Francesca has experience in both the academic and corporate worlds. After completing her MSc in Development Studies at LSE and her PhD in Management Studies at Cambridge University, she started out her academic career as a lecturer in development studies at the LSE. She left academia in 2004 to become a macroeconomist in finance, covering emerging markets (Africa, Latin America and Emerging Europe consecutively). She has since moved into philanthropy as Global Director of Communications and Partnerships at Pharo Foundation, where she combines her private sector experience with her commitment to Africa’s economic and social development. She is the author of two books, ‘Third World Multinationals: Engine of Competitiveness or New Form of Dependency?’, and ‘Globalisation and the BRICS’, both published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Research interests: philanthropy, economic development, education, international finance, news media

Region of focus is East Africa