Kabir Kumar

Kabir Kumar leads Omidyar Network’s global policy and ecosystem building efforts. He is a former Senior Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP, where he led CGAP’s Digital Finance Plus initiative and coordinated efforts in key markets in South Asia. Kabir helped launch CGAP's program on technology-enabled business models for financial services and worked closely with some of the pioneering implementations in the mobile financial services space.

Kabir has been an adviser to banks, mobile network operators, technology companies, and investors in over 15 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. His work has been quoted in numerous media outlets including CNN, The Banker, Economist, and NPR. He has a dual master's degree in public administration and international relations from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter.

By Kabir Kumar

Blog

Did India’s Central Bank get Payments Bank Approvals Right?

India's Central Bank got many things right when it comes to the 11 new approvals for payments bank licenses. These approvals are big catch-up step for digital finance in India, but it may be challenging for the country to continue being innovation-friendly.
Blog

India Digitizes its Merchants in Partnership with the U.S.

A partnership between the U.S. and India will focus on commercial and policy solutions to spur India’s nearly 10 million merchants to accept electronic payments.
Blog

Which Markets are Ready for Digital Finance Plus?

Innovative businesses are leveraging Digital Finance Plus to link poor communities with essential services. The success of these businesses is driven by multiple market factors. We explore which factors matter most based on a framework CGAP developed with McKinsey.
Blog

From More Accounts to More Account Activity in India

Even as India moves aggressively to close the financial inclusion gap, the picture of financial inclusion in that country as captured in the latest Findex report reminds us that we have a long way to go.
Blog

What Will It Take for Payments Banks to Succeed in India?

Despite the introduction of innovation-friendly regulations and other advances, wide-scale digital payment services remain unproven in India.