Finethic Microfinance Fund - Head of Business Development
http://www.finethic.com

United Kingdom (London)

Paul Blyth is a pioneer in the field of Microfinance investment.
As UK Head of Business Development for the Finethic Microfinance Fund, Paul is bringing a unique microfinance investment fund to a previously untapped market – UK pension funds! Paul is of the belief that if we really want to move significant capital into Impact Investment, we have to engage with Pension Funds as they represent one third of the world’s capital market – wish him luck! Prior to Finethic, Paul was CFO, Financial & Operations Principle, President of the Due Diligence Committee, and Head of Business Development at MicroPlace Inc, an eBay company. For ~4 years he lead an innovative team of financial services professionals creating retail investments that raise capital for microfinance institutions in some of the world's poorest regions. MicroPlace was founded on the idea of providing opportunities for a new kind of microfinance investor - the average American. Paul's leadership created over 80 investment opportunities in 62 countries. Its investor base includes seniors, college students, parents, and professionals aged 18 to 98, meeting the goal of making microfinance an accessible, easy investment opportunity with competitive rates of return. Under Paul's direction, MicroPlace achieved many industry 1st's: he headed the creation of the 1st ever liquid microfinance security, 1st guaranteed retail microfinance security, 1st "green" microfinance security, 1st certified "fair trade" microfinance security and more. He’s particularly proud of that fact that MicroPlace securities have outperformed all major world indices since inception.
Before landing at MicroPlace, Paul spent nearly two decades in finance. Beginning as an
auditor at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, London, he migrated into PwC's management consulting practice. After over 8 years with excel spreadsheets, balanced scorecards, and strategic plans Paul moved into an even sexier industry - the world of pallets! Paul led the commercial finance activities at CHEP Europe (the world’s largest pallet business). After ~5 years of blue pallets, Paul was lured into the world of advertising by Mother London - the fashionable, cutting edge agency noted for its development of Bono's (RED) brand, and its work for Amnesty International. Mainstream commerce had its appeal, but Paul was becoming increasingly drawn to the idea that investors could both “do good”
and “do well”. Sitting at his kitchen table with a piece of paper and a pencil, Paul designed a marketplace for the retail investor … during a Google search he stumbled upon a single web page outlining the idea for MicroPlace – he sent the “contact” (Tracey Pettengill Turner) an e-mail … the rest (they say) is history.
Paul has lived and worked in the UK, Canada, France, India, pan-Europe, and the US.
Born in London, he spent his childhood in both the UK and rural Canada. He obtained an
undergraduate Honours degree in Politics & Business and 3 year Chartered Accountancy
qualification in the UK, before moving to the US and completing the Series 7, 27, 63, and 79 qualifications. His wife survived. Paul now lives in London with his wife Rachel (an entrepreneur) and their two children Thomas (3½ years: footballer, expert climber, and T-Rex impersonator) and Alice (2 years and perfect). They sleep occasionally.