2014

Country: South Africa

Organization: Endeavor South Africa

Braden Weinstock’s consulting project was with Endeavor South Africa. Endeavor is a leading non-profit accelerator with offices in about 20 emerging markets. He had three objectives for his summer experience – to learn about South Africa, to test his skills at supporting entrepreneurs, and to develop himself as a leader.

Braden: “My experience in South Africa was very enriching on both perofessional and personal fronts. Professionally, working in a non-profit I got to experience the culture and struggles which are both very different from a Fortune 500 firm. On a personal front, I learned I would love living in South Africa, and am pursuing career opportunities there now.”

Country: Uganda

Organization: Yunus Social Business

Anjali Shrikhande worked as a Social Business Consultant for Yunus Social Business in their Kampala, Uganda office. Her main goal for the internship was to gain a better understanding of market-based approaches to development, specifically the social business model, and to investigate how the model works on the ground in a developing country.

Anjali: “I was able to form contacts through YSB and independently that will also be valuable in trying to find jobs in this field. I found the entrepreneurs that I met and worked with to be truly inspiring and passionate about creating change in their own communities.”

Country: Kenya

Organization: Ushahidi

Owen M. Sanderson worked in one of the fastest-crowing tech centers in the world: Nairobi, Kenya. He focused his summer on two objectives: supporting Ushahidi’s business development team as they think through their current business model and conducting several in-depth training seminars for a small cohort of young African entrepreneurs at Nairobi’s celebrated iHub.

Owen: “After two months in East Africa, I left feeling every optimistic about its future. I embarked upon my summer with the goal of investigating the unique link between technology and development. My summer in Nairobi underscored the widespread allure of technology and its potential to uplift millions.”

Country: Bangladesh

Organization: Social Innovation Lab

Jessica Meckler interned at BRAC’s Social Innovation Lab, a development organization headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Jessica’s specified role was to assist the Social Innovation Lab, which is nestled in the Microfinance department, with they Innovation fund for Mobile Money.

Jessica: “My internship solidified my interest in M&E, and the lessons that I learned while at BRAC will help determine my courses for my second year at Fletcher. I already rely on my knowledge from BRAC now.”

Country: Rwanda

Organization: AEC (The African Entrepreneur Collective

Heather Lemunyon’s role at AEC (The African Entrepreneur Collective) was to serve as a Global Business Mentor, or and entrepreneurship consultant who worked one-on 0one with AEC’s clients in business planning financial planning, developing strategies for growth, market and sales analysis, and and strategic vision.

Heather: “In every way possible, my time as a Global Business Mentor with AEC was outstanding. Not only did I fulfill all of my personal goals for my internship experience, I was allowed great opportunities to directly and positively impact the growth of East African companies that I hope will continue to grow, increase employment, and continue to develop this region of the world with such large opportunities and potential.”

Country: India

Organization: ACCESS Development Services

Deepti Jayakrishnan worked at Educate Lanka Foundation Inc, a 501c3 non-profit organization which creates a unique platform for the global Sri Lankan diaspora to engage with their home country by financially contributing the education of its children and youth. Deepti’s responsibilities included conducting feasibility studies, preparing project reports, identifying and potential corporate partners, reviewing existing legal contracts, and managing an intern.

Deepti : “Besides adapting my legal skills to a new jurisdiction, I had opportunities to refine my grant writing skills and negotiating skills. It also depend my interest in impact investing and social investment businesses. I am highly likely to start my own company or at least heavily invest in a social business in the future.”

Country: Cambodia

Organization: Development Innovations

Katie Halleran worked at Development Innovations in Cambodia, and immersed herself int he world of Phnom Penh startups, hub, hackerspaces, design thinking groups, and co-working spaces in order to get to know the landscape. She also took part in providing content and editing for the first and second rounds of an internal DAI competition on innovative projects.

Katie: “I was fortunate to alongside the talented people on the ground at DI; one of my colleagues, a Khmer Rouge survivor who escaped at the Thai border camps at 6 years old, had just finished a documentary on rediscovering the camp where over 20,000 were said to have died, and reconnecting with childhood friends with whom he had fled the camp.”

Country: Myanmar

Organization: Golden Rock Capital

Rachel Bass worked as a summer associate for Golden Rock Capital, a newly launched private equity fund focused specifically on Myanmar and generally on the ASEAN region. She hoped to gain insight in the demands and processes of private equity, leveraging her background in Microfinance, further explore finance skills acquired through Fletcher coursework, and contribute to a rapidly growing and evolving Myanmar

Rachel: “I learned more about my own intangible skills while gaining a much greater sense of appreciation for my good fortune. I believe this awareness will help me infinitely during a long career grounded in social service.”

Country: Uganda
Organization: FIT Uganda

Manisha Basnet worked as an Economic Consultant for FIT Uganda. The eight week project involved field research on market information system, cost-benefit analysis and market trend analysis of agricultural commodities.

Country: Kenya

Organization: MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth / Institute of Business in the Global Context.

Anisha Baghudana completed a research fellowship with the MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth and Institute of Business in the Global Context (IBGC) at the Fletcher School. MasterCard and IBGC piloted a new initiative for Fletcher graduate students this year to support original research touching upon the themes of private sector innovation to promote inclusive development in emerging and frontier markets.

Anisha: “I am indebted to the Blakeley Foundation for providing me the opportunity to pursue my career interests and am hugely thankful to Jerry Blakeley for giving me the flexibility to do a research project instead of a traditional internship”