FMI Staff Spotlight: Michael Telford

“Even within the financial inclusion niche of international development work, we cannot ignore the consequences of inaction.”

It’s Monday morning in Amman, a sunny day and crowded office, with many tasks ahead for the FMI team. Emails stream in from Sarajevo and Washington, D.C., keeping inboxes full around the clock. Here we meet Michael Telford, Senior Technical Advisor at Financial Markets International. His story and road to FMI offer many insights for those in the development sector.

Michael started his career as a bond trader, which meant long and intense days where he seldom left his desk. After several years, he realized that there were perhaps more fun and exciting ways to spend the next 40 years. So, as Michael tells it, this is the point where things got interesting. After quitting his job, he backpacked through Eastern Europe and Latin America. After a great adventure and life-changing experiences, Michael decided to return to school with a new passion for development finance.?

"That path led to various roles, mostly involving access to finance work. After several years abroad as a Chief of Party, FMI was a natural fit for my background," shares Michael.

Today, he works as a technical advisor on proposals and projects, supporting FMI’s SME access to finance activities. He specializes in the design and operation of blended finance structures aimed at mobilizing private capital to startups and SMEs. He splits his time between the USAID/Jordan Business Growth Activity, USAID/BiH FINRA, and other FMI HQ initiatives.

But what is so different with FMI?

"The typical international development firm has a lot of generalist staff at its headquarters. FMI is like an all-star team of senior people with various finance backgrounds. Everyone does real, substantive work, not just going from meeting to meeting", he explains.?

Michael emphasizes that international development, particularly access to finance and investment promotion, is now more critical than ever.

"Despite economic gains achieved by many countries over the past few decades, there are fewer cases where those have trickled down to lower-income people. Increased inequity is exacerbated by the effects of climate change on the livelihoods and living conditions of those with no options to change their circumstances and developing country governments are not capable of facing the growing challenges alone," notes Michael.

At the end of our conversation, he makes an important point: "To make matters worse, disadvantaged people with internet access are very aware of the disparity between their lives and those of people elsewhere, which is understandably frustrating. This discontent can lead to civil unrest, displacement, or worse. We cannot ignore the suffering or rippling consequences of inaction."

We hope that FMI's work will continue to inspire people like Michael. Together we can meet the challenges of the developing world.