Staff Directory

Nisha Singh

Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Nisha Singh works with CGAP on addressing gender norms in financial inclusion and climate-related finance. With over 20  years of experience in financial inclusion and women's economic empowerment, her work spans research, learning, strategic program design, facilitation, and capacity building across Africa, MENA, and South Asia. She has worked on gender-inclusive business models, women's entrepreneurship financing, and the intersection of gender and renewable energy access. She is a contributor to various publications and toolkits that have shaped industry practices. Previously, she served as a Thematic Lead for FinEquity, a global community of practice convened by CGAP. 

Nisha holds a Master's from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Hyderabad, India.

By Nisha Singh

Research

From Insights to Interventions: Addressing Gender Norms in Women’s Financial Inclusion

CGAP’s Design Guide introduces a structured, field-tested approach to uncover how gender norms shape market actor behavior, to help development actors move beyond symptoms to address the root causes of women’s financial exclusion.
Research

Diagnosing Gender Norms in the Financial Market System: A Practical Guide

CGAP’s Diagnostic Guide helps development actors move beyond symptoms to address the root causes of women’s financial exclusion. This guide introduces a structured, field-tested approach to uncover how gender norms shape market actor behavior and offers practitioners a powerful set of tools for examining norms-driven constraints and identifying high impact intervention points.
Research

Invisible Barriers: How Gender Norms Impact Financial Inclusion

Gender norms shape the behavior of financial service providers, regulators, and communities, often limiting women’s access to and use of financial services. This Focus Note presents a practical framework, based on diagnostics in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, that classifies gender norms by their strength and prevalence and proposes tailored strategies for addressing them.
Blog

Financial Services are the Key to Gender-Inclusive Carbon Markets

As carbon markets evolve from niche climate interventions into a multi-billion-dollar industry, a critical truth is emerging: gender inclusion is no longer optional. It is essential to the permanence, equity, and scalability of carbon projects.
Blog

Tackling Gender Norms in Mozambique's Financial Services

Despite progress, women in Mozambique remain less financially included than men. A GIZ, CGAP, and AMB study reveals deep-rooted gender norms as key barriers, sparking targeted efforts to reshape financial systems for women.