Michael Mithika is Principal of J.M. Mantle & Co. Limited, a finance and advisory firm, which he co-founded in 1997, providing merchant banking and specialist consulting services to financial institutions and users of capital in sub-Sahara Africa.

Since 1999, Michael has worked as a consultant specializing in areas related to development finance, specifically microfinance, including the analysis of financial systems and institutions as they relate to the development of financial services for low-income people. Michael has particular interest in working with financial institutions at a strategic and operational level in positioning and enabling them to make institutional changes to deliver market-driven financial services, and join the ranks of formal financial institutions. Michael's interest to develop capacity in the microfinance sector has culminated in his launching the School of Applied Microfinance - an annual two-week training course based in Africa.

Michael began his investment-banking career in 1994 as a Finance Analyst in corporate finance in Kenya and South Africa after graduating magna cum laude with a BSc. Business Administration - Finance and Accounting from the United States International University - Africa. He has Investment Banking training from Euromoney and is accredited by CGAP to train courses in the Microfinance Skills for Managers set and is a Certified Service Provider of MicroSave.