Harvard Center for International Development

We’re looking back on a busy spring at CID — including a timely conversation from last month with African finance and planning leaders following the 2026 World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings.   We were proud to partner with the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program to bring together Hon. Jyoti Jeetun of Mauritius 🇲🇺, Hon. Kitila Mkumbo and Hon. Khamis Mussa Omar of Tanzania 🇹🇿, and Hon. Dr. Kaire Mbuende of Namibia 🇳🇦 for a discussion on fiscal pressures, debt, investment, growth, national development priorities, and economic sovereignty.   Moderated by Dr. Gomez Agou, CID Senior Research Fellow and former IMF Resident Representative to Gabon, the conversation also included reflections from former African Union Special Envoy Bineta Diop, CID Senior Research Fellow.   Thank you to our speakers, the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program, and everyone who joined us for this important discussion, part of CID’s Road to GEM26 series. 🌍   #HarvardCID #RoadToGEM26 #GEM26 #EconomicDevelopment #Africa

“People don’t talk anymore about USAID…that’s a gift, actually, to the people with wrecking balls.” At the 2026 Global Empowerment Meeting, Amb. Samantha Power paid tribute to USAID and urged reflection on both the work that was done and how it can be improved in the future. Visit the link in our bio to read more about @harvardcid 's annual convening.

Last week, we wrapped up GEM26: Reimagining International Development! 🌍 Thank you to everyone who joined us @harvardkennedyschool , in person and virtually, for two days of thoughtful and energizing conversations on the future of development. GEM26 brought together leaders from public policy, business, academia, philanthropy, civil society, journalism, and beyond to explore how development can respond to a world shaped by rapid economic, political, technological, and social change. Across sessions, speakers and participants reflected on new pathways for inclusive growth, locally grounded solutions, institutional learning, and the partnerships needed to move from ideas to action. 💡 Missed a session or want to revisit the conversations? Watch the GEM26 recordings through the YouTube playlist at the link in our bio. ▶️ Thank you to our speakers, guests, volunteers, and partners who made this gathering possible. ✨

Seismic shifts over the past year, including reduced funding following the collapse of USAID programs, rising geopolitical tensions, and rapid technological advances, have heightened the urgency to rethink the approach to critical development work. In this video, HKS professors share “one big idea” to build a thriving world given the multitude of challenges facing our geopolitical landscape. Taking place May 4-5, @harvardcid ’s Global Empowerment Meeting is convening leading thinkers and practitioners to explore how these seismic changes redefine what “development” can and should mean in the coming decades.

🌍 Join us virtually for GEM26: Reimagining International Development on May 4–5. Hosted by the Harvard Center for International Development, the Global Empowerment Meeting (GEM) brings together leaders across policy, academia, business, philanthropy, and civil society to ask a big question: what should international development look like in a rapidly changing world? At GEM26, conversations will explore the future of the global economy, inclusive growth, development finance, governance, and cross-sector collaboration. Wherever you are, you can follow the conversation live. 🔗 Watch virtually and explore the agenda at the link in bio. #GEM26 #HarvardCID #InternationalDevelopment #GlobalDevelopment #DevelopmentEconomics

Recently, W3D teamed up with @harvardcid and Business & Government Professional Interest Council to host H.E. Patrick Achi, President of the National Assembly and former Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire. In a conversation with Executive Director of CID Fatema Z. Sumar, the discussion highlighted the future of development in the Côte d’Ivoire and #Africa, the importance of infrastructure and investing in #talent and capacity-building at home, especially in the age of #AI. We are grateful for the hard work of W3D Development Chair Sumedha Tanwar, without whom this event would not be possible.

“In terms of development, it may be more important to overcome the risk of a reversion than to focus on the speed of reforms.” — Hernán Lacunza   🌍 What does it take for reforms to actually last?   At Harvard CID’s Road to GEM Speaker Series, Hernán Lacunza, Former Minister of Treasury of Argentina and Minister of Economy of Buenos Aires Province, explored the challenges facing emerging economies in an increasingly uncertain world.   📊 Sustainable development, he argues, depends not just on macroeconomic stability, but on political consensus and reforms that endure over time.   ▶️ Watch the full conversation on YouTube — link in bio.   #InternationalDevelopment #EmergingMarkets #EconomicPolicy #GlobalEconomy #HarvardCID #Argentina #DevelopmentEconomics #PublicPolicy #GlobalDevelopment #Economics

“I don’t think the question is simply how do we make people care. It’s about what kind of understanding are we creating when we make them care?” — Michael Rain, TED Speaker, @harvard Senior Fellow, @harvardkennedyschool alum & Founder of @enodi__ At CID’s Road to GEM Speaker Series, Rain explored how development narratives, often centered on crisis and need, can shape perception in ways that limit opportunity 🌍 These stories aren’t necessarily wrong, but they are often incomplete. Over time, they influence how people are perceived, how capital flows, and what solutions seem possible. What would it look like to tell fuller, more accurate stories that reflect both challenge and agency? 🎥 Watch the full talk via the link in our bio. #InternationalDevelopment #GlobalDevelopment #Storytelling #NarrativesMatter #SocialImpact #PublicPolicy

This past Friday at the Harvard Center for African Studies, @africaharvard , we had the pleasure of hosting Emmanuel Lubanzadio @elubanzadio_ OpenAl Africa Lead, in collaboration with the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program, the Center for African Studies, and the Center for International Development leadership @harvardcid on a conversation titled “Scaling Al in Emerging Markets: Perspectives from Africa.” A huge thank you to Emmanuel Lubanzadio for his openness in conversation and for thoughtfully responding to the many audience questions on such a timely topic. Thank you to everyone who participated. What an engaging audience. We continue to learn and collaborate as we think through questions of infrastructure, access, and the future of OpenAl in Africa. Thank you to @ngasuma for such thoughtful facilitation, and to the Africa Health Forum leadership led by @prxncceess for helping make this conversation possible. #OpenAi #africa #aiafrica #harvard

💡 What does it take to make frontier markets investable? This month at the Harvard Center for International Development, we hosted Jake Cusack and Tom Flahive, co-founders of CrossBoundary Group, for a conversation on investing in frontier markets. These are fragile economies that are often overlooked by traditional capital. Drawing on more than a decade of experience building CrossBoundary across emerging and frontier economies, Jake and Tom shared how investment-led approaches, blended finance, and catalytic capital can unlock opportunities in high-risk environments. They also discussed the practical realities of structuring deals on the ground and building investment platforms in markets where many investors hesitate to operate. The conversation explored how recent shifts in foreign aid, including cuts to USAID programs, are reshaping the development finance landscape and increasing the importance of development finance institutions and private capital. 🎥 Watch the full recording linked in our bio 🔗. This event is part of CID’s Road to GEM series leading up to GEM26: Reimagining International Development. #InternationalDevelopment #FrontierMarkets #DevelopmentFinance #BlendedFinance #ImpactInvesting

"Effective collaboration happens because you trust and believe in each other. You don’t need to force it; you build it progressively, and results attract partners.” — Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, Minister of Health, Rwanda We were honored to host Dr. Nsanzimana last week at Harvard for a conversation on health leadership in Rwanda. His reflections on strengthening Rwanda’s health system highlighted the importance of strategic resource use, data-driven decision-making, and designing healthcare that is accessible, sustainable, and community-centered. Students engaged actively, exploring how leadership, innovation, and trust can advance equitable health systems globally. Thank you to Joseph Rhatigan, Princess Magor Agbozo, and to the Harvard Center for International Development & Harvard University Center for African Studies for their partnership in making this event possible.

“I agree that the old aid model is dead. I disagree that it’s the end of development. If you think of development not as the aid industry, but from a country’s perspective, as aspirations for its economy and for its people.” — Alexia Latortue, Head of Secretariat, Future Of Development Cooperation Coalition   🎙️At CID’s Road to GEM Speaker Series on March 13, Alexia examined why today’s development cooperation system, built in the aftermath of World War II, is struggling to keep pace with a rapidly changing world.   The challenge is not only declining aid flows. It is a system designed for a different era. ⚖️    As climate risks intensify, conflicts rise, and geopolitical tensions reshape the global economy, development cooperation must move beyond narrow conceptions of aid toward a broader approach to economic transformation and resilience. 🌍   That means starting from the country perspective, focusing not only on external finance, but also on domestic resources, private investment, institutions, and state capacity.   🎥 Watch the full recording linked in our bio 🔗.   This conversation is part of CID’s Road to GEM programming leading up to GEM26: Reimagining International Development.   #InternationalDevelopment #DevelopmentCooperation #DevelopmentFinance #GlobalDevelopment #HarvardCID