Profile

Swati has worked in financial inclusion domain since last ten years, as a technical advisor to financial institutions and international organisations. Her role has been to help them understand the financial needs of low-income households, pilot and upscale innovative products for them, and disseminate lessons for policy making. For the next three years, she will work as a doctoral student at KU as part of a multi-country research in Jordan and Kenya, exploring the financial lives of forcibly displaced persons. The project is commissioned by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
   

Research interests

• Financial resilience in marginalized communities with specific focus on women, migrants, and forcibly displaced population
• Financial behaviour and coping strategies of low-income households
• Livelihoods and microfinance for economic development
     

Education and career

• February 2019 – Present: Research associate in Economic Geography at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
• May 2018 – Present: G20 Young Global Changer 2018, Global Solutions Initiative
• August 2017 – December 2018: German Chancellor Fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, hosted by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Bonn, Germany
• 2017: Awarded “Athena for Women Mentee 2017” under the Global Thinkers Forum
• 2016 – 2016: Digital Frontier Institute, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, USA (Certificate in Digital Money)
• February 2016 – July 2017: iEnable Consulting, Founder and Consultant
• June 2014 – December 2015: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, New Delhi, India Technical Expert, Rural Financial Institutions Programme (RFIP)
• April 2009 – May 2014: MicroSave Private Ltd., New Delhi, India; Deputy Practice Group Leader, Digital Financial Services
• 2007 – 2009: Studied Masters in Development Management at the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Madhya Pradesh, India
• 2004 – 2007: Studied Bachelors in Economics at Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University, India
     

Publications

• Mehta, S. (2020). Understanding Financial literacy among refugees in Germany. (» Download)
• Mehta, S. (2018). Financial Inclusion of Germany’s Refugees: Current Situation and Road Ahead. European Microfinance Network Working Paper. Awarded the European Microfinance Research Award 2018. (» download)
• Mehta, S., Lahiri, A. (2015). SHG Members as Bank Agents: Experiences from two pilot projects in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. GIZ RFIP.
• Mehta, S., Roy, A., Chakraborty, S., & Srivastava, R. (2012). Access to Credit in West Bengal Post Microfinance Crisis. MicroSave.
• Mas, I., Mehta, S., Tiwari, A. J., George, D., Thacker, K., Jos, A., et al. (2012). Are Banks and Microfinance Institutions Natural Partners in Financial Inclusion? MicroSave and SSRN.
• Mehta, S., & Narain, N. (2014). Repositioning as a Third Generation Microfinance Institution Corporate Branding at ASKI. MicroSave.
• Mehta, S. (2012). Customer Support for E/M-Banking Users. MicroSave.
• Mehta, S., Thomas, S. V., & Dhawan, R. (2011). Top Marketing Challenges for E/M-Banking. MicroSave.