Mayada El-Zoghbi

Mayada began her career setting up inclusive financial institutions in various countries, including the Palestinian Territories, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo. In 2002, she founded a development consulting firm and led evaluation, research, and technical assistance projects in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

Today, Mayada is the managing director of KIT, an advocacy and research organization in the Netherlands. She began at KIT in November 2023 after four years with the Center for Financial Inclusion, where she transformed a once-struggling research department into a global inclusive finance advocacy organization. Prior to this, Mayada spent nearly 11 years with the World Bank Group’s think tank on inclusive finance, CGAP. There, she advised donors and development finance institutions, and led research on numerous issues such as the role of financial services in crisis environments, women’s financial inclusion, market systems development, and Shari’a compliant inclusive finance.

Mayada is frequently asked by media organizations, such as Reuters, the Financial Times, and others, to provide insight into the cashless economy, sustainable development, and digital economy.

By Mayada El-Zoghbi

Blog

The Pandemic Wake-Up Call: Gender Norms Matter in Financial Inclusion

COVID-19 is the latest reminder that the norms constraining women’s economic participation need to be addressed in global development efforts, including in financial inclusion.
Blog

Mapping a Pathway to Improved Well-Being for Young People

What are the links between financial services and young people's educational and job opportunities? Here are three insights.
Research

Emerging Evidence on Financial Inclusion

Recent research on the impact of financial services on the lives of low-income people tend to focus on microcredit or a single financial product. Recognizing the need for a more nuanced and clearer impact narrative, this Focus Note synthesizes evidence since 2014.
Blog

Is Poverty Reduction the Right Outcome for Financial Services?

Today, the global development community generally accepts that poverty is more than just a lack of income. What do multidimensional concepts of poverty mean for those who see poverty reduction as the ultimate goal of financial inclusion?
Blog

Does Financial Inclusion Impact the Lives of the Poor?

A growing body of evidence is emerging on financial inclusion. The lack of a cohesive, nuanced story to bring the evidence together is leading to wildly different and overly simplistic interpretations.