Elizabeth McGuinness

Elizabeth (Liz) McGuinness is an independent consultant with over 20 years of experience working in inclusive finance, financial capabilities, women’s economic empowerment, agricultural development and SME development. She has designed, led and reported research to support strategy development, product development, learning, results measurement and program, outcomes and impact evaluation. She has designed M&E systems and provided capacity building and technical assistance in M&E, including in complexity-aware methods. With strong skills in program and project management, Ms. McGuiness has trained and led research teams in countries across Central Asia, Latin America/Caribbean, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. She has lived and worked in Zimbabwe and Tajikistan.

Ms. McGuinness is the founder and president of LMG Consulting LLC, a firm that provides monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning services. Liz previously worked for Microfinance Opportunities, Save the Children, and ACDI/VOCA. She holds a BA (McGill University) and MA (New York University) in economics.

 

By Elizabeth McGuinness

Research

A Research and Learning Agenda for the Impact of Financial Inclusion

The financial inclusion community is renewing its efforts to understand the role financial services play in the lives of poor people and how financial services can improve their well-being. This paper proposes a learning agenda based on extensive consultation with donors, researchers, and practitioners who support financial inclusion.
Blog

Financial Services Build Resilience in Face of Crises Like COVID-19

In its efforts to develop a theory of change for how financial inclusion can improve poor people's well-being, CGAP has learned several lessons that shed light on what to prioritize during and after the COVID-19 crisis.
Blog

Inclusive Growth vs. Household Finance: A False Choice

What’s better for inclusive economic growth: expanding access to financial services among individuals or businesses? Emerging evidence suggests they’re both critical.