Monique Cohen, Microfinance Opportunities, USADr. Monique Cohen is Founder-President of Microfinance Opportunities, an innovative Washington-based non-profit operating at the cutting-edge of market-led microfinance. A leading international authority on the use of financial services by poor people, Dr. Cohen has pioneered financial education for low-income populations in developing countries. She is also a recognized expert on client assessment and market demand for microinsurance. Dr. Cohen spearheaded the groundbreaking “Financial Education for the Poor” project funded by the Citigroup Foundation. With Ford Foundation support she developed the “Listening to Clients” Series, a visual and interactive market research for microfinance training toolkit. While Senior Technical Advisor in the Office of Microenterprise Development, she designed and led USAID’s “Assessing the Impact of Microenterprise Services" project. She is currently co-directing a Bill and Melinda Gates-funded initiative on microfinance impact assessment. She has published extensively on microfinance and the informal sector including, Microfinance, Risk Management and Poverty and Reducing Vulnerability, the Demand for Microinsurance, both co-authored with Jennefer Sebstad. Dr. Cohen earned her Ph.D from Clark University in Worchester, Massachusetts. Dr. Cohen teaches at the Boulder Microfinance Training Program held annually in Turin, Italy. In addition to serving on the board of the Microfinance Centre in Poland, she is also a member of the CGAP Working Group on Microinsurance. |