Jake Kendall

Jake Kendall is a Program Officer in the Financial Services for the Poor initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Jake manages the research strategy of FSP including managing FSP's major research grants and engaging with the researcher community. Previous to joining the Foundation, he spent time as a researcher with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) housed in the World Bank. Jake holds a PhD in Economics from UC Santa Cruz and a BS in Physics from MIT. Just after graduating from MIT he volunteered for two years in Zambia as a fisheries extension agent with the US Peace Corps.

By Jake Kendall

Blog

Four Mobile Money Trends from the IMF Financial Access Survey

The expanded IMF Financial Access Survey now includes basic mobile money indicators. The data shed light on four trends that stand out.
Blog

The Emerging Landscape of Demand-side Data in Branchless Banking

The second post in a series on the emerging branchless banking data architecture focuses on the demand side of the data equation and attempts to answer questions such as: which clients are using which products for which purpose? What aspects of a service are they satisfied or dissatisfied with? And, perhaps most importantly, is the service having a positive impact on their general well-being?
Blog

The Emerging Global Data Architecture of Branchless Banking

This first post in this series lays out a conceptual map of the data landscape and takes a closer look at the supply-side data gathering efforts worldwide. It is important to note that while various initiatives have begun to look at the wider financial inclusion data architecture from the supply and demand-side, branchless banking and mobile money data is still missing from many datasets or is poorly represented.
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The Global Findex: Filling A Major Gap in the Data Landscape

We believe both policy making and private sector decision making is much improved when it is rooted in rigorous research and analysis. Better evidence can improve outcomes in a number of ways:
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Bank-led or Mobile-led Financial Inclusion?

Payments are an optimal gateway product for financially underserved households. Unlike credit, insurance, and savings, payments do not require trust by either party.