Global Landscape: Data Trails of Digitally Included Poor (DIP) People
Webinar
The increased digitization of the economy opens opportunities to use data trails to serve low-income people – many generate rich data trails that are not being fully leveraged in the design and delivery of financial services. CGAP's new reading deck puts a spotlight on the specific data trails generated by DIP people, the sources of these data trails, and variations of data trails across different segments. DIP people are currently being underserved by financial institutions, and this could be addressed by leveraging their digital data. This research provides quantitative evidence of the growing availability and relevance of data trails that should pave the way towards greater financial inclusion.
In this webinar, the authors will present the main findings from this research and shed light on the gender gaps and other trends identified in the data trails of DIP people. Following the presentation, there will be a moderated panel discussion with panelists who represent our different target audiences, specifically, researchers, funders/investors, and financial service providers.
Download the presentation.
Introductory Remarks
Sophie is the World Bank Group Global Director for Financial Services where she is responsible for financial resilience and integrity, capital market development, financial inclusion, and disaster risk finance.
Sophie is also the CEO of CGAP, an international partnership, housed in the World Bank Group, dedicated to promoting inclusive financial ecosystems that enable a green, resilient, and equitable world for all.
Sophie has dedicated her professional career to the development of inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystems around the world, with more than twenty years of experience at the World Bank, where she has held different positions, including Director of Strategy and Operations at the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank and Director for the Caribbean region. Previously, Sophie worked as an expert in financial sector development and stability in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Among others, she led various Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs) in various countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Latin America, and she was the Manager who led the World Bank's response to banking crises in various countries of the European Union during the global financial crisis of 2008-2011.
Prior to joining the World Bank, Sophie worked in JP Morgan's Financial Institutions (FIG) team on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in Europe, and for Halcrow Fox and Associates' Infrastructure team. Sophie holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Speakers
Technology, inclusive finance and leadership are the pillars of Buhle Goslar’s work to advance societal thriving.
She is Chair of Lula, South Africa’s first dedicated SME neobank; Board Director at Aceli Africa, mobilizing catalytic capital for agricultural finance in East Africa; and a strategic advisor to several leading tech start-ups in Africa and Europe.
Buhle is the former CEO of JUMO (Africa & Pakistan), which was Africa’s largest Lending‑as‑a‑Service platform during her tenure. She has 20+ years of experience driving commercial strategy, business development, customer intelligence, product innovation, and digital marketing at top‑tier financial institutions, including Barclays, Investec, and Woolworths Financial Services.
She holds an Executive MBA (UCT GSB), a Certified International Retail Banker (CIRB) qualification, and advanced certifications from Harvard Business School, Oxford Saïd, and The Fletcher School. Buhle has been recognized as one of South Africa’s Inspiring Fifty Women in Technology (2019) and was a recipient of the Accion Claugus Award for Advancing Financial Inclusion (2021).
Jake is co-founder and partner at DFS Lab and early stage investor supporting companies who are creating the digital commerce infrastructure in Africa. He has been investing in African digital platforms since the launch of M-Pesa a decade ago both at the World Bank and then the Gates Foundation. At Gates, his team invested over $1B in mobile money and digital payments projects around the world including leading players like bKash in Bangladesh, and M-Pesa and Equity Bank in Africa. Jake has a BS in Physics from MIT and a PhD in Economics and his academic research work has focused on low income populations and their usage of digital services.
Moderators
Arisha Salman is a Financial Sector Specialist with CGAP’s Finance for Inclusive Development outcome area. Her work is focused on unlocking how Data can enhance the value of financial services for low-income and underserved individuals with a focus on the development, implementation, and scale-up of Open Finance frameworks as well as on closing gender gaps at the country level. Arisha was also a member of the team that developed the Strategy for CGAP VII. She previously supported CGAP’s work on Digital Business Models with a focus on Inclusive Digital Banking and the Digital Divide.
Before joining CGAP, Arisha worked for over five years on digital financial inclusion, SME development and gender mainstreaming in South and Southeast Asia. She has held positions as a Management Consultant with the Financial Services Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers and with the Gender Equity Thematic Group at the Asian Development Bank. Arisha holds a master's degree in public administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Delhi. She is fluent in Hindi and Urdu.
Maria Fernandez Vidal is a Senior Financial Sector Specialist and has led CGAP’s Data team since its establishment in 2020. She leads CGAP’s work on open finance and AI and was the lead author for the Key Considerations for Open Finance, a joint publication by CGAP, the BIS, the IMF, the UNSGSA’s office and the World Bank. Her work focuses on the role of data in advancing financial inclusion and financial health, covering both the public and private sectors. She has also led work on fintech innovation, platforms and advanced analytics.
Before joining CGAP, Maria spent five years at McKinsey & Company advising financial and public sector clients on strategy, risk, operations, and organizational transformation. She previously worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Maria holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, with a double major in strategic management and finance, and earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella.