Mike is an independent IT consultant specializing in electronic payment systems. Mike has over 15 years of international IT work experience spanning across UK, European Union countries and lately Africa in the Oil & Gas, Telecommunications, Banking and Microfinance sectors. Since relocating from the UK to Ghana in 2005, Mike has brought his significant IT experience into the Microfinance sector in Africa particularly in the area of innovative IT infrastructure solutions, banking applications and electronic payment systems.
In 2008, Mike worked as a Senior Manager at GHiPSS with oversight for the installation of the various components of the e-zwich national payment system and establishing connectivity for all deposit-taking financial institutions in Ghana to the e-zwich payment platform.
Since late 2008, Mike has been a consultant to Opportunity International Network (USA) in its microfinance operations in 9 African countries – Ghana, Mozambique, S. Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and DR Congo – where he is responsible for project management and providing technical assistance in connecting Opportunity banks to their respective national payment systems as well as deploying electronic delivery channels (ATMs/Point of Sale devices, EFT switches, mobile phone banking) in their microfinance operations.
In addition to work with Opportunity International, Mike also provides pro-bono strategic guidance in Information & Communication Technology to small microfinance organizations who lack the funds to pay for such professional services. He has recently led Ecumenical Church Loan Fund, a Christian NGO microfinance organization in Accra, in the selection and implementation of a management information system for their microfinance operations.
Mike holds an Executive MBA degree in Small Business Management & Entrepreneurship from Hertfordshire Business School in the UK and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Systems Analysis and Design from City University, London. He is also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and a Novell Master Certified Network Engineer.