Fred Smith

Senior Managing Director, Financial Services & Integrated Rural Development Portfolio

Dr. Fred Smith is a financial services and rural development specialist with a background in micro, small and medium-sized enterprise development and all aspects of project design, implementation and management. He currently serves as Senior Managing Director of the Financial Services and Integrated Rural Development portfolio group of ACDI/VOCA where he provides technical assistance to financial services and rural development projects. He has managed numerous projects to establish non-bank financial institutions in both rural and microfinance, supported the development of a ‘meso’ level financial services industry, improvement of agricultural production and marketing systems and improved rural livelihoods. He has managed institutional development of credit cooperative, nonprofit and commercial models of both wholesale and retail lending operations, promoting the establishment of locally-managed institutions and services. Dr. Smith has extensive regional experience and has supported the development of numerous institutions in Russia, Central and South Asia and the Caucasus. Through his activities in credit and finance development, agricultural production technologies and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, Dr. Smith has gathered tremendous experience in mobilizing the necessary resources to sustain legacy organizations. He also has conducted extensive research on the development of non-bank financial institutions using current legislation in each country, which has helped form the basis for rural and micro-lending operations, adapting systems and services to the needs of local clientele. He specializes in organizing multi-disciplinary support services to improve livelihoods, increased income and employment in rural areas. He has provided long-term project support services in Russia, Pakistan and Ghana and short-term technical assistance in nearly 20 other countries. Dr. Smith earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in agronomy at North Carolina State University and his B.A. in political science at the University of North Carolina.