Staff Directory

Antonique Koning

Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Antonique Koning leads CGAP’s work on Women’s Economic Empowerment through financial inclusion and manages the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) convened by CGAP. She has more than 25 years of experience working on inclusive finance and has expertise in gender norms affecting women’s financial inclusion, young women’s financial inclusion, responsible finance and customer centricity.  Antonique also led CGAP’s work on customer outcomes-based approaches to consumer protection regulation and supervision, and  contributed to guidance on customer empowerment and employee and agent empowerment for CGAP’s Customer Centric Guide for which she authored a case study on Pioneer Microinsurance.  

Before joining CGAP in 2004, Antonique gained hands-on experience developing and implementing microcredit programs in El Salvador and working with savings banks globally. 

She has a Master’s degree in International Trade Management and Policy from the University of Birmingham, and a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Antonique is based in Belgium, and speaks Spanish, French, and Dutch.

By Antonique Koning

Blog

Decoding Financial Inclusion Gaps Between Young Men and Women

A recent CGAP study revealed a gender gap in financial service adoption among youth in low-income countries. Here, we analyze Findex 2021 data to better understand the factors driving these disparities.
Research

The Impact of Financial Inclusion on Young Women’s Well-being: A Survey of Evidence and Recommendations for Practitioners

Young women face many gender-based barriers as they navigate major life transitions, with life-long effects. A new CGAP Working Paper finds that in addition to improving financial skills and savings levels, financial inclusion initiatives may also improve health and livelihood outcomes when combined with other interventions.
Blog

Maximizing the Impact of Financial Inclusion for Young Women

Among which segments of young women could investments in improved financial services make the most impact? We highlight findings from a recent CGAP segmentation exercise.
Research

Customer Outcomes-Based Approach to Consumer Protection: A Guide to Measuring Outcomes

Based on a pilot involving the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and five financial services providers (FSPs) in South Africa, this deck shares lessons on how financial supervisors and FSPs can measure customer outcomes, which reflect the experiences and results of a customer's access to and use of financial services.
Blog

Can Funders Afford to Ignore Gender Norms in Financial Inclusion?

Gender norms create a financial system where women do not have the same access and opportunities as men. If funders want to go beyond closing the gender gap in access and build more equitable financial systems, they need to address them.