Staff Directory

Sai Krishna Kumaraswamy

Financial Sector Specialist

Sai Krishna Kumaraswamy is part of CGAP’s policy team and works on digital finance regulation and supervision, financial consumer protection, and policy responses to financial crises. He also serves as CGAP's Asia representative based in Bangkok, where he supports member engagement and partnership development, contributes to regional projects, and works to deepen CGAP's influence in the region. 

Previously, Sai was part of CGAP’s Business Models team for five years, where he worked on digital finance innovations that enabled improved livelihoods and expanded access to essential services for people living in poverty, focusing on micro and small enterprise financing, asset finance, off-grid energy access, and gender-responsive fintech innovation. Before joining CGAP, Sai worked at the Gender Group and the Global Infrastructure Facility of the World Bank, and as an auditor and consultant in India. 

Sai holds a Master’s degree in Development Economics from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, a Master’s degree in Liberal Arts from Ashoka University, and an Undergraduate degree in Accounting, Business and Finance from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore. He is also a Chartered Accountant. He is fluent in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi.

By Sai Krishna Kumaraswamy

Blog

Financial Inclusion and Stability: A Balancing Act

Understanding the relationship between financial inclusion and stability is imperative for policymakers to advance both these goals and respond to shocks that threaten financial stability in ways that protect inclusion.
Blog

Regulators Eye Digital Credit in India: What Does it Mean for MSEs?

The growth of India’s fintech industry has historically been driven by digital payments, but now digital credit is poised to take the reins. But what is digital credit, and how can its regulation help narrow the credit gap for India’s MSEs?
Research

The Promise of Fintech for Micro and Small Enterprises

Nearly 500 million micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are estimated to be operating around the world. Access to credit and other financial services is critical to the growth and sustainability of these businesses, and consequentially to the low-income and vulnerable populations which rely on MSEs for their livelihoods. Yet despite decades of efforts and some notable successes in expanding MSE finance, the credit gap remains an estimated 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars.
Research

Developing Rural Agent Networks: Emerging Guidance for Funders

Funders are uniquely positioned to help expand rural Cash-in / Cash-out (CICO) agent networks by leveraging their financial resources, technical knowledge and convening power to align the incentives and build capacity of market actors, so that they design and implement self-sustaining solutions.
Research

No Small Business: A Segmented Approach to Better Finance for Micro and Small Enterprises

This paper is based on primary research conducted with 383 micro and small enterrpises (MSEs) in India, Kenya, and Peru – three diverse emerging markets with a vibrant MSE finance ecosystem that includes strong incumbent providers like microfinance institutions, cooperatives, and banks, as well as innovative new providers like fintechs.