Responsible Finance Forum 2025

Embedding Consumer Protection to Drive Responsible Outcomes

Johannesburg, South Africa
May 20-22, 2025

RFF registration is by invite only.

Join us in Johannesburg

May 20-22, 2025

Johannesburg, South Africa

This forum in South Africa presents learning opportunities for global financial inclusion leaders on the role of financial services for increased equality. At RFF 2025, leaders will discuss critical topics around the theme: “Embedding Consumer Protection to Drive Responsible Outcomes.”

As key stakeholders in the inclusive finance sector, our focus has been on prioritizing consumer protection in the design and delivery of financial services, particularly as we transition from access to usage. In an increasingly uncertain world, our ambition to drive responsible outcomes for consumers includes reaching newly included, underserved, and vulnerable groups, helping them build financial resilience to withstand the impact of global changes.  

Driven by geopolitical and economic forces, we foresee an environment of uncertainty that will impact the sector, placing greater pressure on funders, donors, and investors. As a result, there will be an increased emphasis on measuring outcomes and assessing the impact of every dollar flowing into the sector. In this environment, it is easy to lose sight of the importance of consumer protection, especially when it is seen merely as compliance or a "nice-to-have." However, we argue that investing in consumer protection is critical for long-term business value. Poor consumer protection leads to low trust, which can undermine business value and weaken the financial system overall. As we bridge the gap from access to usage, it becomes even more essential to protect newly included and vulnerable consumers, ensuring their financial well-being improves.

Achieving the goal of embedding consumer protection for responsible outcomes requires effective coordination among all stakeholders involved in financial inclusion—across and within jurisdictions. This includes regulators, policymakers, financial services providers, consumer advocacy groups, technology providers, and others. We must recognize the complex and interconnected nature of financial systems and consumer behavior, particularly as reliance on global cloud computing, complex algorithms, and digital infrastructure grows. The risks we face today require agile, coordinated responses at both global and local levels. 

South Africa’s G20 presidency presents a historic opportunity to focus on a country and a continent poised to play a crucial role in the global economy. The continent shares several common assets—high social mobility, an entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, and cultural and linguistic diversity—that present the potential to outpace the rest of the world. South Africa, with its vibrant economy and active participation from both government and the private sector, has seen significant progress in financial sector growth, fintech, and regulatory innovation. This positions South Africa as a bridge builder, advancing the interests of Africa in global markets and dialogue. 

However, like many countries, South Africa is grappling with inflationary pressures that are eroding the financial health of individuals and making it increasingly difficult to meet basic financial obligations. This is compounded by high unemployment rates and a high Gini coefficient, making South Africa one of the most unequal economies globally. The solutions developed to address these challenges could provide valuable insights for Africa and other countries worldwide. 

We hope that the discussions at RFF 2025 will lay the foundation for tackling these challenges, identifying opportunities, and exploring solutions to the complex risks facing the world today. 

Embedding Consumer Protection to Drive Responsible Outcomes

Globally, investments in digital infrastructure and innovations in the design and delivery of financial services resulted in expanding access to financial services for nearly 1.1 billion people between 2011 and 2021. However, by the end of 2021, around 1.4 billion people continued to remain unserved by formal financial services, a number that we anticipate should have decreased, pending the results of the next Findex survey.  

Agenda Overview

Day 0: Tuesday, May 20

15:45 - 18:00

Release of 2024 Fin Scope South Africa Results 

18:00 - 18:30

Welcome Reception

18:30 - 20:30

Dinner

Day 1: Wednesday, May 21

7:00 - 9:00

Registration, Networking, and Breakfast

9:00 - 9:30

Welcome Remarks

9:30 - 10:00

Keynote Address

10:00 - 10:30

Coffee Break

Morning Theme: Challenges of Eroding Financial Resilience

The outcomes we aim to achieve for consumers using formal financial services include improving their financial health, empowering them to seize opportunities, and enhancing their resilience in the face of economic shocks. However, achieving these outcomes should not rest solely on consumers; other stakeholders in the financial system—such as financial service providers, regulators, supervisors, and policymakers—must also take responsibility. In the next three sessions, we will explore what financial health means to policymakers and private sector actors, conduct a deep dive into the challenges faced in the African context, and discuss the structural gaps in financial consumer protection that are hindering the achievement of these desired outcomes. 

10:30 - 10:50

“Everyday, Rainy Day, One Day” - Policy vs. Private Sector Perspective

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia characterizes the elements underlying financial health as “Everyday, rainy day, one day.” The Office of the UNSGSA adds a fourth element - confidence. While this is true, translating this into a financial system that places the customer’s well being at its heart requires careful cooperation between multiple stakeholders and calibration of multiple factors that can interact at the individual and macroeconomic level such as ensuring there are sufficient jobs, people are paid fair wages, stable business environments with fair competition and addressing inflation besides factors like building better financial habits, so people have the ability to manage their day to day expenses, save for a rainy day and can plan to achieve future dreams confidently. This session will frame the discussions for the morning in identifying the role of policymakers and private sector actors, and identify what remains to be done to make this a reality.  

10:50 - 11:40

African Perspectives on Household Debt Stress 

Across the world, the post pandemic period has been characterized by lagging wages, rising cost of living, and high inflation. The impact of this is much worse on low-income consumers who live in economies with high inequalities - a common factor among countries in the global South. While there is certainly pressure to reduce expenses and achieve a positive financial health outcome, not all consumers experience debt stress the same way. For instance, the annual NedFinHealth Monitor Report that examines the financial health of South African workers finds, “despite struggling to repay bills on time and fewer people reporting debt as manageable, workers reported an improvement in their self-rated credit scores”. The most vulnerable 10 percent accessed payday loans, indicating a deeper level of stress. In the broader South African Development Community (SADC) region that includes Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, at least a third of the adults are indebted and a quarter display signs of over-indebtedness; indicating that nearly three-quarters of adults who borrow are at risk of over-indebtedness. In most of these countries, family structures and gender roles mean that women and younger people experience the most stress. This panel will explore the specific challenges and the consumer segments that are most at risk, and explore how the larger macroeconomic context can negatively impact financial health of individuals and households by creating debt stress. 

Client Centricity for Better Financial Health Outcomes: Addressing Structural Gaps to Prevent Over-Indebtedness

11:40 - 12:30

Credit is available faster than ever before thanks to digital channels and the rise of embedded financial products like Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). While access to credit can be important for individuals and households, allowing them to weather unexpected storms, unfettered access can lead to debt stress. Debt stress is an indicator of poor financial health and prevents people’s ability to withstand shocks or plan for future goals, and can result in consumers making harsh choices to repay the debt they owe. The credit ecosystem is complex, and no single entity can solve the problem of debt stress. However, there are several structural factors that could help to reduce consumer harm and ensure digital credit delivers positive outcomes for consumers. For example, newer credit products like BNPL or Earned Wage Access loans are seldom reflected in consumer credit reports, or are only shown after a lag of days or weeks. Pricing information is opaque and consumers are often unaware of fees, interest rates and their rights when it comes to newer digital credit products. Debt consolidation or restructuring to provide support and alleviate debt stress are not available in some countries. Debt collection practices may not be sensitive to the current circumstances of the borrowers. And finally, commercial pressures may tempt providers to deprioritize consumer protection in the interest of aggressive sales and market growth tactics. In this session, we will explore these issues, how they contribute to debt stress and how we can begin to address them.

12:30 - 14:00

Lunch Hosted by RFF

Afternoon Theme: Regulatory Tools to Enhance Consumer Outcomes 

Building responsible finance ecosystems requires customer centric regulatory and supervisory frameworks for financial consumer protection that shift from compliance and principles based approaches to customer outcomes based approaches. The following three sessions will explore how financial sector authorities can foster outcome oriented regulatory and supervisory frameworks. We will start with the South Africa experience in developing customer outcomes oriented regulation and supervision. We will then explore how customers can have a stronger voice in the regulatory process and then discuss how suptech can support a customer outcomes oriented framework.

Customer Outcomes Oriented FCP Regulation and Supervision

14:00 - 14:20

A pre-requisite to developing an outcomes based approach to consumer protection is regulatory and supervisory framework that supports such outcomes. South Africa’s “treating consumers fairly” and the FCA UK’s consumer duty guidelines are two of the outcome based regulatory and supervisory approaches, which are designed to ensure that regulated financial institutions delivery specific, clearly laid out outcomes for the consumers who avail of their services. South Africa’s FSCA has gone deep into developing indicators that can track customer outcomes in collaboration with the financial sector.  This panel will frame the discussions for the rest of the afternoon and provide a rapid introduction to the experience from the FSCA and the private sector in developing a customer outcomes regulatory and supervisory framework.  

Elevating Voices of Consumers: Examples from Financial Sector Conduct Authority (South Africa) and FCA (UK) on their Experience of Establishing Consumer Advisory Panels and Using the Insights to Draft Regulations 

14:20 - 15:10

South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) set up a Consumer Advisory Panel in consultation with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s Financial Services Consumer Panel. In this workshop-style session, the FSCA will illustrate how they created the advisory panel, ensuring a focus on consumer outcomes; built an effective engagement model and use the consumer panel to draft regulations that address emerging risks in a timely manner. 

15:10 - 15:30

Suptech for Outcomes-Based Regulations: Examples and Insights

An outcomes-based approach to regulation and supervision requires real time access to data and tools to monitor emerging risks and customer outcomes. The use of technology through Suptech tools offers new opportunities to monitor consumer experience at lower costs. This session will explore examples of Suptech tools that have been developed and areas where there is opportunity for further development. The Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas has been one of the first movers in this area with support from the CCAF, and the Gates Foundation has launched a program that supports such initiatives.  

15:30 - 15:45

Coffee Break

15:45 - 18:30

Field Visit to Providers in South Africa

18:30 - 20:30

Dinner

Day 2: Thursday, May 22

Theme: Examining the Enabling Environment to Build Financial Resilience 

7:30 - 8:30

Arrival and Light Networking

8:30 - 9:00

Reflections from the Field Visit

Shaping Safe DPI for Africa’s Future: Pathways for Positive Consumer Outcomes 

9:00 - 10:00

Pix, Brazil’s instant payment system, has been one of the fastest adopted payment systems globally. Between January 7th and 14th this year, a disinformation campaign affected nearly 9.4 million Brazilians. Nearly 87 percent of Pix users received disinformation about an additional tax that would be charged on their transactions. While the government began a counter campaign, only 68% of those who received the incorrect information knew about the federal government’s debunking of false information, and has led to a massive erosion in trust among users. As digital public infrastructure is beginning to be seen increasingly as being designed and implemented by government, shifts in political winds, upcoming election campaigns and changes in ruling parties can focus on undermining efforts by existing governments. However financial systems and the rails that deliver essential services to citizens should have safeguards so they don’t sway in the face of political shifts, disrupting essential services. In this session we will explore Brazil’s case followed by a discussion on safeguards that must be put in place and the need to involve private sector in a responsible manner to ensure continuity of reliable services through DPI. 

Announcement about Launch of DPI Insights Community

10:00 - 10:10

10:10 - 10:30

Coffee Break

Responsible Investors in Action: Moving Towards Better Consumer Outcomes in Light of the Changing Funding Landscape 

10:30 - 11:15

As the funding landscape evolves and there is greater focus on assessing how every dollar performs, responsible investors play a crucial role in shaping a future that prioritizes both financial returns and positive consumer outcomes. In this moderated session, we will explore how investors are thinking of navigating shifts to drive impact, how consumer protection measures designed and delivered well can contribute to greater consumer and business value and what metrics would best foster a consumer outcomes approach. This session will discuss trends, challenges and opportunities, offering actionable insights to measure business value from a consumer outcomes approach.

Responsible Finance in Action: Showcasing of Innovations and Opportunities in Responsible Finance

11:15 - 12:30

The use of technology in designing and delivering financial services presents an opportunity to financial services providers to embed consumer protection as they innovate. In this session, select providers will have the opportunity to make rapid 7-minute pitches about their innovations that highlight tools used and how they prioritized consumer welfare. This will be followed by a panel discussion to unpack how their approaches result in better value for consumers and businesses. The audience will have the opportunity to clarify and ask questions through the discussion.  

12:30 - 12:45

Closing Remarks for RFF

12:45 - 14:00

Lunch Hosted by RFF

14:00 - 15:00

Responsible AI Working Group Meeting

15:00 - 16:00

Responsible Digital Credit Working Group Meeting

Digital credit brings important benefits to borrowers, from providing a gateway to formal finance and helping smooth consumption, to contributing to improve resilience and subjective well-being. At the same time, it can exacerbate and introduce new and evolving risks for borrowers, which can materialize in negative customer outcomes. In this session, CGAP will present key results of a global landscaping research of types of solutions and concrete initiatives that authorities, providers, and other ecosystem actors have implemented in different jurisdictions to prevent, identify, mitigate, and resolve consumer risks in digital credit, using customer journey and provider lifecycle views. This work, advised by RFF’s Responsible digital credit working group, aims to increase awareness and understanding of actions already implemented that help foster a responsible digital credit ecosystem.

Speakers

  • Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP

    Eric Duflos leads CGAP’s work on consumer protection, from policy, industry, and customer perspectives, ensuring that financial services have positive outcomes for customers. He also coordinates CGAP’s engagements with global Standard Setting Bodies. Eric has 29 years of experience in advancing financial inclusion and economic development. Prior to his current role at CGAP, he served as director of the office of the UNSGSA, H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. He supported the UNSGSA in developing her policy advocacy strategy and launching the CEO Partnership for Economic Inclusion, which regroups 10 major global companies. Before this, Eric held several positions within CGAP, including regional representative for East Asia and the Pacific based in Singapore. His research has focused on customer-centric policy and regulation, and technology-enabled financial services. He has authored numerous articles and publications and taught policy issues at the Turin/Boulder course, Sciences-Po Paris, and universities in Singapore. Before joining CGAP, Eric worked seven years in the Lao PDR. He holds a master’s degree in management from EM Lyon, and a master’s in economics and international relations from SAIS, Johns Hopkins University.

  • OECD G20/G7 DD Finance and APEC D Finance and Senior Counsellor, OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs

    Flore-Anne Messy is OECD G20/G7 DD Finance and APEC D Finance and Senior Counsellor in the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs. She is also the OECD Head of Delegation for the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group, the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group and the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion. She joined the OECD in June 2000 to develop the activities of the Insurance and Private Pensions Committee. After several years working on financial markets, pensions, and insurance policies, she launched and steered the OECD work on financial inclusion, financial literacy and consumer protection (including the OECD/INFE, PISA financial literacy exercises, the G20/OECD Task Force on Financial Consumer Protection and the secretariat of FinCoNet). From 2016, she headed successively the OECD Insurance Private Pensions and Financial Market Division and the Consumer Finance, Insurance and Pensions Division.  Prior to the OECD she worked as a consultant and auditor for banks and insurance companies at Deloitte Touche Tomatsu. She graduated from the Institute of Political Studies of Paris and received her masters degree in international economics from University Pantheon-Sorbonne of Paris. 

  • Director Public Policy and Advocacy, Mobile Money, GSMA

    Kennedy is a dynamic leader at the GSMA, steering public policy and advocacy for Mobile Money. With a sharp focus on regulatory solutions, he plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategies of some of the world's largest telecommunications and digital financial services companies. With over 16 years of rich experience, Kennedy is a seasoned expert in public policy and regulatory affairs, with a robust background in converged telecommunications and financial services. His illustrious career includes significant tenures at Safaricom PLC, where he excelled in roles encompassing Regulatory and Public Policy, Financial Services, and Customer Management. Kennedy has also previously worked with JUMO World as the Group Head of Regulatory & Public Policy. Kennedy's expertise spans Government Relations, Stakeholder Management, and Strategic Planning. His strategic insights and adept management skills make him a valuable asset in navigating the complexities of the digital financial landscape. 

  • Deputy Managing Director, Center for Financial Inclusion

    Edoardo works at the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) as the Deputy Managing Director, where he oversees CFI’s thought leadership in the thematic areas of financial consumer protection, responsible data practices, and green inclusive finance. Prior to joining CFI, Edoardo worked for IFC’s venture capital team, where he promoted enabling environments and investment opportunities in embedded finance, startup ecosystems, and the digital economy. He also worked for the World Bank’s global financial inclusion unit, assisting regulators in leveraging data and developing strategies for financial inclusion and consumer protection. Edoardo has worked in Kenya as Research Economist for Financial Sector Deepening Kenya, a multi-donor program supporting the development of inclusive financial markets. Edoardo holds a PhD in development economics from the University of Trento and an MSc in international development studies from the University of Amsterdam.

  • President and CEO, Accion

    Michael Schlein brings nearly 30 years of extensive international banking, management, and public service experience to his role as President and CEO of Accion. Michael joined Accion in 2007 as a member of its Board of Directors and in 2009, became Accion’s President and CEO. Prior to Accion, Michael served as President of Citigroup’s International Franchise Management, where he managed the bank’s network of 100 Chief Country Officers. Before that, he ran communications, philanthropy, government relations, branding, and human resources for Citigroup. He served as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Clinton Administration and in New York’s City Hall in the Dinkins and Koch Administrations. He began his career in investment banking. From 2014 until January 2021, Michael served as the Chairman of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, which encourages economic growth throughout New York City’s five boroughs and facilitates investments that build capacity, generate prosperity, and catalyze the economic vibrancy of city life as a whole. Michael has graduate and undergraduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

  • Managing Director, Center for Financial Inclusion

    Nataša serves as CFI’s Managing Director where she shapes CFI’s vision and drives strategy implementation, building upon CFI’s strong foundation in inclusive finance. She ensures the quality of CFI’s programs, including oversight of research and publications, and develops influence and funding strategies in support of CFI’s work.

    Nataša joined CFI from the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, housed at Santa Clara University. There, she served as lead for the Center’s social enterprise ecosystem product offerings and supported organizational alignment, strategic planning, business development, and key stakeholder engagement. Previously, she worked with the World Bank and IFC on financial inclusion, digital finance, and consumer protection. Earlier in her career, Nataša served as the Vice President of Programs with The Boulder Institute of Microfinance.

    At the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), we help build financial resilience by promoting inclusive financial systems that meet the needs of low-income people globally. Our vision is a world where everyone can use responsible financial services to improve their economic well-being. We conduct rigorous research, pilot innovative solutions, and convene the inclusive finance sector to spark evidence-based change, putting the consumer at the center of everything we do. 

  • Founder and CEO,
    Integral: Governance Solutions

    David is the founder and CEO of Integral: Governance Solutions, a boutique consultancy which supports enhanced collective decision making and change management in the areas of public private partnerships especially digital public infrastructure, ESG integration and tech startups.

    David is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur who has founded or co-founded five organizations in the public and private sector but exited from an active role as each came to the next stage of their development. In addition to these five, David has advised on and been involved in the design, setup, executive management, and boards of a number of organizations engaged in digital development around the world.

    Originally trained as an economist with a PhD from Yale University, David has domain knowledge in the areas of fintech and development finance, as well as edtech through his role as co-founder of the capacity building platform for professionals in the emerging world called Digital Frontiers.

  • Executive Vice President, Global Programs at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

    Payal currently serves as the Executive Vice President, Global Programs at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. She oversees the Center’s philanthropic investments around the globe, manages the programmatic team across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the United States, directs the Thought Leadership team. Previously, she was Global Head of Community Programs for Standard Chartered Bank and she has worked for a wide range of public sector organizations including the World Affairs Council, the Global Philanthropy Forum and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Payal also worked on foreign policy for the Office of President William J. Clinton. Payal has extensive experience in financial services as well. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, she worked on the launch of the AT&T Universal Savings and Reward Card for Citi. Payal currently serves as a trustee for Women Win, Steering Board member for RISE and a member of the Programs and Strategy Committee for CAREUSA. In 2020, she was appointed to the Advisory Group for the WE EMPOWER G-7 program of UN Women and the Working Group on Financial Health of the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. She’s held official positions during the G20 Indonesia and India presidencies and served on two taskforces for the G20 Brazil presidency in 2024.

  • Fellow in the Technology and International Affairs Program, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

    Nanjira Sambuli is a researcher, policy analyst and strategist studying the unfolding, gendered impacts of digitalization/ICT adoption on governance, diplomacy, media, entrepreneurship, and culture, especially in Africa. Nanjira is a Fellow in the Technology and International Affairs Program at The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and a Ford Global Fellow. She is a board member at Development Gateway and Digital Impact Alliance, a Diplomacy Moderator at the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) and advises the Carnegie Council’s AI and Equality Initiative. Nanjira previously led digital equality advocacy efforts at the World Wide Web Foundation, and worked at iHub Nairobi, where she provided strategic guidance for growth of technology innovation research in the East Africa region. She has also served as a board member at The New Humanitarian, co-chair of Transform Health, as a Commissioner on the Lancet & Financial Times Governing Health Futures 2030 Commission, as a panel member on the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, and as a deputy on the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel for Women’s Economic Empowerment.

  • Chief Operating Officer, Accion

    Karthik is the Chief Operating Officer at Accion International. Previously from Bain & Company, he and the Bain team have partnered with Accion across strategy and a range of other topics since 2015. He was a Partner in Bain’s Social Impact practice, where he focused on economic development and led the ‘Social’ aspect of the firm’s ESG offering. He previously led Bain’s Travel & Leisure Practice and has worked on numerous large-scale global transformation efforts across financial services, retail, higher education and other industries and sectors. He also has experience providing portfolio support to investors through Bain’s Private Equity practice and deep expertise in organizational leadership and DE&I. Finally, and most importantly, Karthik is passionate about culture and teams and held many people-related roles within Bain, including leading Bain’s DE&I transformation; working as a leader in the firm’s Asian-American affinity group; and serving as HR Partner for the firm’s Washington office. Prior to Bain, Karthik worked in technology and HR consulting. He serves on the board of Education for Employment—focusing on job training and placement across the MENA region—and also supports the Dudamel Foundation’s work to transform young people’s lives around the world, via access to music and the arts. Karthik holds a graduate degree from Princeton University and post-graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins SAIS and The Wharton School, where he was a Palmer Scholar.

  • Lecturer at Data Privacy Brasil; Research Fellow at Connected by Data; Intern at Cambridge SupTech Lab

    Maria Luciano is a tech policy analyst focused on data governance. She holds a master’s in Sociology of Law and a bachelor’s from University of São Paulo’s Law School (USP). She has worked as a consultant for InternetLab, Open Knowledge Brasil, the Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection, CDPI, and the World Bank. She was the Brazil subnational lead for the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, and a working group member at the UN’s “Universal Safeguards for Inclusive DPI” initiative. Currently, she is a Lecturer at Data Privacy Brasil, a Research Fellow at Connected by Data, and an Intern at Cambridge SupTech Lab. 

  • Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP

    CGAP is a global partnership of more than 35 leading development organizations working to advance the lives of people living in poverty, especially women, through inclusive finance. CGAP works at the frontier of inclusive finance to test solutions, spark innovation, generate evidence, and share insights. Its knowledge enables public and private stakeholders to scale solutions that make financial ecosystems work for poor, vulnerable, and underserved people, as well as micro and small enterprises. Estelle Lahaye leads CGAP’s work to strengthen how impact investors measure and manage impact to better support inclusive finance. She oversees research and engagement with asset owners, fund managers, and standard-setting organizations to improve the focus on outcomes in impact measurement and management (IMM) practices across the investment value chain. Her work aims to ensure that investment decisions are guided by meaningful outcomes for underserved people and communities. Estelle brings over 15 years of experience in development finance and financial inclusion. At CGAP, she previously led CGAP’s research to guide donors and investors in financing financial inclusion effectively, including work on blended finance, gender-lens investing, equity investing, and responsible exits. She also managed a market development program in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) focused on building inclusive digital finance ecosystems, and contributed to CGAP’s 2019–2023 strategy development. Prior to CGAP, Estelle worked as a private banker with Banco Itaú Europa in Luxembourg. She holds a Master’s in Business from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor’s in Banking and Finance from Université Nancy 2 in France. She is based in Paris and fluent in French and Portuguese. 

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