morgan ash

Corporations in Liberia: Big Contracts, Not So Big Impact

morganash — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:43:50 +0000

The standard notion that large multinationals will generate large-scale employment creates a palpable excitement in Liberia. But jobs won’t occur through direct employment with those corporations. This is where Peace Dividend Trust comes in: helping to unleash the development -- and job creation -- power of Liberia’s private sector.

Maximizing Liberia’s Entrepreneurial Hustle

morganash — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:02:02 +0000

Seeing the private sector develop through the entrepreneurial hustle of individual Liberians – not the Liberian government or government aid agencies – is not only exceptionally impressive, but important in a country where support services for nascent businesses are mostly nonexistent.

Women working at the Liberian Women's Sewing Project in Monrovia. Photo from CNN

RAISING THE LEVEL

morganash — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:40:06 +0000

Why simple stories in the aid world sell but shouldn't.

HOW TO WEAN LIBERIA OFF AID: A Conversation with Todd Moss

morganash — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:23:03 +0000

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s goal of weaning Liberia off of international aid in ten years seems like a daunting task. So we sat down with to see how realistic her goal is.

GOING DUTCH IN AFGHANISTAN

morganash — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:01:30 +0000

Why the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s estimate that 97% of Afghanistan’s GDP is reliant upon military and donor aid is misleading, to say the least.

M-BANKING NEEDS TO E-MERGE

morganash — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:03:12 +0000

Mobile banking is no antidote to poverty. Having the ability to save money doesn’t help if you don’t have any money. But increasing access to the tools that help and encourage saving provides a much-needed financial framework for citizens of the developing world.

Côte d’Ivoire’s COCOA BAN BACKFIRES

morganash — Sun, 15 May 2011 21:25:34 +0000

There was good news out of the world’s biggest cocoa exporter, Côte d’Ivoire, this week. On Tuesday, a ship filled with cocoa beans harvested in the West African country left for Antwerp. It was the first ship to carry cocoa out of the country since the three and a half month ban on cocoa exports was lifted. While that is good news, that there was a ban at all is a point of concern. It has choked Côte d’Ivoire’s marketplace.

FOR MOTHER’S DAY, DON’T FORGET THE LUGNUT

morganash — Sun, 15 May 2011 21:02:03 +0000

Is selling Haitian artisans’ work at Macy’s smart aid?

LEVERAGING LIBERIA’S EXPATS

morganash — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 03:13:20 +0000

We recently discovered the Liberia Expat Google group, and we couldn’t be happier. It’s the perfect example of what PDT does but on a smaller scale. Think Yellow Pages meets Match.com.

GIRL POWER! SUCCESS STORIES FROM PDT

morganash — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 04:14:33 +0000

Today is International Women’s Day. At Peace Dividend Trust (PDT) we’re celebrating by showcasing the female entrepreneurs that we work with everyday.