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Born into a farmer’s family in rural Bangladesh, Mr. Md. Abdul Awal studied Agricultural Economics at Bangladesh Agricultural University before starting his career in banking, where he introduced innovative programs like MFI-bank partnerships and the CUMED initiative for urban women entrepreneurs. He joined the development sector in 2003 through the Credit and Development Forum (CDF) and gained further expertise from global institutions such as Harvard Business School and the University of Bradford. A regular speaker at international microcredit forums, Mr. Awal has served as a BWTP ExCom member and is a founding board member and current Chairman of the South Asian Microenterprise Network (SAMN). At CDF, he is leading the launch of a credit bureau for microfinance, a staff information bureau, and initiatives to boost financial inclusion among 720 member MFIs. He also oversaw a major study on financial inclusion in Bangladesh and has built strong ties with microfinance networks globally.

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