The U.S. State Department hired New York-based consultancy firm Dalberg Global Development Advisors to define an investment strategy for post-earthquake Haiti. As a global operating partner for the firm, Andrew Stern has been embedded with the U.S. team in Port-au-Prince, where he coordinates a holistic approach to reconstruction, pulling together efforts from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work on health issues, for instance.
“Congress has approved the supplemental budget,” Stern said. “What we’re hoping for is quick implementation of close to $1 billion and results on the ground. That’s something I’ve been working on in the last six months.”
Dalberg’s priority going forward, Stern said, is to deepen its development impact, measure what’s really being accomplished and launch other business to implement solutions.
Stern has had his own successes as an innovator and has particular expertise in the areas of health, enterprise development and microfinance. He helped to design and launch the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, a program at the Aspen Institute that supports organizations which invest in and build small and growing businesses in developing countries. He also co-chairs the international board of mothers2mothers, a South African nonprofit focused on preventing mother-to-child HIV transmissions.
“To see social enterprises that really can scale is one of the great challenges, and I feel really satisfied to have worked with two of them that show a path to growth and scalability,” he said.
Dalberg’s assignment in Haiti already concluded, and Stern will transition to a new mission.
“As consultants, we move around quickly,” he said. “The first thing I try to do is get as smart as possible. That’s reading as much as possible, talking to as many people as possible, and trying to understand the different decision makers and the dynamics of leadership.”
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