ASA International was founded in 2007 by Md. Shafiqual Haque Choudhury and Dirk Brouwer, united by a shared conviction that financial inclusion can transform lives. Their partnership combined pioneering expertise in microfinance with international capital markets experience, enabling the ASA Model to become the foundation of one of the world's largest international microfinance institutions. Their vision continues to guide the Group today.
Md. Shafiqual Haque Choudhury
Co-Founder (1949 - 2021)
“We want to see the end of poverty”
Md. Shafiqual Haque Choudhury was born in Naropati village in the Sylhet district of Bangladesh and obtained a master's degree in Sociology with honours from the University of Dhaka in 1969. In 1978, he founded the Association for Social Advancement ('ASA') in Bangladesh, which initially focused on civil rights and community development programmes in rural areas.
In 1991, he transformed ASA into a microfinance institution. Driven by a vision to improve the lives of underserved communities, he developed the low-cost and highly efficient ASA Model: a decentralised, standardised and socially responsible approach to microfinance, based on individual loans rather than joint liability. The ASA Model made ASA Bangladesh one of the most efficient and financially self-reliant microfinance institutions in the world and remains the foundation of the Group's business today.
Mr Choudhury had over 40 years of experience in microfinance. He served as advisor to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh from 2006 to 2007 and held senior advisory positions at CGAP-World Bank and UNDP MicroStart. In 2006, he co-founded Catalyst Microfinance Investors ('CMI') together with Dirk Brouwer, and in 2007 they co-founded ASA International to scale the ASA Model internationally, in Asia and Africa.
Mr Choudhury served as Chairman of ASA International from its listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2018 until December 2020, when he stepped down for health reasons and was appointed President of the Company. He passed away on 12 February 2021. Mr Choudhury inspired generations of colleagues and practitioners across the microfinance sector, and his legacy continues to shape the Group's mission today.
Dirk Brouwer
Co-Founder and Chair Emeritus
“Experiencing first-hand the difference we make in people's lives will always remain my most cherished memory”
Dirk Brouwer has over 20 years of experience in investment banking and nearly 20 years of experience in microfinance. He served as Director of Investment Banking at PaineWebber in New York and London from 1987 to 1995 and as Managing Director and Head of Benelux Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch in London from 1995 to 2002, before founding Sequoia, an independent corporate finance advisory and private equity firm based in Amsterdam, in 2002. He graduated from Erasmus University Rotterdam and holds an MBA from Stanford University.
In 2006, Mr Brouwer co-founded CMI together with Md. Shafiqual Haque Choudhury to scale the ASA Model internationally. CMI raised USD 125 million, at the time one of the largest equity fundraisings dedicated to microfinance, and in 2007 the two founders established ASA International to provide small, socially responsible financial services to low-income entrepreneurs, most of whom are women, across Asia and Africa.
Mr Brouwer served as Chief Executive Officer of ASA International from its founding until June 2023, overseeing the Group's expansion into 13 markets, its premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018 and the start of its digital transformation programme. He subsequently served as Deputy Chairman of the Board and Special Adviser to the CEO, the Executive Committee and the wider management team.
On 4 June 2026, Mr Brouwer stepped down from the Board and assumed the role of Founder and Chair Emeritus, remaining associated with ASA International in an advisory capacity. His vision and leadership were central to the creation and growth of ASA International and to instilling its entrepreneurial spirit.
Why they founded ASA International
By the mid-2000s, the ASA Model had demonstrated in Bangladesh that microfinance could be delivered at scale through a low-cost, standardised and financially self-sustaining approach. Yet hundreds of millions of economically active, low-income people across Asia and Africa still lacked access to formal financial services.
Recognising the opportunity to apply this proven model beyond Bangladesh, the founders established Catalyst Microfinance Investors (CMI) in 2006 to raise institutional capital, before launching ASA International in 2007. Beginning in the Philippines, the Group expanded market by market across Asia and Africa. Today, ASA International operates in 13 markets, providing financial services to millions of clients while remaining firmly rooted in the principles of the ASA Model.