In 2018, I came to the clear realisation that I wanted to dedicate my career to contributing towards efforts that progressively figure out how to make financial products and markets work better for people. I’m now part of a community of passionate and committed practitioners who explore critical questions on how financial tools, rules and programmes can cause meaningful impact in the financial lives of the poor. How low-income people choose to cope with risk, prepare for their own futures and that of their families, as well as invest and operate their enterprises has immense consequences on livelihoods. I work with my talented colleagues and esteemed partners to figure out how, why and when different financial tools can be transformative, inconsequential or cause harm. 

My work often involves asking and answering precise and often difficult questions that enable Busara’s partners make better decisions on how they ought to engage with people and communities. I’m skeptical of silver bullet solutions but strongly advocate that Busara’s behavioral appoach to research meaningfully contributes to the availability and extension of value adding and responsible products and policies in the Global South. I lead teams that contribute to product design and evaluation, as well as strategy formulation for partners in the private, public and philanthropic spaces. Recently, I led a 3 country landscape study that explored the complex dynamics of Digital Credit’s impact and the myriad of factors that influence its potential for impact. I also led a team working with a global financial institution to collaboratively build core design principles for a national long term savings platform; customized for groups in the underserved informal sector with capacity for and interest in long term saving.

Before Busara, I worked at Millward Brown (now Kantar) conducting market research for organizations in the FMCG, telecommunications and finance industries in Sub-Saharan Africa. I have a Postgraduate Diploma in International Business from the University of Liverpool (UK) and an Undergraduate Degree from Abilene Christian University (USA). 

Languages: English, Swahili

LinkedIn: James Ogada