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

Addressing Gender Norms to Increase Financial Inclusion: Designing for Impact

To advance women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment, funders and market facilitators need to acknowledge gender norms and understand how they limit women’s ability to access, use, and benefit from financial services.
Blog

Can Free Phones Close the Digital Gender Divide?

Mobile phone affordability — the focus of most programs to distribute free phones to women — is far from the only barrier to women’s use of mobile phones.
Blog

The Digital Gender Divide Won’t Close by Itself – Here’s Why

Men and women engage differently with digital services - including digital financial services - because of, among other factors, gendered social norms that don't change nearly as fast as technology.
Blog

Applying the Minimum Economic Recovery Standards in Lebanon

The Minimum Economic Recovery Standards (MERS) handbook provides a framework to analyze the basic requirements for financial service providers working in crisis environments such as Lebanon.