Alexander Kostura

Country: Peru
Organization: AidData Center for Development Policy

Alexander spent the summer serving as an AidData Summer Fellow with the AidData Center for Development Policy. AidData is a research and innovation lab that aims to make development finance data more accessible and actionable. Specifically, AidData collects and analyzes geospatial (or geographic) data to answer the questions: Who is funding what? Where? And to what effect?

Alexander: “My internship with AidData and USAID was an incredibly rewarding experience, for which I am grateful to the Blakeley Foundation. While I did not expect to work with a US government entity, I am glad it was with a USAID Mission abroad because I had the opportunity to interact with multiple NGOs and Peruvian government agencies. This experience reaffirmed my decision to pursue a career with the US Federal government in humanitarian assistance and international development. Previously, I held some hesitation about the impact of USAID. My experiences have taught otherwise. USAID missions are staffed with wonderful people who want to affect change and improve lives. Furthermore, the US government is collaborating with research labs like AidData and creating their own organizations like the USAID GeoCenter in order to innovate and improve their operations. In my career, I hope to be a part of fostering these kinds of partnerships, supporting applications of new technology, and improving international development outcomes."

Anna Valeria

Country: Lima

Organization: Endeavor Brasil / Andean Innovation Red

Anna Valeria joined Andean Innovation Red (AIR) early in the organization’s development. She acted as an advisor, identifying the purpose of every company activity to determine relevance to key objectives. Her main objective was to build a map of the entrepreneurial landscape in Lima. She interviewed entrepreneurs, investors, acelerators and university officials involved in fostering entrepreneurship. As a result AIR attracted for the first time the attention of the community by using a new technological platform (i.e. Google Hangouts) that allowed to reach more audience and to create a virtual platform where entrepreneurs and soon-to-be entrepreneurs can share ideas.

Anna: “Today I feel more prepared and confident that I have been gathering the needed tools, both in terms of the academic work and now during the summer with hands-on experience to start building my own startup with social impact.”

Danielle / Courtney

Country: Peru

Danielle Cooperated with ACCION Investments to analyze their micro-finance portfolio and performance indicators and to recommend client protection policies.

Courtney worked with NGO’s partnering with KIVA, a web based NGO partnering with MFI’s in over 40 countries, interviewing borrowers and evaluated their needs. She also trained local staff about KIVA.