Karina Broens Nielsen

Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Karina Broens Nielsen is a senior financial sector specialist and leads CGAP’s work on evidence and measurement of financial inclusion impact. She also facilitates CGAP’s strategy development process and leads CGAP’s corporate results measurement and evaluation. 

Karina has extended experience working for various international development institutions on project management, measurement, learning and evaluation related to digital financial services, rural finance, small and medium-sized enterprise finance, agriculture and local governance. Before joining CGAP, she worked for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the European Commission’s delegation to the United Nations, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where she designed, managed, and evaluated multimillion dollar international programs with private sector actors and government partners in Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. In these positions, Ms. Nielsen developed guidance and frameworks to assess results for various types of investments.

She is based in Paris, has a Master’s degree in Public Administration (Candidata Scientiarium Administrationis) and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Social Science from Aalborg University, Denmark. She also studied International Relations and Development at London Guildhall University.

By Karina Broens Nielsen

Blog

When Does Financial Education Work Best? Evidence-Based Insights

CGAP’s Impact Pathfinder consistently identified financial education as a factor for the uptake and use of financial services, prompting us to ask: Could it be playing a more central role in what works, for whom, and in what circumstances?
Blog

Does Microcredit Drive Jobs Growth? Here’s What the Evidence Shows

Microcredit can help MSEs create jobs and build resilience but often falls short on growth. The Impact Pathfinder highlights credit’s opportunities and gaps, stressing the need for better financial products and support to boost employment.
Blog

The Evidence of Credit and Insurance’s Role in Tackling Climate Change

Drawing on evidence to examine how financial services can advance climate action and other development outcomes, CGAP's Impact Pathfinder is a gateway to understanding what the existing evidence tells us, and knowledge gaps that need to be filled.
Blog

Outcome Indicators in Financial Inclusion - Are They Up to the Challenge?

Indicators help track progress across populations and evaluate financial service impacts. To justify their high cost, it's crucial to define their capabilities and limitations in addressing geographic and demographic variations.
Blog

Three Principles to Guide Financial Health Measurement

Global financial health measurement varies, reflecting the need for widely applicable guidelines to make sure financial health measurement provides relevant insights. We outline three principles to help refine approaches and improve insights.