Entrepreneurs are multiplying USAID’s work to solve some of the world’s largest problems
USAID is proud to support entrepreneurs and innovators who are dedicated to transforming their communities for the better through revolutionary science and technology. Last week, USAID was part of the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Silicon Valley, Calif.
Wondering what you missed? During GES, USAID Administrator Gayle Smith shared how the government agency is expanding new frontiers in innovation to accelerate an end to extreme poverty. Read on for some of the key takeaways.
8 quotes from Administrator Smith at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit
1. Entrepreneurship is part of USAID’s DNA.
“Where does entrepreneurship and all of this fit for us? I think for us, it’s what we would call a ‘force multiplier.’ It is something that enables us to have much greater impact than we would otherwise have.
So how do we do this and what do we do? I’m proud to say that USAID over the last several years has built into the architecture and the skeleton of the agency, the ability to promote entrepreneurship.”
2. We need private sector partners on our team.
“If we want to get real sustainable development outcomes, we’re not going to do it with foreign aid alone. We’re going to need foreign aid, domestic resources that countries themselves put in, but also private capital: small, medium and large.”
3. Leading by example, Power Africa is bridging the gaps. More entrepreneurs can make a difference through the Scaling Off-Grid Energy Grand Challenge for Development.
“What can be achieved much more quickly with off-grid and mini-grid, we’re seeing tremendous evidence across the continent of the kind of change that can come. We will put in 36 million dollars over the next three years to provide catalytic financing for the companies serving low-income customers in sub-Saharan Africa.
[We’re using] this mechanism called a grand challenge to source and solicit and incentivize some of the innovations that we need. We can take systemic approaches to take this thing called entrepreneurship to scale and solve some of the biggest problems the world faces.”
4. The U.S. government is collaborating to connect entrepreneurs and investors with opportunities.
“What we have been able to do is figure out how all agencies and facilities and capabilities in the U.S. government can work together to support development, so that you could take advantage of OPIC [Overseas Private Investment Corporation] or DCA [Development Credit Authority] or work with MCC [Millennium Challenge Corporation] around the world where there’s private sector opportunities. And it’s made a huge difference.
5. We’re challenging innovators to tackle the tough challenges.
“Our role as the U.S. government’s development agency is that we have a mandate and a charge and the expectation that we’re going to work in all different kinds of environments, take on all sorts of challenges. So we can’t necessarily pick the country where the conditions are beautifully aligned and say that that’s where we’re going to focus all of our efforts. Or we can’t take the challenge that may be easier than the 10 or 12 others, say we’re going to do that one, and ignore the others.”
6. Entrepreneurs are part of the solution. A new Feed the Future initiative asks problem solvers to bring cold storage to farmers.
“We are tackling [problems of food wastage and storage] with a new call for innovations. [It will] involve us providing up to 2 and a half million dollars in funding and mentoring to entrepreneurs to help them adapt, pilot and scale their proven cool storage solutions. This will have a huge impact at large, but also, importantly, on smallholder farmers, who are the backbone of agriculture around the world.”
7. Partnerships must continue beyond the Summit.
“If we work collectively, we can really get to scale and change the lives of millions of people, whether it’s in agriculture, power and health. But it really does mean coming together, not just at the Summit, where we’ve got a great mix of government people and entrepreneurs and financial investors, but on a regular basis.”
8. Investing in innovation is a risk worth taking.
“A reasonably small amount of taxpayer money, invested wisely, and built on the kinds of partnerships that our folks have been able to build, has a huge return, and that far outweighs the risk.
“[We should work toward] creating an impression of the United States as a country that is willing and able to partner effectively with entrepreneurs around the world.”
To watch USAID’s full briefing at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, click here.
