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

Financial Inclusion 2.0: Generating New Evidence to Maximize Impact

Despite extensive research, the financial inclusion sector still lacks a clear understanding of what works, when, and for whom. Financial services' impact varies widely, highlighting the need for new research and more nuanced insights.
Blog

What Gets Measured, Gets Managed: Findex 2021 Insights for the Future

The 2021 Global Findex data provides a promising trajectory for financial inclusion, but reach is just one defining success factor. Is it time for the financial inclusion industry to revisit how we think about and measure success?
Research

Measuring Market Development

Monitoring and evaluation is an increasingly prominent aspect of development programs. This Handbook guides funders and their implementing partners on how to effectively measure results of financial inclusion programs that apply a systemic approach.
Research

Drowning in Data, Searching for Information: The Role of Funders

Funders have an important role to play in exploring how data-enabled financial services can benefit poor people and in helping governments to balance the new risks that are emerging with the opportunities provided by a digital world.
Blog

Supporting Digital Financial Services? 5 Lessons for Funders

A recent survey of financial inclusion funders revealed that a majority plan to increase their focus on digital financial services in the future. What should funders know when considering support of digital financial services?