About us

About us

The Lao PDR Business Assistance Facility II (BAF II) is one of four components of the Lao PDR Competitiveness and Trade Project.
The Lao PDR Competitiveness and Trade Project is supported by Australian Aid, Irish Aid, USAID, and the World Bank.
BAF II is an equal opportunity service provider. All applicants will receive equal consideration for BAF II services, regardless of sex, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or age

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Meet our team

Our team consists of seasoned and world-class professionals with long-standing engagement and experience in working with businesses in Laos and beyond. Our team is available to support you as you take a step forward to transform and grow your business.

Nicholas (Nick) Freeman

BAF Team Leader

Nick is an experienced advisor and grant fund manager, with over 25 years’ experience working on private sector development and inclusive economic growth projects in Southeast Asia. He has worked in investment banking, private equity and asset management, economic development consulting, and has run ‘challenge fund’ grant facilities. Nick has led or been a senior advisor to private sector development projects in Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. He holds a PhD in international business, and his policy-oriented research work has been published widely.

Vilaichit (May) Senemangthong

Deputy Team Leader

May has over 20 years’ experience working in and with the private sector in Lao PDR. This has included holding senior management positions in strategic planning, business operations and driving growth in large companies. She has also been a consultant, advising SMEs on business growth, and working in the National Implementation Unit at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, advising on projects to support SME and private sector development in Lao PDR. May has extensive knowledge of the issues and challenges that businesses face in Lao PDR, and ways of overcoming these challenges.

Thouni Seneyakone

BAF Business Advisor

Thouni has over 10 years’ experience working in and with the private sector in Lao PDR. This includes founding a private sector enterprise, managing business operations for a private sector organisation, and leading the marketing for a major multinational operating in the country. This has given her considerable experience working closely with senior managers and business owners, whether in analysing their operations, identifying growth opportunities and capacity constraints, or in the development and implementation of growth strategies. Thouni has a strong creative and marketing background, combined with an in-depth understanding of start-ups and new generation businesses.

Soudaphone (Bee) Monesavanh

BAF Business Advisor

Bee has over 14 years’ experience working in and with the private sector in Lao PDR. This includes working as a consultant on BAF I, advising businesses on growth, and as a general manager of a private sector firm in the country. This has given her an in-depth understanding of the business environment in the Lao PDR, across a broad range of sectors and services. Bee is knowledgeable on the varied challenges that businesses face in Lao PDR, and had considerable experience in helping businesses overcome these challenges.