Julián Casal is a Senior Financial Sector Economist at the World Bank. He has led technical analyses and design of investment operations to promote financial inclusion and increase access to finance in Latin America, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, he leads projects focused on increasing access to financial services in Mozambique and South Africa with a focus on digitizing government payments, particularly social protection transfers, and supporting SMEs through innovative credit guarantee instruments. He has assisted client countries with financial sector development and financial inclusion strategies in Angola, Cabo Verde, Ghana, São Tomé, and Zimbabwe. Prior to joining the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2012, Julián worked as an international economist at the U.S. Treasury Department covering Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Pakistan including 7 months as the acting Financial Attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2009. Julián has a master’s degree in development economics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington DC, USA and a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies and Economics from McGill University in Montréal, Canada.