in Microfinance from the University of Bergamo, Italy.