Staff Directory

Leena Datwani

Financial Sector Specialist

Leena Datwani is a financial sector specialist. She works with stakeholders to develop an ecosystem that enables digital finance to better serve the financial needs of the poor in India. Before joining CGAP, she had a leadership role at the H.A.N.D. Foundation and worked on the World Bank’s World Development Report.

Leena holds an Master’s in International Economics and International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and Economics from William Smith College. She is based in New Delhi, India.

By Leena Datwani

Blog

Can JioMart and Facebook Revolutionize Traditional Retail in India?

Facebook and the Indian grocery shopping platform JioMart in April announced a partnership that sent ripples through India's e-commerce and e-grocer sectors. What could this partnership mean for small business owners in India?
Blog

Will Facebook Soon Dominate Digital Payments in India, Indonesia?

As Facebook enters the highly regulated space of digital payments in India and Indonesia, it is partnering with local players to connect its virtual ecosystem with the cash economy, gain access to logistics networks and overcome regulatory hurdles.
Research

India's New Approach to Personal Data-Sharing

As more and more people begin to conduct transactions online, questions have emerged about how to provide millions of customers adequate data protection and privacy. India's solution to this challenge is account aggregators (AA).
Blog

Will Universal Basic Income Replace Safety Net Payments in India?

India is currently considering a universal basic income (UBI) scheme in which the government would guarantee a minimum income for all citizens. What are the key points of the UBI debate? What could UBI mean for financial inclusion in India?
Research

India's Push for Financial Inclusion

This Brief takes a look at India's financial inclusion effort--the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) program--two years since it launched in August 2014.