Shari Berenbach was an advocate for innovation done well — and not just for its own sake.
Berenbach, who died this week of breast cancer, led the U.S. African Development Foundation, an independent U.S. agency that awards seed grants to African communities and entrepreneurs.
At USADF Berenbach championed imaginative ideas — solar-charged sharable motorcycles for food transport, rural cooling stations, umbrellas that shade kiosks while they charge cell phones. But with all of these, according to her colleagues, Berenbach invested not in things, but in the people with the skills to create them, their business acumen and local knowledge.
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About the author
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.
