After 18 months of volunteer work with Pesinet, Lucie joined the team full-time in May 2011. She is now actively involved in the development of Pesinet.

• Lucie, can you tell us about your background? What did you do before joining Pesinet?

I spent my last months as an ESSEC student doing an internship in South East Asia; then I joined Indicta, a French consulting firm. In parallel, I started to get interested in social entrepreneurship. I heard about Pesinet through my cousin who is one of the 3 co-founders of Pesinet, and I decided to get involved. It was a good time for me, and a good time for Pesinet which needed motivated people to help Anne (CEO and co-founder of Pesinet) expand the NGO. For 18 months, I dedicated part of my spare time for Pesinet, before joining on a full-time basis.

• What were your first tasks ?

I started off with Pesinet’s participation in the Convergences 2015 forum in Paris. For the next 3 months, I contributed to the strategic thinking on Pesinet’s economic model, I took charge of relationships with our financial partners, I created a « corporate » brochure for Pesinet and I followed up on technological developments for our health application. Then I prepared my trip to Mali.

• You spent 3 months with the field teams in Bamako…

Yes, it was essential that I spend some time in Mali in order to acquaint myself with the field, to understand the local health context in greater depth, and to meet the local teams. I arrived just when we were preparing the launch of Pesinet on 2 new sites, so it was a great time to be there!

• What did you work on in Bamako?

My main mission was to lead the marketing studies for our “premium offer” project. This is one of the possibilities that we are considering to strengthen our economic model: developing a premium health service that would be more expensive but also more comprehensive than our current health service and would target families that have the desire and the financial means to spend more on their children’s health. On that service, we would make a margin that would improve the global self-financing rate and sustain the service dedicated to lower-income families.

I organized a first series of focus groups that enabled to gauge the interest of families for a premium offer and to identify the elements not included in our current service that would have high added value for families. Based on the results, we built an offer that we are currently testing through a second series of focus groups.

• What are your impressions of the field? Is it very different from what you imagined from France?

I was astonished to see how much activities have developed and improved since my first field visit in February 2010.

We now have strong and motivated teams, and well-structured processes that enable sound running of operations. Things are done well, and in a lively atmosphere! Incidentally, this is something that clearly emerged during the focus groups: subscribing families are very pleased with the Pesinet service, in particular with the work of our agents – their professionalism, their involvement, their joviality.

Moreover, we strengthened our relationships with the local health authorities. Pesinet is now acknowledged as an important actor in the field of community healthcare; and regularly invited to contribute to strategic workshops on these topics.

I am thrilled by those three months in Mali! It was a very enriching experience. I got to develop strong relationships with my colleagues, which will enable me to be fully part of the team, even from France.

• You are just back from Mali. Will you continue to work for Pesinet from Paris?

Yes, there is also a lot to do from Paris to support the development of the NGO and its activities. 2012 promises to be as busy as 2011. On the menu : development and launch of a pregnancy-care service ; investigation of partnership possibilities with mutual insurance structures and microfinance institutions, and preliminary feasibility studies for a pilot site in rural zone. All these projects will give me plenty of opportunities for future field missions in Mali!

Cheick Mohamed PANO joined Pesinet on January 1st to fill the role of supervisor. We asked him about his background, his plans for the program and his first impressions.

• · Cheick, can you tell us about your background before coming to Pesinet?

After one year of studying legal science at the university, I entered the National Training Institute for Social Workers (l’Institut national de formation des travailleurs sociaux, INFTS). I enjoyed these studies very much and immediately I felt that I had found my way. The internships that I had throughout my schooling made it possible for me to discover different organisations in the social and sanitary sectors, notably the health centres and the organisations in charge of child welfare and their reinsertion into society.

I gained my first work experience in the NGO Save the Children from 2005 to 2006. I was the supervisor of the Zinc programme. Zinc is a micronutrient given to children from 0 to 5 years of age suffering from diarrhoea. My sector was the Bougouni District and my job consisted in supporting the community representatives in their communication efforts to change people’s behaviour, raising awareness about family planning and setting up initiatives for preventing malaria, acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and other illness that threaten children’s survival.

From 2006 to 2008, I was social assistant at the Douentza house of corrections. Working in the prison environment deeply affected me. I was particularly drawn to the issue of imprisoned children. I participated in establishing an agreement framework with the Douentza health centre for addressing health problems.

After that, I worked in Social Services in Ansongo, a district in the Gao region, and was responsible for mutual health insurance plans. My mission consisted in supporting and advising women involved in the management committee of the mutual system. I also trained them on how to run meetings and manage the health insurance plan.

• Did you know about Pesinet or did you apply by chance?

In 2009, I enrolled at the University of Languages, Humanities, Arts and Human Sciences where I did a training programmein Education Science. I looked for employment opportunities everyday and I discovered Pesinet through the ANPE (National Employment Agency) website. I consulted Pesinet’s website and I felt that it fit with what I was looking for. I liked the mutual health insurance aspect and the innovative use of Information and Communication Technologies. This is something that can be very effective in a country like Mali. The agents visit the families and the information appears on the doctor’s computer. It is very innovative.

• Can you give us your impression since arriving at Pesinet?

I appreciate the seriousness with which things are organised as well as the training opportunities I had in accounting and management. I am discovering a new work culture as a social worker in an entrepreneurial project.

The managing teams, in particular Pauline Dupont, the international volunteer who trained me, have high expectations, which is very good for me because I must make a habit of checking what I do, and reflect on my actions. I also really like the fact that I have a great deal of autonomy regarding the strategies we take as an organisation and that I can make decisions. I present my recommendations to the management and we discuss the feasibility of these strategies.

• What are your plans for Pesinet?

My plans for Pesinet: involve the communities and parents of the children in the project in a truly participative way. One of the first meetings took place on Saturday, February 5. It was mainly for the fathers of the children enrolled in the programme. I wanted to show them why Pesinet is important for their children and involve them in monitoring the collection of subscription fees. One of the things that I have noticed is that the parents of the children enrolled are not used to paying on time. My idea was to set up a 3-person commission comprised of community leaders whose children are enrolled in the project to help raise awareness, collect fees and manage potential conflicts.

I’m also thinking about another complementary strategy: through the weighing agents, identify mothers who are willing to organise talk sessions at their homes over a cup of tea in a friendly atmosphere to share information and ideas about the project.

Pesinet is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in France with representations and employees in operating countries.

Officers and Board of Directors

Pesinet’s Board of Directors has 6 members, including the three co-founders of Pesinet who are the officers, and  gathers individuals passionate about Africa, with experience in international development, social entrepreneurship, marketing, venture capital and healthcare.

Officers

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Anne Roos-Weil               Pierre Carpentier             Antoine de Clerck
Managing Director           Chairman                        Treasurer, Representative in Mali

Board of Directors

Dr Line Kleinebreil, Medical practicioner, Vice-President of Université Numérique Francophone Mondiale
Jean-Claude Charlet, Founder and CEO of  Le Carré des Simples
Patrick Sevaistre, Consultant in economic development in Africa

Honorary President

We are also pleased to have Michel Rocard as Honorary President of Pesinet. A former French Prime Minister, he founded in 1999 one of the first French venture capital organization investing in Africa, Afrique Initiatives SA. He brings to the team his knowledge of international development and his connexions in African administrations.

Employees in Mali

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Cheick Mohamed Pano   Fatoumata Doumbia       Assetou Niambelé         Adjaratou Fané
Program Supervisor        Weighing agent               Weighing Agent             Weighing Agent

Sira Doumbia                  Nana Camara                  Dr Cissé
Weighing Agent              Weighing Agent              General Practitioner

Volunteers in France and Mali

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Lucie de Clerck               Saran Kanté                   David Allais                     Gabriel Brunnich

Dr. Brigitte Olivier           Matthieu Millot               Nadège Druzkowski       Joel Ntsondé

Christel Terrasson         Capucine Toulemonde     Antoine Chiquet         Etienne de Clerck

Advisors

Marie-Chantal Messier, Senior Nutritionist at World Bank
Dr Cheick Oumar Bagayoko, Expert in Medical informatics

Anne Roos-Weil, Founder and CEO

Anne, 28, is the co-founder and Secretary of Pesinet. She currently leads the organization on a full-time basis thanks to a sponsorship of Ashoka, an international social entrepreneurs’ fellowship program.

After working on social issues in NGOs and international organizations (education, migration), she spent three years at Alcatel-Lucent, coordinating and managing sustainability projects. She then worked as Corporate Engagement Manager at The Environment Council, a UK charity specialized in facilitating dialogue and engagement on sustainability, where she has been trained on facilitation techniques. She has developed strong project and human management skills, especially in cross-cultural contexts.

She has been central to the launching and development of Pesinet that she led to the international finals of the Global Social Venture Competition in Berkeley in 2009.

Anne holds  a Master of Public Administration from Sciences-Po Paris and an ESSEC MBA with a major in social entrepreneurship.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE : social entrepreneurship, management, development, facilitation

Pierre Carpentier, Founder and Chairman

Pierre, 39, has been working for 10 years on development-related projects in Africa with experience in funding and economical aspects of development.

After a few years’ experience in consulting positions, he started as investment officer at Afrique Initiatives SA, where he was responsible for identifying participation opportunities and for managing capital holding in Senegal, Mali, Burkina, Niger, Madagascar. He then set-up his own company, Cap Juby, a company specializing in development aid project design, especially public-private partnerships, and evaluation of cooperation programs and held the position of Associate Director.

A graduate of engineering and management schools, he has been working since 2006 as Investment Officer for “Investisseurs et Partenaires pour le Développement”, a private equity company investing in SMEs and micro-financing institutions in Africa.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE: international development, venture capital and private equity

Antoine de Clerck, Founder and Treasurer

Antoine de Clerck started its career at France Télécom in 2000 in the US R&D labs of the Silicon Valley, as a business analyst on the mobile Internet and e-commerce markets. In 2002, he joined the Long Distance Network Division of the company in France as a marketing product manager, where he designed a portfolio of innovative services for international operators’ interconnections. As of 2005, he was project manager at the Home Division of France Telecom, in charge of the development of broadband Internet services in the emerging markets. In particular, he initiated the launch of the Livebox and Voice over IP mutualised services in the subsidiaries of the Africa, Middle-East and Asia area.

Antoine’s work is oriented towards the design and management of specific innovation tailored for the emerging markets and low income populations. Since October 2007, Antoine has been the VP Marketing of Orange Mali, based in Bamako, Mali. Antoine de Clerck is co-founder and Treasurer of Pesinet. He is also the representative of Pesinet in Mali.

Antoine is a graduate in telecom engineering from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, and an MBA graduate of HEC Paris. Antoine is 36, he’s the father of three.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE: marketing, telecommunications

Back to “Our team” >>>

Dr. Line Kleinebreil

Doctor Line Kleinebreil is a primary care physician with a special interest in diabetes and chronic diseases who is also a master of mathematics.  She has been involved for many years as a board member on a number of the major French patient associations for both adults and children and is an active member of the World Health Organisation.

Dr Kleinebreil is a member of the faculty of the Johnson and Johnson Diabetes Institute. She is Secretary of UNFM (Université Numérique Francophone Mondiale), which develops training programs for primary care personnel in Africa and is a member of the Network of Telemedicine in Francophone Africa RAFT.

Line has been working at public hospitals in Paris, developing strategies for medical records and using IT as an educational tool for both patients and professionals, and headed the telemedicine unit at Georges Pompidou Hospital, Paris.

Line brings to the team her experience of health and training programs, her expertise in healthcare and her connections with a broad range of health organization worldwide.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE: Healthcare, Medical Informatics, Africa

Jean-Claude Charlet

An eclectic and fervent entrepreneur with both a literary and business background, Jean-Claude is a graduate from ESSEC Business School (1989), the Sorbonne University (1993) and holds an MBA from Stanford University (1998).

Following an initial experience in humanitarian work in Cambodia, Jean-Claude then worked for Le Seuil and Hachette publishers. In the late 90s, he participated in the development of one of the first on-line French travel agencies (anyway.com), after which he directed an on-line music sales start-up company financed by Bernard Arnault (mzz.com). In 2003, he left the internet to launch a new concept in the retail business and created a modern herbalist shop, “Le Carré des Simples” which he continues to develop actively.

Along with his endeavours as an entrepreneur, he created the CPI (Creating Innovative products) course, a joint academic program of leading engineering, business and design schools in France which focuses on demonstrating through 6-months work by students on companies’ projects how innovation can be a vector of cross-disciplinary approaches, open-mindedness, progress and societal utility.

Jean-Claude brings to the team his entrepreneurial experience, his creativity, his ability to think “out of the box” to help a project grow.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE: Innovation, Entrpreneurship

Patrick Sevaistre

Patrick Sevaistre began his career at the CNPF (Conseil National du Patronat Français) as Africa representative, after which he joined the Tetra Pak Group as Director for Francophone Africa.

After serving as Chief Administrator for private sector development in Africa at the OECD and then as manager of the European program for promoting investment in Southern Africa (SADC) in Brussels, Patrick served as Director-General of Afrique Initiatives SA, an investment and African entrepreneurial support firm created and chaired by Michel Rocard.

He is currently a consultant specialized in private sector development in Africa and associate researcher at the Thomas More Institute.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE: Development economics, Africa

Cheick Mohamed PANO, Program Supervisor

Cheick Mohamed PANO is the program supervisor in the district of Bamako Coura and Bamako Coura Bolibana. His role is to monitor and coordinate activities, to manage human resources and finances. In particular, he is responsible for the collection of subscibers’ fees. He also manages the marketing plan for the service and is the interface with local operating partners.

Before joining Pesinet’s team, Cheick Mohamed gain professional experience in various organisations dedicated to social work and healthcare. He worked for a year with  an international NGO (Save the children) on an nutrition program and was responsible for building capacity among members of a mutual insurance system in Mali.

A social worker, Cheick Mohamed PANO has a special interest in issues related to children and youth. He is engaged in the thrid-sector as the Secretary of a non-profit student association dedicated to communication for development. He is currently managing a team of 5 weighing agents.

Fatoumata Doumbia, Adjaratou Fané, Nana Camara, Sira Doumbia, Assetou Niambelé

Weighing agents are responsible for recruiting new subscribers, carrying out the weekly health check-up of children enrolled in the program, collecting health data in the mobile phone, alerting children when the doctor has detected a potential health risk, and collecting subscription fees. They also educate families on prevention practices when visiting them and inform them of existing medical follow-up and prevention services. They have a key role in the service as the interface between the families and the doctor and as agents of change in the community.

Pesinet is their first salaried job but all of them have either had training as auxiliary nurses or gained experience in healthcare as volunteers in community healthcare centers.

Dr. Hamadoun Cisse, General Practitioner

Hamadoun Cissé is one of the doctor of our partnering healthcare center.

He is a general practioner with a special interest in nutrition issues and children diseases. He is responsible for detecting potential illnesses among Pesinet subscrbers remotely by checking data on Pesinet web interface, examing children at the healthcare center and prescribing medication.

He is also involved in the continuous health training of the agents’ team.

Marie-Chantal Messier, Senior Nutritionist at World Bank

With most of her time spent doing field work in developing countries, Marie Chantal Messier comes with a wide range of experience in nutrition collaborating with international organizations, NGOs, government, private sector and investment firms.

Prior to joining the World Bank in November 2009, Marie Chantal held the position of Senior Associate for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in Geneva. She also worked as a Technical Expert in Micronutrient Nutrition for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Haiti and acted as Country Director for Helen Keller International (HKI) in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Furthermore, she volunteered as a Project Manager and Adviser for the Centre Canadien d’Étude de Coopération Internationale (CECI) in Mali.

Before working at the international level, Marie Chantal worked 5 years as dietitian in her home country, Canada. Marie Chantal is a Registered Dietitian and holds an MBA from Université Laval as well as a B. Sc. in nutritional sciences from McGill University.

Dr Cheick-Oumar Bagayoko, Expert in Medical Informatics

Cheick received his doctorate in medicine from the Bamako College of Medicine in 2002. He received his certificate of continuing education in Medical Computer Science from the University of Geneva in 2004, his Masters in Biomedical and Health Computer Science from the University Réné Descartes, Paris V in 2005 and his Masters in Expertise and Engineering of Health Information Systems from the University of Aix en Provence in 2006.

He is currently the Coordinator of the Francophone Africa Network for Telemedicine (RAFT), head of the REIMICOM project, Resident Representative for the Health On the Net in Francophone Africa Foundation, lecturer-researcher at the Universities of Geneva and Marseille and senior-lecturer at the College of Medicine in Bamako. An expert in health-related information and communication technologies, Dr. Bagayoko also has significant experience in coordinating and managing e-heath projects in Africa, notably through his work as Coordinator of the RAFT network, an internet-based medical education and consultation network targeting Francophone Africa.

Cheick brings an extensive experience of e-health project management, his connections within public health administration in Mali and across Africa and his thorough knowledge of African realities as a native Malian.

Click on their picture to read their profile and learn more about their contributions.

Lucie de Clerck               Saran Kanté                   David Allais                     Gabriel Brunnich

Dr. Brigitte Olivier           Matthieu Millot               Nadège Druzkowski       Joel Ntsondé

Avril Hernandez               Christel Terrasson         Capucine Toulemonde     Antoine Chiquet

Blandine Chenot              Etienne de Clerck

In your day-to-day life, you are:

• I retired in 2006 after working 39 years as a nurse, first in the Mother and Child Care center of the district III of Bamako and then in the National Hospital Gabriel Touré in Bamako. I was also Treasurer of the community association that manages the healthcare center in my district Bamako Coura and have been involved in various non-profit organizations, in particular CAFO, an organization that coordinates and supports women associations in Mali, at local, regional and national levels.

Why volunteer for Pesinet?

• Child care is a priority for me.

Your role, your contribution?

• I act as the communication agent of Pesinet towards civil society and populations in Mali, to raise awareness of the service and its benefits among families and actors of the healthcare sector. I organize awareness-raising campaigns, local assemblies in the district, talks around the project on local radios… I also participated in the organization of the official launch ceremony with the Malian Ministry of Health.