Rashmi Pillai will become Chief Executive Officer of Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya in February 2026, succeeding Tamara Cook, who has led the organisation since 2019.
Pillai is a global executive with more than 19 years of experience in impact investing and digital financial services.
She is an expert in inclusive and competitive financial markets development and co-founded the Sankalp Forum, a social impact platform established in 2009.
The forum expanded from India into several countries in Asia and East Africa. Pillai also brings deep experience in financial-sector policy and regulation, with work spanning Africa and South Asia.
She has served as an independent adviser to CGAP since July 2024.
Employment history
Before joining CGAP as an adviser, Pillai was Head of Public Policy at Wave Mobile Money from March 2022 to June 2024.
Before that, she served as Executive Director and CEO of FSD Uganda from July 2018 to March 2022.
Earlier in her career, she worked at CGAP (World Bank Group) as a Digital Financial Services Specialist from January 2015 to September 2018.
Tribunal Backs URA in UGX 10.2 Billion Century Bottling Tax FightDuring the same period, she also served as Technical Adviser on digital financial services at the Better Than Cash Alliance (East Africa), a role she held from October 2015 to May 2018.
Pillai has also held advisory and leadership roles across the region and beyond. She worked with Catholic Relief Services in Zambia as a technical advisory consultant from March 2017 to July 2017.
Before that, she was Director of Strategic Partnerships and Advisory at Living Goods in Uganda from June 2014 to January 2015.
She previously served as Associate Vice-President in the Initiatives Group in Mumbai from March 2007 to July 2012.
Academic background
Pillai holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Certificate in Digital Money from the Digital Frontiers Institute.
She also has a Master’s in Business Administration and Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master’s in Spectroscopic Physics, and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics.
