Jonathan Said Economic Development Specialist
As part of our 40th anniversary celebration, each month we profile past employees who started their careers in development at Imani Development. Meet Jonathan Said, an Economic Development Specialist. Jonathan works with African governments and international organisations on industrial policy implementation. After his ODI fellowship in Guyana, Jonathan joined Imani Malawi as a Senior Economist specialising in private sector development, industry, and trade.
For three years, Jonathan was seconded to Malawi’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, supporting the development and implementation of the country’s new national export strategy. This transformative project, among others, unlocked the soybean and groundnut value chains, driving significant growth and diversification from tobacco in Malawi. He also completed assignments for the EU, World Bank, DfID, USAID, WTO, UNDP and TradeMark Southern Africa.
After leaving Imani, Jonathan’s career continued to flourish taking on different roles at the Tony Blair Institute (TBI). Most recently he has partnered with Growth Teams, a new not-for-profit organization. Their mission is to assist governments in Africa and India, to attract value-adding investment, create jobs and accelerate inclusive economic growth.
In a recent interview with our Communications Officer, Jonathan shared insights of his time at Imani and its profound impact on his career. In his words;
“I learned a lot about the real-life challenges of government, the challenges that government face in facilitating private sector investment. A lot of the insights and learnings I had through my time at Imani, I have applied them in my work. One of the key learnings was the value of local knowledge and being plugged into global thinking……pursuing a bottom-up approach in economic development.”
Have a listen to his interview with Chido Myambo.