Michelle Kaffenberger is an applied research consultant specializing in using research to better understand and improve the lives of the poor. With more than 10 years of experience in international development, she has designed, led, and advised on dozens of quantitative and qualitative research initiatives to produce meaningful and actionable insights for the World Bank, the CGAP, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union, and the Grameen Foundation, among others. Her work focuses on financial inclusion, digital financial services, international education, and the role the private sector can play in achieving development outcomes. At CGAP, Michelle is a senior research consultant focusing on responsible digital finance. She has worked on projects spanning responsible digital credit for consumers and merchants, digital finance solutions for school fee payments, data privacy and protection, and financial services needs of refugees.
Previously, Michelle was research manager and lead quantitative analyst for large-scale, nationally representative surveys on financial inclusion in eight countries across Africa and Asia. Prior to that, she established a new base of operations for an international nonprofit organization in India. She is skilled in quantitative and qualitative data analysis, including econometrics, and holds a Master’s in Development Economics from Vanderbilt University.