Jamie Zimmerman

Gender Lead, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Jamie M. Zimmerman leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s work to increase low-income women’s economic empowerment through access to and usage of digital financial services. Prior to this appointment, Jamie led the team’s efforts to drive global scale of digital financial inclusion by cultivating partnerships which accelerate and maximize collective impact. Jamie joined the foundation in 2017 after several years as an independent global advisor to several partners, including the World Bank, CGAP, IFC, USAID, UNCDF, BFA Global, World Food Program and the International Rescue Committee.

From 2006 to 2013, Jamie directed the Global Assets Program at New America, a Washington DC based think tank, and was previously deputy director of Globalization Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, where she authored, with Dr. Susan Aaronson, Trade Imbalance: The Struggle to Weigh Human Rights Concerns in Trade Policymaking.

Jamie holds a B.A. in Foreign Languages and International Economics, and a Master's in International Political Economic and Development, both from the University of Kentucky.  

By Jamie Zimmerman

Blog

How Can We Build on COVID-19 Progress in Women’s Financial Inclusion

COVID-19 has led millions of women to open accounts, spurred investments in digital infrastructure, and built momentum around women’s financial inclusion. By taking the right steps, we can push women’s financial inclusion further than ever before.
Blog

5 Ways an Emergency Mobile Wallet Can Lead to Financial Inclusion

Cash as aid offers recipients choice and dignity. The digitization of cash transfers can minimize risks of using cash in crisis environments and provide access to financial services that could help the poorest cope with shocks in the future.
Blog

Done Right, Digital Finance Could Transform Humanitarian Response

Recognizing the transformative role digital innovation can play in humanitarian response, CGAP, MasterCard and UNCDF co-hosted a high-level panel at the World Humanitarian Summit. How can digital finance work to build a bridge from response to resiliency?
Blog

5 Consumer Risks in Digital Social Payments to the Poor

Despite excitement around the promising potential benefits of digital social payments, a new CGAP brief reveals risks and challenges that need to be addressed if DSPs are to achieve their intended outcomes.
Research

Understanding Consumer Risks in Digital Social Payments

Digital social payments (DSPs) are a fast-growing, yet often overlooked, digital financial services (DFS) segment. Acknowledging and addressing the most common and consequential consumer risks should be a priority for any program or provider seeking to unlock the potentials of DSPs for the poor.