Lauren Braniff

Lauren Braniff worked as a consultant with CGAP on the Digital Finance + Initiative. Previously, Lauren Braniff served as Managing Editor of the Microfinance Gateway from 2011-2014 where she led content strategy for the Gateway sites and created the forthcoming Gateway Academy, an online learning platform for financial inclusion professionals. Prior to joining the Gateway, she spent five years with CGAP’s Technology Program where she conducted research, led branchless banking projects, and managed the Information Systems Program. Prior to joining CGAP, Lauren held positions at a microfinance institution in Cambodia, as a microenterprise development consultant, and as a researcher for an education nonprofit.

Lauren holds a master’s degree in international development from SAIS at Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in international political economy from the University of California, Berkeley.

By Lauren Braniff

Blog

Meeting Education Finance Needs in Rural Uganda

In Uganda, CGAP partnered with a solar company to better understand the education finance needs of rural customers and explore how pay-as-you-go solar companies can get into education financing.
Blog

Paying for School: 6 Insights for Better Financial Services

The inability to pay fees and other education expenses keeps many children out of school. What is the extent of these challenges, who is affected and what kinds of financial services could help?
Research

Digital Finance and Innovations in Financing for Education

Innovations in digital finance can play a role in the Sustainable Development Goals' aim to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
Blog

Delivering on Education for All: The Role of Mobile Money

For many low-income families worldwide, education can be out of reach. Mobile money and digital financial services have the potential to help families by providing them with better tools that can help them save, plan and make education payments.
Blog

Advancing Financial Inclusion to Improve Access to Education

Worldwide, 124 million children between the ages of 6 and 15 are not in school. While financial inclusion cannot solve the many complex reasons all children are not in school, better financial tools can help families manage educational expenses.