This post is Part 2 of a five-part series on measuring Al Mokha's impact in Yemen.
Author conducting research for the IRC in Nyarugusu, Tanzania
In Part I, Anda wrote about the perils of trying to be a salesperson / academic, and how that duality plays out in the business: investors want to see sales growth whereas economists (me!) want to see real, measureable change in things like poverty levels, in coffee production, in anything we can quantify with data.
So we're working towards that. In this post, Part 2, I introduce myself and in parts III- V we tackle some tough questions.
Well, who am I? If you're here frequently you know Anda and you've heard mention of some of his advisors (as he spins tales of sinking all his time into a startup). I'm the nerdy PhD obsessed with data and development. I have a doctoral degree in economics. I spend most of my time reading and writing papers on violence against women and children and female labor force participation. I spend a lot of time thinking about very economist-y things like incentives.
Read More1 cow + 3 economists = Al Mokha
The Founder's Story: While I was a study-abroad student at Stockholm University I immersed myself in international development; and while serving in the U.S. Air Force I lived national security. Combining this background and armed with idealism and pragmatism, I stumbled upon Yemeni coffee by accident.
In 2007 my classmates and I almost bought a cow in Tanzania. We were Americans studying Public Policy in Sweden and had just
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