Minsk Awards Special

Top trade finance talent 2017

A total of 128 students from many of the economies where the EBRD invests finished the course by the end of 2016

128 students from many of the EBRD’s countries of operations finished the course by the end of 2016

The EBRD’s TFP team once again hosted the annual graduation ceremony for the EBRD Trade Finance e-Learning Programme in Minsk on 17 March 2017.

In total, 128 students from many of the EBRD’s countries of operations finished the course by the end of 2016, and we are proud to share with you the top 25 graduates.

The EBRD’s e-Learning Programme is supported by funding from donors such as the EBRD’s Shareholder Special Fund and the European Union. The EBRD also greatly appreciates the enthusiastic support from international commercial banks; each year our top students spend trade finance internships in Austria, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

We also welcome new sponsor KBC Bank Belgium, which awarded one of our top students with an internship in Brussels. KBC Bank was our second most active confirming bank last year and has now joined the e-Learning Programme as a sponsor for the first time.

Huge thanks also go to our other sponsors Commerzbank, ICC Austria, ICC HQ and Banca Popolare di Sondrio, China Systems and Coastline Solutions.

Our e-Learning Programme is growing from year to year, and 2017 follows this trend with a large number of students having enrolled.

We congratulate all our graduates. These young trade finance professionals are a true example for peers in the sector and we are looking forward to following their successful careers.

Huge thanks go to our other sponsors Commerzbank, ICC Austria, ICC HQ and Banca Popolare di Sondrio, China Systems and Coastline Solutions.

Trade Facilitation Programme Workshop at the Joint Vienna Institute, 14-19 May, 2017
From left to right
Front Row: Ms Firuza Hotamova (Tajikistan), Ms Chynara Alybaeva (Kyrgyz Republic), Mr Rudolf Putz (Trainer, EBRD), Mr Joachim Bald (Trainer, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management), Ms Ute Bühler (Trainer, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management), Ms Biljana Jaćimović (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ms Eleonora Avetisyan (Armenia), Ms Eleni-Lilika Tsoumpa (Greece)
Middle Row: Ms Veneta Miteva (Project Coordinator, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management), Ms Teodora Petkova (Bulgaria), Ms Jasmina MIlovska (FYR Macedonia), Ms Mirjeta Kadrijaj (Kosovo), Ms Nada Abdelhamid (Egypt), Mr Karim Morsy (Egypt), Mr Athanasios Vlachopoulos (Greece), Mr Milić Čavić (Serbia), Ms Rasha Adly Mohamed Hassaan (Egypt), Mr Giorgi Vashakidze (Georgia), Ms Aikazerini Theodorou (Greece), Ms Tamar Mikadze (Georgia), Ms Kateyna Iakovleva (Ukraine)
Back Row: Mr Bariş Can Galipoglu (Turkey), Mr Bariş Nerezoǧlu (Turkey), Mr Pena Poladov (Turkmenistan), Mr Gulam Sylapov (Turkmenistan), Mr Viorel-Mihai Andreescu (Romania), Mr Mohamed Moudden (Morocco), Mr Maksym Dutsyak (Program Officer, JVI)

Taking part in your e-Learning Programme has given me a great opportunity to explore my potential, boosting both my knowledge and self-esteem.

Hoda Abd El Hameed Ezzat El Shimi

QNB Alahli, Egypt

Mohanad Mostafa Ahmed Mehaya, QNB Alahli, Egypt receives his awards from
Eugenia Zhiglova, KBC Bank, and Rudolf Putz, EBRD

This graduation ceremony was not only a fantastic event but also a great chance to network with other trade finance experts from different countries.

Mostafa El Toweiry

Barclays, Egypt

Stephen Clinton of Coastline Solutions
Hans-Joerg Krohn of Commerzbank, Germany and Hovsep Voskanyan of Commerzbank, Minsk Representative Office at the opening ceremony
Ileana-Otilia Popescu and Catalin Ciuperca of Bancpost, Romania share a trade finance joke

Top 25 graduates 2017

  • Hoda Abd El Hameed Ezzat El Shimi

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Nada Abdelhamid Kamel Awad

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Mohanad Mostafa Ahmed Mehaya

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Rasha Adly Mohamed Hassan

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Mohamed Samy Ahmed Mohamed

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Yasmine Raafat Abo Al Makarem Mohamed Eid

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Mai Medhat Hanafy Osman

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Kareem Abdel-Rahman Abdel-Moneem Morsy

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Lana Ružman Petrinec

    Privredna Banka, Zagreb, Croatia

  • Ahmed Yehia Ismail Ahmed

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Liana Sahakyan

    Araratbank, Armenia

  • Daryana Alexandrovna Ermakova

    Sberbank, Russia

  • Pena Poladov

    Central Bank of Turkmenistan, Turkmenistan

  • Kateryna Iakovleva

    Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Ukraine

  • Sasho Petkovski

    Stopanska Banka, FYR Macedonia

  • Jasmina Milovska

    NLB Banka Skopje, FYR Macedonia

  • Anna Stanislavovna Belova

    Sberbank, Russia

  • Mirjana Svilar Aleksovska

    NLB Banka Skopje, FYR Macedonia

  • Iana Lavrishko

    Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Ukraine

  • Ileana Otilia Popescu

    Bancpost, Romania

  • Viorel Mihail Andreescu

    Bancpost, Romania

  • Elena Alexandrovna Pshenichnikova

    Sberbank, Russia

  • Sergey Kosyan

    Inecobank, Armenia

  • Ramy Ibrahim Mohamed Salem

    QNB Alahli, Egypt

  • Dora Ioannou

    Hellenic Bank, Cyprus

I found the e-Learning Programme very useful as it covers most current and relevant trade finance topics,as well as making me approach trade finance products from a different angle. I would highly recommend this course.

Pena Poladov

Our first student from Turkmenistan, Central Bank of Turkmenistan

Eleonore Treu of ICC Austria
Hans-Joerg Krohn of Commerzbank, Germany presents Hoda Abd El Hameed Ezzat El Shimi of QNB Alahli with her prize as top graduate of the EBRD's Trade Finance e-Learning Programme 2016
Zuzana Franz of BHF-Bank and Eugenia Zhiglova of KBC Bank
Some of the trade finance family from the EBRD, QNB Alahli, Egypt and Commerzbank, Germany

Having completed the challenging yet addictive e-Learning Programme, this event offered me the opportunity to exchange views and experiences with outstanding professionals from various countries.

Catalin Ciuperca

Bancpost Romani

The winners!

This was the best online training I have ever come across in trade finance, and one of the most comprehensive and challenging courses. A huge thanks to the EBRD for this opportunity.

Mohamed Samy Ahmed Mohamed

QNB Alahli, Egypt

Eleonore Treu of ICC Austria presents Ileana-Otilia Popescu, Bancpost, Romania and Ahmed Ismail, QNB Alahli with their prize of attendance
to ICC Austria's Trade Finance Week

It was a great pleasure to be part of such an outstanding ceremony in Minsk. Congratulations to all graduates, in particular to our ICC Austria prize winners: Ileana-Otilia Popescu and Ahmed Ismail. Well done!

Eleonore Treu

ICC Austria

This training course is extensive and complex, but at the same time very interesting due to the huge amount of information and practical examples.

Kateryna Prus

Oschadbank, Ukraine

Irina Chuvakhina, Nadezhda Nedorubkova and Anna Adashick of Priorbank, Belarus with Kamola Makhmudova and Anna Brod of the EBRD

I was astonished by the cordial atmosphere. To me, it was as if old friends were being reunited. There were many smiles and everyone paid tribute to one another with respect and professionalism. The TFP e-Learning Programme is a true bridge between generations – young professionals and experienced trade finance specialists – and this ceremony is the pinnacle of it all.

Konstantin Nagornyak

Granum Trading