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

At Agora Partnerships, Jesse works as Director of Marketing and Communications, helping to mold the language around the growing impact investing movement. Agora Partnerships works to fight poverty and increase human welfare by supporting a new generation of entrepreneurs committed to using business to solve the world’s most pressing social and environmental problems. With offices in Washington, DC and Managua, Nicaragua, Agora is a non-profit organization that works to bring investment and support to early-stage, high-growth businesses in Central America and Mexico.

At the core of Agora is the Accelerator Program. Over 20 businesses have participated in Agora’s Accelerator, which provides entrepreneurs with personalized consulting, mentors, leadership development, and the opportunity to pitch to impact investors from around the world. Through the Accelerator, Agora also provides support with the due diligence process and monitoring of investments.

After working on a variety of international development projects in Africa during his undergraduate studies ranging from educational initiatives to aid distribution, Jesse was hired as a marketing consultant for a small-business development project called Africa B2B that extended mid-range loans to companies in Uganda. Prior to starting at Agora, Jesse attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (journalism) where he started his on social media-focused music PR firm, MOB Social Media. He left his company in 2010 in order to apply his experience to the growing field of impact investing.

He Tweets from @AgoraPrtnrships.