Antje Kinder: From Kreissparkasse Soltau to Myanmar
1. In which institution of the Sparkassen Finance Group did you start your career and what brought you to the Sparkasse?
I did my vocational training as banking expert at Kreissparkasse Soltau.
2. How long did you work for this institution? Please describe your Sparkassen-career briefly.
I worked at Kreissparkasse Soltau for a total of almost 20 years. After completing my training, I initially worked in the branch and advisory services. Then I moved to the lending department and handled lending business ranging from acquisition loans to home loans, guarantee business, small commercial loans to large loans and syndicated business. I acquired the necessary theoretical knowledge via the specialist course at the Sparkassenakademie in Hanover and the bachelor's degree course at the S-Finance Group’s University of Applied Sciences for Finance.
3. When did you start your career at German Sparkassenstiftung and what motivated you to work in international cooperation?
I joined German Sparkassenstiftung in November 2014. Before that, I had been working for a consulting firm in Congo and China for 5 years, when three people – independently of each other - sent me the German Sparkassenstiftung’s call for applications for the position in Myanmar. When the job advertisement landed in my mailbox for the third time, I applied because I found the opportunity to work in Myanmar, which had just opened up politically, very exciting.
4. What valuable experience have you taken with you from your work at Sparkassen Finance Group to your project region?
For me, at the beginning, it was a bit like coming home since I was already familiar with the corporate values of the Sparkassen organization. It has always been important to me that the focus of the Sparkassen model is not on making a profit, but on providing small and medium-sized businesses with financial products and financial education. These principles were also the underlying themes of our projects in Myanmar. Since small and medium-sized enterprises in Myanmar often lack sufficient capital, my experience in the credit sector came in handy. At the same time, we introduced World Savings Day in Myanmar in cooperation with other international organizations. In this regard, I was also able to draw on my experience at the Sparkasse, but I also adopted ideas from German Sparkassenstiftung’s other projects in various countries.
You can learn more about our projects in Asia here.
