Peter Zetterli leads CGAP’s work on the role of financial services in climate resilience and adaptation. This aims to understand how vulnerable people are adapting to and protecting themselves from climate change, how various financial services support those strategies, and what actions financial sector stakeholders can take to make financial inclusion a more effective enabler of climate adaptation and resilience. In addition, it aims to ensure that global progress on financial inclusion does not recede as climate change impacts increase the risk and cost of serving people living in poverty.
Peter previously led CGAP’s work on the future of financial services, including focused on understanding what new business models are emerging thanks to technology innovation and how to harness it for broader and better financial access. He and his team has published extensively on the transformative potential of fintech, platforms, and digital banking models as well as the unbundling and embedding of financial services at cgap.org/fintech.
Before that, Peter managed CGAP’s work on inclusive payment ecosystems in Africa, where he lived for a decade. This included working with regulators to create enabling environments and with providers to find commercially viable business models that meet the needs of the poor. He had a particular focus on mobile money regulation, rural agent networks, and merchant payments, around which Peter created a digital handbook with practical guidance for providers.
Before joining CGAP, Peter spent seven years with the United Nations promoting financial inclusion and private sector development in Sierra Leone and China, where he managed the UNDP microfinance program and tried to jumpstart Chinese mobile financial services through a high-level partnership with Ericsson as early as 2008.
Peter has Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Development Economics from Lund University in Sweden. He speaks four languages, including French and Mandarin.