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Gina Joseph MPA/ID / MIT Sloan MBA 2023

Where did you work this summer?

What was your title?

Summer Associate

Who was your supervisor?

Jane Von Rabenau MPA/ID 2019, Founder and CEO of Siklus

Did you work on site or remotely? Where?

Initially on site in the Jakarta, Indonesia office for a few weeks, but we went remote when the country went into lockdown. I stayed in Indonesia and worked remotely from there.

What did you work on?

I redid Siklus's financial model to reflect their new focus on mobile delivery and customer growth as the main revenue driver. I also conducted a cohort analysis to analyze the retention rate of customers through time, analyzed the order pattern history of customers by demographic, created an Excel model to calculate the amount of plastic saved and money saved for customers based on sales inputs, and created a deck detailing Siklus's five-year growth strategy for investors.

What was challenging?

It was challenging taking on such a variety of roles given that Siklus is a startup and everyone has to be ready and willing to do everything. No one is siloed into one role.

What was surprising?

I was surprised at how incredibly talented, humble, and fun my fellow colleagues were, especially given how young they all were!

What was fun?

It was really fun trying on different hats and utilizing different skillsets than I'm used to. I also loved how exciting it was for the team and myself when Siklus hit different milestones. I had never worked at such a fast-growing company before, so it was really amazing to see everything happening so quickly! It was also really cool that my work actually made a significant impact on the company's direction because at earlier stage companies, even the smallest projects can make such a big difference. Finally, it was so incredible to be able to contribute toward Siklus's mission to reduce plastic waste in Indonesia while saving money for low-income Indonesians.

What are you looking forward to the most this fall?

I'm really looking forward to further developing some of the skills I tried out at my internship such as building a strong financial model and forecasting the revenue and other financials of a company. I'd also love to take classes in business strategy and competitive advantages to learn how to most efficiently grow companies like Siklus and carve out new markets.

Diego Lestani MPA/ID 2021 (Flex Option)

Where did you work this summer?

, a rapidly growing digital microfinance institution (MFI) in East Africa focused on serving micro-and small businesses (MSBs). Thanks to their proprietary technology and credit processes, they provide growth and working capital to verified MSBs, resulting in high portfolio yields and a high impact on our borrowers’ livelihoods.

Through the Numida mobile app, small business owners can apply for convenient and unsecured short-term business loans by digitally submitting evidence of business ownership and business activity. A proprietary due diligence process, combining machine validation and human review, allows a first lending decision to be made in less than 72 hours. The principal is disbursed digitally via mobile money. Their borrowers then begin reporting their daily financials (sales, expenses, stock purchases) while paying off their loan and tracking their next loan limit. Most subsequent loans are disbursed automatically.

What was your title?

Data Scientist

Who was your supervisor?

Catherine Denis MPA/ID 2014, Chief Operations Officer

Did you work on site or remotely? Where?

I have been lucky enough to intern with Numida twice. In summer 2020, I worked remotely from Boston. And in summer 2021, I worked in-person from Kampala, Uganda. Even though I am part of the ����vlog���� Class of 2021, thanks to the “Flex Option” I decided to stay one extra semester at school and finish in December 2021 rather than May 2021. This allowed me to intern twice and be able to have the in-person experience.

What did you work on?

In summer 2020, I worked on a project with other two people at Numida, and we built a proprietary credit score to evaluate the credit risk of loan applicants. In summer 2021, I worked with the product team designing, executing, and evaluating an experiment to increase the company’s approval rate reducing some requisites in the usual due diligence process. The objective was to expand Numida’s portfolio and its impact on small businesses while keeping credit risk under control.

What was challenging?

The first internship presented the usual challenges of remote work. During my second internship, a lockdown was imposed in Kampala for some weeks, and I had to work from home during that period. Fortunately, I had enough time to have an in-person experience and we are more trained now on how to tackle volatile conditions that the COVID-19 pandemic imposed on our lives.

In terms of work, the nature of Numida’s unique business model imposed many challenges in assessing applicants’ default risk. It was challenging to balance the objective of financial inclusion while also making the business sustainable.

What was surprising?

I was impressed by the amount of vegetation in Uganda. Everywhere you look you see lots of green.

What was fun?

Ugandan people are friendly and laid back. I got the chance to meet them at the office and outside the office on a few occasions. I loved doing simple things such as grabbing my helmet and riding a boda boda (motorbike taxi) and seeing Kampala’s hills and valleys. I was lucky enough to travel around the country and was impressed by its beauty.

What are you looking forward to the most this fall?

My cohort was deeply affected by the pandemic. I hope the “Flex Option” gives us the opportunity to have one more semester of in-person classes, enjoy being on campus, and participate in exciting events that happen at the Forum.

Nico Maffey MPA/ID 2022

Where did you work this summer?

What was your title?

Professional Fellow

Who was your supervisor?

Sandy Naranjo MPA/ID 2014, CEO and Co-Founder
Read Sandy's blog post about using .

Did you work on site or remotely? Where?

Remotely from home in Argentina

What did you work on?

My work with BetterGovs focused on understanding and designing solutions to the challenges that government leaders often face in implementing public policy.

In the MPA/ID Program, we are taught that for public policies to be successful, they must meet the essential trinity: be technically correct, administratively feasible, and politically supportable. While most public servants focus primarily on the first criterion, they often struggle with the last two. During my internship, I worked closely with the CEO on finding methods that government leaders can adopt to carry policy to fruition. As a former government employee, I realized that no matter the rank, we can be truly transformational in affecting change from within. I am honored that by empowering public sector leaders I got to assist governments around the world carry their policies to fruition. 

CEO Sandy Naranjo Bautista—who is MPA/ID 2014—also really trusted my vision on how to refine BetterGovs' vision and strategy. I have significant experience with startups and social enterprises, so I was able to work with her on identifying ways in which we could maximize our own impact; for instance, by improving our business model, expanding our network, and engaging with our target audience.

What was challenging?

BetterGovs's mission is unapologetically ambitious. Anyone with a basic understanding of how governments work knows that implementing public policy is incredibly complex and dependent on several—and often unpredictable—variables. For instance, when you think about a bill achieving its intended effect, you can't just worry about the technical aspects; bills are subject to political influences, outside and within the sponsoring party, they have to withstand the influence of lobbyists, and then even if they pass as intended, still have to be assigned adequate resources, implemented within a specific timeline, enforced by the right government structures, etc. I firmly believe the downstream aspects of policy implementation are the most challenging ones and that's exactly what we are trying to tackle with BetterGovs. 

Specifically in my experience, designing tools that can be impactful but realistic was very challenging. But I relied largely on the public sector leaders that I connected with thanks to BetterGovs to draw from their as well as my own experience to guide our work.

What was surprising?

It's shocking how few organizations exist to empower public sector leaders. When you think about it, we expect public sector leaders to navigate largely bureaucratic organizations, lacking resources, and usually for a less competitive compensation, without giving them any support. In the private sector, on the other hand, executives often have leadership training, coaching, mentorship resources, among others, and invariably are more motivated and supported to excel. It's unclear why most governments demand just as much if not more from their employees as the private sector, yet often fail to provide them with the necessary resources. With that gap in mind, I was surprised by how unique and original our work is. I couldn't really tell of an organization that is working on these same issues other than BetterGovs.

What was fun?

Despite being so young, Sandy, our CEO, is incredibly accomplished. She served as Vice-President and Minister of Tourism of Ecuador. Working directly with her was an incredible learning opportunity for me. I know that at some point I want to return to the public sector, and she gave me the trust and support that I needed to continue growing as a leader. Just hearing about her own personal experiences and how she got to where she is today has been fascinating.

What are you looking forward to the most this fall?

I am particularly interested in the challenges that governments face with regard to technology and digital transformation. We live in very exciting times with regard to technology, and how it is impacting our daily lives, from how we get educated, interact with the health system, pay for things, and communicate, among others. I think governments have tremendous power—and consequent responsibility—in shaping how new technologies impact citizens, so I hope to use my fall delving deeper into the private-public intersection in technology. Further, I am really excited about my own entrepreneurial experience, and hope to apply everything I learned this summer as I helped grow BetterGovs.

Matías Muñoz Arredondo MPA/ID 2022

Where did you work this summer?

What was your title?

Consultant

Did you work on site or remotely? Where?

I worked remotely in Santiago, Chile.

What did you work on?

In this internship, I analyzed the macroeconomic and financial conditions of emerging economies, Chile especially, to determine how vulnerable these economies are in a scenario in which the Fed begins to normalize its monetary policy. 

I also participated in refining the Chilean Green Bonds Issuances Framework, Allocation Report and Environmental Impact Report. I researched international experience on thematic bonds from development economies and international corporations such as International Finance Corporation, IDB Invest, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development among others.

What was been challenging?

Chile is the first Latin American country to issue green bonds in international markets; the first green bond was issued in 2019. Given the challenges of climate change globally and the Chilean Ministry of Finance’s objectives to promote green projects to encourage international investment, it was challenging to develop improvement recommendations since thematic bonds research (green, social, and sustainable bonds) is relatively new; however, at the same time, the issuance of these bonds are on the rise. Not many countries have issued this type of bonds (for example, the United Kingdom entered this market this year).

What was surprising?

I was very surprised with the quality of financial economists working at the Ministry of Finance. I learned a lot from them.

What was fun?

It was fun to share experiences with the international finance team. I found complementarities when I talked about my work as a former central banker and listened their experiences working in fiscal policy. There’s no doubt knowing the basis of fiscal policy, sustainable economics, and monetary policy experiences are essential for the development future leaders in macroeconomics.

What are you looking forward to the most this fall?

I look forward to learning more about sustainable finance and economics for development. These are challenging and interesting topics that I truly believe will become more important in the future.

 Gopal Nadadur MPA/ID 2022

Where did you work this summer?

What was your title?

Intern, Industry Vertical and Economics & Finance Cell

Did you work on site or remotely? Where?

Remotely, although I was able to spend a couple of weeks in the office in New Delhi during a personal visit back to India.

What did you work on?

The ultimate objective of my work and my reason for coming to ����vlog���� was to accelerate the creation of low-skills labor jobs, i.e., “blue collar” jobs. For a variety of reasons, countries like India have a limited window of opportunity to create substantially more of these jobs and thereby provide a pathway out of poverty and poverty-induced suffering and death for hundreds of millions of people. 

To this end, leadership of NITI Aayog's Industry Vertical and Economics & Finance Cell asked me to help identify manufacturing industries that have the highest potential for job creation, and begin to explore if international trade can play a role in the growth of these industries. The 10-week internship was scheduled to end August 2021; however, I was honored and grateful to have been asked to continue supporting NITI Aayog's teams to further develop my final internship deliverables. Going forward, the findings of this work will inform assessments of existing policies and the development of future policies aimed at growing India's manufacturing sector.

What was challenging?

Making progress despite being remote. Especially in government, it is usually difficult to build relationships with key decision-makers, obtain the required information, and move analyses forward without being in-person. It was difficult at times to advance on my projects as quickly and intensively as I could have if this internship had been in-person. There was a stark difference in pace and intensity of work when I was able to spend a little time in the NITI Aayog office during a personal visit back home to India. 

It was also challenging to understand, engage, and hopefully change pre-conceived notions. Based on their vast, hands-on experience and plentiful anecdotal evidence, some policymakers may have already assumed certain results from my analysis and may have been surprised by my findings. Once again, being remote made it harder to understand these preconceived notions and thereby have the awareness needed to engage most constructively with these policymakers. 

As in many public policy analyses, it was a challenge to get a sense of what kinds of data were available and potentially accessible versus available and not accessible versus simply unavailable, and to get access to available data. This involved an often-painstaking process of going from “not knowing what I didn't know” to “knowing what I didn't know.” I was grateful for the time and guidance I received from my internship supervisors in this regard.

What was surprising?

The amount of time and effort NITI Aayog's leadership put into structuring and guiding my work. I am deeply grateful for their support.

What was fun?

So many things! Being thrown headfirst into areas of policymaking where I had very little prior experience was certainly fun. I enjoyed being in “sink or swim” situations, so I thoroughly appreciated this experience and the high stakes involved. It was also fun to have a chance to finally meet leadership and colleagues and get to know them a bit better over lunches and cups of chai tea.

What are you looking forward to the most this fall?

 I can't wait to more fully experience the Kennedy School atmosphere: meeting more faculty and fellow students, having organic conversations around the building, and feeling more plugged in to the research centers, clubs, and other activities the school has to offer. 

I am delighted to continue my work with NITI Aayog and am excited to be able to better seek guidance from faculty members at the Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School. 

I am also honored and excited to be a co-chair for the 2022 India Conference at Harvard. I’m looking forward to working with my fellow co-chairs to build the conference team and together planning a vibrant and enriching conference.

Kimberly Poff MPA/ID 2022

Where did you work this summer?

Office of Development Programs and Coordination,

What was your title?

Intern

Did you work on site or remotely? Where?

On site in Tirana, Albania

What did you work on?

I worked on programs related to EU and Albanian initiatives in the “Blue” Economy, which encompasses marine- and oceanic-based economic growth, social inclusion programs, municipal capacity development, gender inclusion, innovation and technology development, and waste management. I was included anywhere they needed me—so there were a lot of opportunities!

What was challenging?

The Albanian language was a challenge. All of my co-workers spoke English and any collaboration or correspondence with people from other countries was in English. But many internal meetings were in Albanian, which I didn't have time to learn before coming. Even once in-country, I found the language to be a challenge and feel I missed out on some of the more casual aspects of being in an office.

What was surprising?

All of the ways different—especially lesser known—development agencies or industry groups can work together with country governments to spur economic and social development. Much of my time was spent looking at the initiatives of trade groups in tourism or tech in other western Balkan countries to understand how they had better formalized and grown their sectors.

What was fun?

I LOVED getting to know Albania. It's a beautiful country full of friendly people. I was also able to travel to Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, and Greece. Traveling had some challenges (and a lot of different currencies), but I enjoyed my time so much that I will look for other opportunities in eastern Europe after graduation.

What are you looking forward to the most this fall?

I'm really looking forward to getting to take electives. The MPA/ID core doesn't allow for a lot of extra classes in the first year, so getting to focus more specifically on my interests this year is exciting.

Beatriz Vasconcellos de Araújo MPA/ID 2022

Where did you work this summer?

What was your title?

Summer Fellow in Nashua, New Hampshire

Did you work on site or remotely? Where?

I worked on site for two weeks and eight weeks remotely. I was in Nashua, New Hampshire.

What did you work on?

I worked on increasing community engagement in the participatory budgeting process in Nashua’s Tree Streets neighborhood, which has the lowest human development index in New Hampshire and a large Latino population. The idea was to use participatory budgeting as a way for city government to get closer to the community, residents, and local organizations. My role was to connect with local leaders, get them involved and support them with materials, promote the idea collection phase, and get as many people as possible to submit ideas. As I learned about local issues, I was constantly sharing those insights with the mayor's office and trying to act on some.

What was challenging?

The city has had a long struggle connecting with residents in this neighborhood. I heard from several residents they feel intimidated in City Hall, face language barriers, and sometimes lack faith in city initiatives. First, the challenge was to approach residents and local leaders in an empathetic way and connect with them. But the challenge that followed was to keep these relationships and stay connected while I worked remotely. I learned this required trust and consistency, so I reported back to residents about the feedback they gave me and nurtured relationships. I am now convinced there are five sequential elements that are essential to carry out effective public policy and develop underserved areas: empathy, personal connection, physical presence, consistency, and trust. These can never be achieved by only looking at data or designing public policies from our offices.

What was surprising?

It surprised me how fast I was able to connect with local residents by going to where they are, speaking in Portuguese and Spanish, and listening. I learned about issues City Hall wasn't aware of, including how food insecurity in their neighborhood is linked to insufficient public transportation and a two-bag limit on the bus. I brought this insight back to City Hall and they immediately started brainstorming solutions and interacting with residents who know the issue well.

What was fun?

The process was incredibly fun! In one week, I was introduced to all of the Latino restaurants in the area, ate empanadas every day, went to a block party, and even made my way on to a local radio show. Friends helped me add posters in bus stops and came to the block party with me.

What are you looking forward to the most this fall?

I look forward to continuing to learn about inclusive economic development and contributing to city initiatives. And I can't wait to be back on campus with friends and faculty, and really hope we can return to the libraries, my favorite places on campus.