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A collection of my articles
Violence-Free Vote in Kenya is Just One Hurdle on Long Road
Originally published in The National: After five days on tenterhooks, Kenyans breathed a collective sigh of relief on Saturday at the official announcement that Uhuru Kenyatta had won the presidency. Much of that relief stemmed from one simple fact: the country had made it through its first elections since 2007 without a return to violence. To […]
Posted in: The National
To Serve the Poorest Clients, Earned Income Isn’t Enough
January 29, 2013
Originally published on the Harvard Business Review blog, and co-authored with Matt Forti: The recent explosion of interest in impact investing has generated much talk about breaking the shackles of the traditional philanthropic model. The concept seems appealing — incremental investment enters the “social impact” market in the form of below-market loans or equity, incenting […]
Posted in: One Acre Fund
A Regional Lesson as U.S. Extends a Hand to Africa’s Farmers
December 4, 2012
Originally published in The National: When Barack Obama was running for US president in 2008, you could find Obama-chewing gum in Kenya, Obama fabric in Benin and a hit radio song about Mr Obama in Ghana. To say that Africans were enthusiastic about a possible president with Kenyan ties would be a serious understatement. Now, […]
Posted in: The National
Emerging Voices: Stephanie Hanson on Empowering Female Smallholder Farmers
November 27, 2012
Originally published on CFR.org: Emerging Voices features regular contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development challenges. This article is from Stephanie Hanson, director of policy and outreach at One Acre Fund. She explains the specific obstacles facing Africa’s female farmers and One Acre Fund’s model for addressing them. Meet […]
Posted in: CFR
Wars over Oil and Land Fuel Food Crisis in South Sudan
March 15, 2012
Originally published in The National: On January 28, South Sudan shut down oil production, the source of 98 per cent of the government’s revenue. Business people grew concerned about their investments in Juba, and diplomats worried about how the oil shutdown will affect the unstable relationship between Juba and Khartoum. Nearly two month later, oil […]
Posted in: The National
Energy for the Masses: Husk Power Helps Fuel India
January 9, 2012
Originally published in ecomagination: In Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, 85 percent of people are not connected to the electricity grid. Households use kerosene lamps when they can afford it, and businesses use expensive and dirty diesel generators. Some view this “energy poverty” as a development problem. Others view it as an […]
Posted in: Ecomagination
Full Steam Ahead: Kenya’s Geothermal Production Picks Up Speed
December 15, 2011
Originally published in ecomagination: “GDC Strikes Steam in Menengai,” exclaims the cover of this spring’s issue of Steam, the magazine of Kenya’s Geothermal Development Company. A column of steam spurts high into a deep blue sky in the cover photo—the geothermal industry’s equivalent of the black column that spurts from a successful oil well. But […]
Posted in: Ecomagination
Something to Get Steamed Up Over
December 4, 2011
Originally published in The National: NAIROBI // A recent conference in Nairobi, Kenya, was certainly a steamy affair. For that was the main topic of conversation – how much it costs to explore for steam, how new technologies have reduced the cost to produce it, and how much it could boost the economy of East […]
Posted in: The National
Piracy in West Africa
November 17, 2011
Originally published in The National: This year, global piracy has risen to its highest levels since the International Maritime Bureau first started recording attacks back in 1991. The majority of attention has focused on Somali pirates, who have successfully hijacked dozens of vessels in the Gulf of Aden, and are currently holding just under 200 […]
Posted in: The National
More Cash and Less Food Aid
August 24, 2011
Originally published in The National: As famine continues to devastate southern Somalia, much attention has been directed to its political causes – in particular, the Islamist group Al Shabaab. Parts of Kenya and Ethiopia have been equally affected by drought, and they are facing humanitarian emergencies, but southern Somalia is the only place to have […]
Posted in: The National
Stephanie Hanson 
March 11, 2013
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