Daniel Waldron

Daniel Waldron is head of insights at Acumen. Previously, Daniel Waldron led CGAP's work on access to energy and safe water. Daniel has seven years of experience in financial inclusion and development, primarily focused on energy access and agricultural finance. He has worked with financial services providers and government stakeholders in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. He has collaborated closely with numerous firms in the off-grid energy space, helping them to optimize their consumer finance and digital collection operations.

Before joining CGAP, Daniel worked as a research analyst for Petrides & Co., an energy investment bank. Other career highlights include serving as a research and data analyst for Better Than Cash Alliance and ongoing work for BFA and Mastercard Foundation on the Financial Inclusion on Business Runways initiative. He also served for two years as an environmental volunteer for Peace Corps Tanzania.

Daniel has a Master’s in International Affairs from The New School and an undergraduate degree from New York University. He resides in New York City. He is fluent in Swahili and proficient in Spanish.

By Daniel Waldron

Research

Digital Finance and Sustainable Water Service for All

This Brief on digital finance in the water sector looks at how people currently access water service, and finds that it varies from urban to peri-urban to rural areas.
Blog

Solar Energy: A New Frontier for Microfinance

What if the institution that financed your business could also light up your house? Microfinance institutions are getting into pay-as-you-go solar, bringing microfinance into consumer lending.
Blog

Daily Energy Payments Powering Digital Finance in Ghana

New evidence from Ghana suggests that pay-as-you-go solar customers are becoming more active mobile money users.
Blog

Energy and Water for All: The Last Mile Is the Longest Mile

New models for financing household connections to energy, water and sanitation are enabling more low-income households to access these essential services. Financial solutions are necessary for achieving access targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Blog

Tugende: Analog Credit on Digital Wheels

In Uganda, Tugende has helped over 3,000 motorcycle taxi drivers on the path to ownership by leveraging new technologies that enable the purchasing of an asset over time. Tugende's success has four key lessons for other digital finance plus initiatives.