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    • News
    • Video interview: Lee Zak

    Lee Zak on Power Africa: 'The phone is ringing off the hook'

    The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has raised its profile since it emerged as a key player in President Barack Obama's Power Africa initiative. Devex reporter Michael Igoe spoke to USTDA Director Lee Zak, who described her agency's approach to attracting renewable and off-grid power investments in the continent.

    By Michael Igoe // 11 March 2014

    While most U.S. aid stakeholders have fought tooth and nail to defend their budgets against cuts, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency has emerged as one of the darlings of the Obama administration's "new model of development," which seeks to use official funding to leverage private, philanthropic, and host-country resources.

    In an exclusive interview in our video studio, USTDA Director Leocadia Zak described her agency's role as a catalyst for off-grid and renewable energy development within Obama's Power Africa initiative, criticized by some environmentalists and pro-poor advocates for focusing too much on centralized, conventional power deals, and too little on expanding energy access to rural areas.

    In part because of its role in connecting U.S. businesses and technology with Power Africa's infrastructure and development opportunities, USTDA has seen its role — and funding — increase within the U.S. development landscape in recent years, including a more than 20 percent increase in the president's budget request for fiscal 2015.

    Stay tuned for more excerpts from our conversation with Zak, including the full version of the interview later this week.

    Devex reporter Michael Igoe interviews USTDA Director Leocadia Zak.

    Read more on U.S. aid reform online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

    See more:

    Power Africa: 7 unanswered questions
    'Managing expectations' on Power Africa
    How reforming OPIC can galvanize Power Africa

    • Energy
    • Infrastructure
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Michael Igoe

      Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe

      Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.

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