Star Contributor of the Month – Yu Wati Nyi

We are pleased to recognize Yu as the Mifos Star Contributor in this April 2026 edition of Star Contributor of the Month. Yu has been selected has been a stand-out contributor for her work on the new command processing module. She was quick to volunteer for the task and her code submissions have been exemplary requiring very few changes at Peer Review. Yu has been a strong member of the community since joining as an intern last year. Last year Yu worked on Credit Bureau Integration as part of GSOC.

Yu Wati Nyi – Washington DC, US

Brief Bio:

I am a software engineer who recently graduated from Mount Holyoke College in May 2025, with a double major in Computer Science and Economics. My educational background really pushed my interest in pursuing fintech, and I have gotten the chance to learn a lot about it through Mifos Initiative.

Relevant Skills/OS Experience:

I have skills in backend development (mainly in Java and Springboot), AI (computer vision), and some frontend (JavaScript and React)

Open Source Contributions: Active contributor to the Mifos X project and its current backend Apache Fineract(R).

My Impact:

How I discovered Mifos:

I first heard about Google Summer of Code in my junior year of college in 2024, just a day before the deadline. I did not submit anything then, but I had browsed through all the projects and came across Mifos. It immediately drew my attention because it was a combination of the things I was interested in: software development, finance, and social impact.

Contributions I’ve made thus far:

So far, I’ve contributed a credit bureau integration microservice to add a credit score pull functionality to the platform, as part of my 2025 Google Summer of Code project. I’ve also worked on refactoring different modules in Apache Fineract so that they use the new Command Processing Infrastructure designed by Aleksandar Vidakovic

Project I’m currently working on or planning to:

I plan to continue working on refining the credit bureau integration microservice, the refactoring work, and mentoring for this upcoming Google Summer of Code 2026 program.

Impact I have had (or hope to have) on the poor:

I hope to contribute to technology that makes it easier for people to handle their finances. I hope to understand and create solutions for the various use cases for people coming from different backgrounds.

As a new graduate, I started my career through the Mifos Initiative. I owe a lot to the community and the project for my growth, the opportunities that came my way since I started, and the chance to create technology with real-world impact.

Advice to the Mifos Community:

The advantage of being part of the Mifos Community is how active it is. So, at Mifos, you will learn a lot if you try and are ready to fail. You’ll receive a lot of good feedback for later.

Fun Facts About Yu

Favorite Food:

Rakhine Monti (ရခိုင်မုန့်တီ) (noodles with fish soup)

Favorite Open Source Project:

Mifos (naturally!)

If I could travel to one place in the world, it would be:

Mrauk-U, Rakhine State, Myanmar (currently inaccessible due to war as a result of the 2021 Myanmar military coup).

Interesting fact/tidbit you’d like to share with Mifos community about yourself:

I liked to paint when I was younger, and sold a few pieces!

Connect with Yu:

GitHub: https://github.com/yuwatidora

Website: https://yuwatidora.github.io