Boulder Institute of Microfinance

Brigit Helms recently joined the IFC’s East Asia and the Pacific Region as a Sector Leader for Access to Finance. From her base in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Brigit supports all IFC's Technical Assistance and Advisory Facilities throughout the region. Before joining the IFC, Brigit formed part of the senior management team at CGAP.

She has published extensively on microfinance and access to finance issues, including the recent book, Access for All: Building Inclusive Financial Systems. She led CGAP’s work in a range of areas, including savings mobilization, aid effectiveness, product costing and efficiency, institutional capacity building, and due diligence of financial institutions.

Before joining CGAP, Brigit worked in IFAD's Latin America and the Caribbean Division, as a desk officer for Central America at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and as an independent consultant. In her 20+ years of experience in private and financial sector development, she has worked in over 35 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Brigit holds a PhD from Stanford University in development and agricultural economics, and speaks fluent Spanish, intermediate French and passable Italian.