Greta Bull

Director of Women's Economic Empowerment, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Greta Bull is Director, Women’s Economic Empowerment at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she oversees a portfolio of investments in gender data and evidence, women’s economic collectives, and livelihoods development for poor women. Greta has more than 20 years of experience in development finance, focusing on small and medium enterprise finance, microfinance, digital financial services, payments, and livelihoods, and has previously served as CEO of CGAP (through July 2021), manager of the Financial Institutions Advisory Services at IFC, and as Director of Banking and Finance at DAI Europe.

Greta has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and an undergraduate degree in International Studies from the University of Washington.

By Greta Bull

Blog

New Global Findex: What You Need to Know

The latest Findex shows global progress on access to financial services, but it also illustrates challenges in reaching marginalized groups and increasing usage.
Blog

6 Ways Microfinance Institutions Can Adapt to the Digital Age

Microfinance has a relatively good record of serving the poor in a socially responsible way. But it must adapt to continue serving those customers in the digital age, argues CGAP CEO Greta Bull.
Blog

Financial Inclusion in 2018: BigTech Hits Its Stride

CGAP CEO Greta Bull explores how large platform players like Google, Facebook and Ant Financial are likely to shape financial inclusion in 2018.
Blog

A $1.5 Trillion Tip on Cracking Merchant Payments

The card industry once faced a challenge in retail payments familiar to today’s mobile money providers: competitors were building their own acceptance networks, limiting the usefulness of their services. The card industry’s solution could hold a valuable lesson for today.
Blog

India Has Built the Rails — Will Passengers Climb Aboard?

India has put in place virtually all of the supply-side factors that should make low-cost financial services available for all. But the big question right now is the customer. The next year will be telling in how the adoption of digital financial services unfolds.