MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship
Center for Development and Entrepreneurship Blogs
From Scarcity to Scale Blog by Layla Abushakra
"Africa doesn’t want our pity; it needs unity. It needs a reminder of its centuries of history and rich ancestry. It needs voice, not silence. It needs investment not just in Africa, but with it."
From MIT to Global Growth Markets and Back
What do pink hens, digital twins, and mighty microbes have in common? MIT – and global changemakers seeking to transform their regions.
How Central Asia Builds its Shared Identity
Ask most people to point to Central Asia on a map, and chances are they’ll hesitate. Yet this region spanning vast steppes, celestial mountains and centuries of history sits at the crossroads of civilizations, resource-rich, culturally layered, and geopolitically central. So why does it remain on th...
How Our Fellows Utilize AI in Their Work
Across 11 countries and 3 continents, the 2024-2025 cohort of Student Fellows at the MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship are building ventures rooted in the realities of their communities and countries. These 12 entrepreneurs are using artificial intelligence (AI) not only to ...
Outdated or Evolving? by Salma Bagdadhi
In 2019, when Tunisia launched the Startup Act, the ecosystem was still young. A handful of incubators and accelerators existed—mostly concentrated in the capital, Tunis, and operating within high-income circles. There was an urgent need to democratize access to knowledge about tech entrepreneurship...
Launch of the MIT Kuo Sharper Center
Advancing Innovation, Economic Agency, and Global Competitiveness across Global Growth Markets
Rethinking Innovation Ecosystems in Central Asia
Why are so many founders in Central Asia building companies with one foot out the door? In this provocative piece by Shamil Ibragimov, Beyond the Hype: Rethinking Innovation Ecosystems in Central Asia, Ibragimov challenges the dominant startup narrative in emerging markets. Rather than fueling br...
MIT Kuo Sharper Webinar Series
From corporate-unicorn partnerships to the power of local trust, here how our Entrepreneur-In-Residence Andrea Kates outlines the real-world imperatives facing entrepreneurs, scaleups, and executives alike. The blog previews upcoming topics in the series, including AI in emerging economies, infrastr...
Mighty Microbes for Africa!
In the second blog of her two-part series, Dr. Nadia Shalaby explores how cutting-edge microbial technology could revolutionize agriculture across Africa. Building on research from MIT’s Furst Lab, she introduces “Mighty Microbes”—bioengineered, antioxidant-coated organisms that survive extreme cond...
Fertilizer Production & Food Self-Sufficiency in Global Growth Markets
This blog by Dr. Nadia Shalaby explores the critical link between fertilizer production and food self-sufficiency in global growth markets. Tracing the history of the Haber-Bosch process and its outsized impact on modern agriculture, Dr. Shalaby examines why Africa—despite rapid population growth—re...
Other Sources on Entrepreneurship
How Botswana will benefit from MIT’s Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
President Dr. Mokgweetsi EK Masisi of Botswana delivered a keynote speech at the conference, emphasizing the pivotal role entrepreneurship can play in driving prosperity for emerging economies.
Nigerian entrepreneur lauded for digital healthcare initiative
A digital healthcare initiative that has enabled some 260,000 patients in Nigerian villages to access healthcare is among innovations celebrated by a top American university.
Meet the Founders in This Year's MIT delta v Startup Accelerator
A machine that turns sewage into fuel. Clothing that tracks your movements during workouts. These were the products pitched by the teams graduating from this year's MIT delta v accelerator.
(Webinar Recap) 3 Ways Digital Health Is Expanding Access to Care
With global expansion in connectivity, digital health is playing a growing role in improving the efficiency and efficacy of health systems and delivery models in emerging markets.
Does the acceleration of digital transformation represent an opportunity for emerging economies?
For decades, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have variably impacted people, enterprises, and societies and have demonstrated the potential to become a game changer.
On the dangerous return of the mercantilism
The developing countries must act with all the means at their disposal against protectionist restrictions on international trade and investment, writes Mahmoud Mohieldin.
12 Insights From A Decade Of Investing In Female Entrepreneurs
The data has shown what many of us have known and experienced for years- the journey for female entrepreneurs to get to the same point of success as their male counterparts is longer.
A startup in Kenya is launching “Uber for ambulances”
In Nairobi, most things can be ordered from your phone—an Uber, or taxi from one of several other taxi hailing app companies and soon, Nairobians will also be able order an ambulance from their phones