NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Emily Darko is a research officer in the Private Sector and Markets programme at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London. She works on a range of issues relating to how the private sector interacts with, promotes or constrains development. Recent work has addressed sustainable tourism, agricultural value chain analysis, rural livelihoods, impacts of energy supply on job creation, business incentives to support green growth, social enterprise and impact investment. Before joining ODI, she worked for a corporate engagement programme at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which promoted the use of built environment professionals in disaster risk reduction and recovery. Prior to that, she worked on trade and education issues for a local NGO in Accra, Ghana. Follow her on Twitter@emily_darko

William Avis is assistant to ODI’s Director of Research, Andrew Norton. Having completed his PhD at Sheffield University, William worked with Save the Children in the UK, PHRMG in the West Bank and the Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development in India. His research interests include identity and conflict, globalisation and political voice.