Eric Duflos

Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Eric Duflos leads CGAP’s work on consumer protection and responsible finance, from policy, industry and customer perspectives, ensuring that financial services have positive outcomes for customers. He also coordinates CGAP’s work with global Standard Setting Bodies.

Eric has 28 years of experience in advancing financial inclusion and economic development, with a strong focus on policy and regulatory issues. His most recent position was director of the office of the UNSGSA, H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands where he supported her policy advocacy work. He also helped the UNSGSA design and launch the CEO Partnership for Economic Inclusion. Prior to this, Eric has held several positions within CGAP, including regional representative for East Asia and the Pacific based in Singapore. Eric’s research and advice have focused on client-centered policy and regulatory issues, and digital finance. In his last essay, he proposes a new way to think about consumer protection with a “Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystem” approach. He has authored numerous articles and publications and taught policy and regulation issues at the Turin/Boulder course, Sciences-Po Paris, and universities in Singapore.

Before joining CGAP, Eric worked seven years in the Lao PDR to support the emergence of a financial inclusion policy framework with UNCDF, the Bank of Lao PDR, and the World Bank. He holds a master’s degree in management from EM Lyon, and a master’s in economics and international relations from SAIS, Johns Hopkins University.

By Eric Duflos

Blog

Financial Inclusion in Cambodia is Trending Digital

In Cambodia, where 80% of the population lives in rural areas and fewer than 20% of adults have access to financial services, digital finance could be a financial inclusion game-changer.
Blog

China and Kenya: Different Models for Scaling Branchless Banking

In China, branchless banking initiatives are starting to reach scale, but the story has different foundations from other country success stories, such as Kenya.
Blog

Branchless Banking in China: Will Regulation Support Innovation?

China's pilot of 500,000 banking agents show significant promise for financial inclusion. Allowing these agents to offer a greater variety of services, such as taking deposits and opening new accounts, could lead to faster growth and more usage.
Blog

Financial Inclusion in China: Will Innovation Bridge the Gap?

Technology and innovation hold great promise for deepening financial access in China. But despite recent improvements, China is home to a huge unbanked population - second only in size to India.
Research

China: A New Paradigm in Branchless Banking

While many banked people already use mobile banking in China, the country also has the potential to emerge as an important success story for branchless banking and financial inclusion and potentially a new paradigm.