Zenebech Mesfin

MPS, Global Development
Tell us a fun fact about you.

Once upon a time I thought I wanted to go into radio! I had a late night radio show at American University for 3 years.

What are the big challenges you want to tackle in the world?

I think the intersection of gender and international development is often an after thought, I would really like to address this particularly in the agriculture sector as women often participate in some of the most labor intensive aspects of agriculture but do not experience the same level of economic gains as their male counterparts.

What were you doing before the MPS program?

I am a Gender and Agriculture Specialist at EnCompass, working on the USAID/Feed the Future funded Advancing Women's Empowerment (AWE) program.

What does global development mean to you?

Global development to me, means promoting agency, access, and equal benefits from economic development.

What has been the most memorable or impactful experience of your career so far?

The most impactful and memorable experiences for me are when I can see the direct impact of my efforts. One particular experience that comes to mind is when I was the coordinator for a youth agribusiness accelerator. A youth business owner that I had recruited into the program had an excellent business model but needed capital to expand. While participating in the program he had the opportunity to give a pitch to several investors, at the end of his presentation almost everyone wanted to finance his business!