Dr Kameshnee (Kammy) Naidoo completed her BJourn and MA (with distinction) at Rhodes University in the 1990s. While at Rhodes, Naidoo worked on student newspapers Activate and Rodeo. She later gained her PhD at Wits, where her research focused on the impact of policy and regulation on market structure in telecommunications in emerging markets. A large portion of Naidoo’s professional career has been spent in the Strategic Investments Division of the MTN Group, the largest mobile operator on the African continent, and she has been involved in key strategic roles at MTN, Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Her career has seen her working extensively on the African continent, and she has garnered in-depth knowledge on the African and Middle-Eastern information and communication technology markets.
In 2013, Naidoo made a successful transition to the public sector, leading the world’s largest global financial inclusion initiative, MAP (Making Access Possible), as their Global Programme Advisor. She coordinates policy implementation and research activities, impacting the lives of 549 million people. MAP was initiated by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and developed in partnership with FinMark Trust and the Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (Cenfri). In each country in which it runs programmes, MAP brings together a broad range of stakeholders from within government, the private sector and the donor community to create a set of practical actions aimed at extending financial inclusion tailored to that country.
The volumes in the MAP Global Insights series consolidate and synthesise the learnings from the MAP programme across MAP programme countries.The latest series focuses on inclusive growth, and the volumes within the series include More Bread on the Table – the Promise and the Potential of Financial Inclusion; There and Back Again – Harnessing Data, Developing Collaborative Platforms and Enabling Governments to Deliver on the SDGs; Humanising Data: the MAP toolbox for fine-tuning and calibrating national metrics and optimising consumer delivery; and The man in the mirror: change your thinking; change the world. Naidoo also works with academia through the LSE, Boston, and Columbia University, leading new thinking on inclusive growth.