Manasee Desai is a Vice President at ideas42 where she co-leads the organization’s Financial Health work, which applies tools from behavioral science to the design of financial products and programs for underserved and underrepresented populations. Over the past 15 years, she has advised a variety of banks, fintechs, non-profits, and insurance companies in the US, Africa, and Asia on data-driven strategies for product refinement and growth. She has also conducted research on financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and gender equity with academics at Harvard, MIT, and Yale.

Manasee is a lead author on multiple ideas42 publications relating to the application of behavioral science to financial services and gender equity. She has a BA in Political Science from Boston University and an MPA in International Development Policy and Management from New York University.