Updated Weekly Over the last few weeks, we have seen many think-tanks, consultancies and experts sharing information around COVID19 cases in Asia, Europe and the United States. But what about the [...]

Chinese military medical personnel attending a patient at a hospital in Freetown during the height of the Ebola crisis in Liberia in December 2014. Photo via Xinhua. Over the last few weeks, we [...]

File photo, Kenyan nurse Lucy Kanyi demonstrates to media the facilities and protective equipment to be used to isolate and treat coronavirus cases, at the infectious disease unit of Kenyatta [...]

A woman wearing mask and gloves at Tunisia Airport Photo Credit: REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi There are only a few cases of Coronavirus reported in Africa, but history shows us that this is to be [...]

A security personnel wearing protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly SARS-like virus which originated in the central city of Wuhan is seen at the entrance of subway station in [...]

The decision whether to evacuate their citizens from China is just the first hurdle for African countries amid the outbreak To evacuate or not to evacuate. That is the question. African [...]

This week, the United Kingdom held the UK-Africa Investment Summit, whereby the country committed to strengthening its economic partnerships with African nations and announced commitments to [...]

President Jin Liqun, President Ahmed, Distinguished leaders, guests, ladies and gentlemen, It is an absolute honor to welcome you all to this conference. Thank you in particular to those who have [...]

The Development Reimagined Infographic series explores which countries are and aren’t signed up to China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative Announced in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping, The [...]

Hannah Ryder, CEO Development Reimagined explores how one village in China, that initially grew just one crop, has cut poverty in just a decade… but will it last? Can the same be done elsewhere? [...]

Good afternoon everyone. The title of the keynote I’ve been asked to give to you today is “caught in between the West vs China – can Africa rise to the play?” The way I interpret this is how [...]

Development Reimagined’s infographic series Trade is always changing. It’s a fact of life. According to economic theory, there will always be some countries or areas that have advantages – cost [...]

Development Reimagined’s infographic series With the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) kicking off, all eyes are on China to understand more about the far- reaching Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) [...]

One of the greatest aspects of being a parent is having your child question the way you look at the world. Even more so bringing up a child in Beijing, where toys, for instance, are designed with [...]

This year I got a great, albeit unusual Christmas present. On Christmas Day, my company, Development Reimagined – the first Kenyan Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise in Beijing – was [...]

Today marks the annual ‘World AIDS Day’, and therefore also marks a perfect time to reflect on a series of projects that Development Reimagined delivered for UNAIDS China this year in a bid to [...]

African countries are seeking to industrialize. From Addis Ababa to Dakar, Cape Town to Cairo, the impetus to manufacture is now a priority for much of the continent. As the President of the [...]

The African continent is home to 16% of the world’s population and 19% of its youth. We often hear the negative side of this – with young people making up 60% of unemployed Africans, with [...]

Having kept the meeting date hush-hush until just two weeks ago, governments across the African continent are preparing their final briefings and security plans for the seventh Forum on China [...]

Anyone working in development now knows these days that manufacturing, or industrialization is central to the majority of African countries these days.  Here at Development Reimagined, we [...]

When we advise Chinese companies going abroad, especially to African countries, one of the first questions they ask is: “Is the country stable?”.  We in Development Reimagined know that by [...]

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning! It is my honor to be here today, I am the CEO of an international development consultancy called Rui Na Xin (Development Reimagined), and [...]

Good afternoon distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you so much to Kente and Silk for organising this event, China-Africa Stories, and for the kind invitation to speak today. I must [...]

A Kenyan saying goes, “When two elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers”. News headlines over the past few weeks have been dominated by two “elephants”, the US and China, and what looks like [...]

Thank you so much for the honour and invitation to give the dinner speech today. This is my third year of joining the Yenching symposium in as many years of being in China, and as always it is [...]

Whether you see it as taking place at the beginning of the calendar year or at the end of the Chinese year, the now annual visit by the Chinese Foreign Minister to the African continent is a [...]

The American President’s comment on “shithole” countries may have shocked the world but it is not the first time I have been made to feel that the African continent is viewed [...]

Ask anyone with a basic knowledge of Africa which country is more poised for success – Zimbabwe or Kenya – and he or she will undoubtedly answer “Kenya.” Events of the last week would seem to [...]

Here in China it’s been impossible to miss the fact that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is celebrating its 90th anniversary this week. There’s been a grand parade, numerous [...]

A few months ago, a New York Times magazine cover was emblazoned with the question “Is China the World’s New Colonial Power?” The notion that China is a twenty-first-century colonizer is not new: [...]

Creating jobs and entrepreneurs is key for sustainable development; At least three ways China can use the Belt and Road Initiaitve to create jobs and entrepreneurs across the world; China’s [...]

As a small child growing up in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, our annual family holiday to the beautiful beaches of Mombasa always began and ended with a degree of trepidation.  My sister and I [...]

In Beijing, today is the annual deadline every dog owner dreads – registration time. As this handy guide sets out, if owners don’t register their dogs by the end of May, the dogs risk being taken [...]

Living in China, it’s been impossible to miss the country’s first ever Belt and Road Forum (BRF). The forum concluded on Monday, with outputs including a detailed declaration and numerous — [...]

I remember the day I noticed mo-bikes, the new shared bikes that have literally taken over several cities in China. They had this attractive bright orange design, and I would spot them parked in [...]

尊敬的各位来宾，女士们, 先生们, 大家下午好！Wanawake  na mabwana, Habari zenu! Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is a real pleasure to be here today to open this first ever award ceremony aiming to both [...]

One of the most cited statistics about China may well be the number of Chinese who have been lifted out of poverty over the last 35 years. At over 800 million, it is a huge number – and an [...]

“Pursuing protectionism is like locking oneself in a dark room” was one of the many memorable quotations from President Xi Jinping’s historic speech at the World Economic Forum [...]

There is no doubt that relations between China and African countries are becoming ever more intertwined and important. In what has now become an annual tradition to visit Africa as a priority [...]

The beginning of the year – Western or Chinese – always means its resolution time. For the year of the rooster, I’ve been toying with the idea of trying to cut my social media [...]

As part of my preparation to return to work early next year, I have recently started the search for someone to look after my son full-time during the day. Being in Beijing, I don’t have the [...]

I’ve recently discovered that my 5 month-old son is quite sensitive to cold. As temperatures have dipped in Beijing, he, my husband and I have therefore had two weeks of sleepless nights. [...]

There’s a song by one of my favourite RnB artists Usher, called “You remind me“. In it, Usher tells a new girlfriend that she’s like a previous girlfriend that he [...]

Late last year and early this year African heads of state and Government leaders gathered together at two key events. The first was the 6th summit of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation [...]

Most women, if and when they can, love visiting the hairdresser, especially if the results are good. It’s usually a time to get pampered, and also get an update on the latest styles and [...]

I’ve recently celebrated my first anniversary of working in China, and I can wholeheartedly say it has been fantastic so far. In particular I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by supportive [...]

June is always a busy month for my family, as three of us have a birthday in the space of two weeks. Father’s day also takes place in June, and it’s also my husband and my wedding anniversary. [...]

Before I arrived in Beijing, many friends warned me about one major issue: air pollution. They – and articles such as this in the UK’s Guardian newspaper  – warned me so much that I [...]

As a relative newcomer to China, I do my best to read as much as I can of other people’s perspectives about China. One magazine I often enjoy is “World of Chinese”, a bi-monthly publication, [...]

Just a few weeks ago, my sister got married. The wedding was beautiful, her husband is an absolutely wonderful man from Uganda, and my two other sisters and I were bridesmaids. But there was one [...]

Throughout my career, I’ve worked in large organisations. And every single large organisation – from highly profitable businesses to multilateral institutions – goes through [...]

This month, I had my first visitor to Beijing. My mother-in-law joined me for ten days. Luckily enough, we get on very well, so we had a great time. I prepared a packed itinerary covering her two [...]

Africa isn’t a country. It’s an obvious statement but a while back, even American Vice President Joe Bidden forgot it when he said: “There’s no reason the nation of Africa cannot and should [...]

I’m entering into my fourth week here in Beijing, and one of the experiments I tried last weekend was to order a takeaway. I was tired from a very hectic week of meetings – that was my excuse [...]

A few days ago I arrived in Beijing to begin a new job as deputy country director for UNDP China. In this job, I’ll be heading a team that advises the Chinese government and other Chinese [...]

A couple of days ago, I had coffee with a friend and ended up talking about my move from London to Glasgow, just over a year and a half ago. I told my friend that when I first moved, I started [...]

One of the things I love about my job is getting to meet people from all over the world. Just recently, I had the opportunity to meet a bunch of officials from Saudi Arabia. They were in charge [...]

Chinese and African construction teams work together on a development project in Angola. Picutre: Dieter Telemans/Panos Anyone following my Twitter account will have noticed that I’ve [...]

A couple of weekends ago, the Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang made his first ever trip to Africa, visiting Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Kenya. This was a significant date. 50 years ago, the [...]

My primary school had some quite strong incentives to drive up performance. Every end of term, our teachers would test us and rank my classmates and I against each other. It was the extremes that [...]

I sometimes worry that I work too hard. This is the third valentine’s date with my husband that I’ve missed because of working abroad. I’m currently in Nigeria for the fifth [...]

In January, I always enjoy reading the Economist’s World In Year X publication – which sets out their forecasts for big headlines under a number of categories. What I particularly like is [...]

During my teenage years, I had a good number of friends who were determined to be DJs. Personally, I was never very excited by DJ’ing, mostly because I found it rather difficult to a) find [...]

About 4 months ago, I found out that a second cousin of mine who lives in Kenya, a beautiful sweet 5-year-old girl called Blessing, had been having problems walking. Her problems had become so [...]

A boy stands by a WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) programme sign, outside the village of Tshibashi, Kasai Occidental, DRC. Picture: Stephanie Dunga/DFID. When I was a teenager, I lived in [...]

Here in the UK, according to national statistics (PDF 2.44MB) the government spends an average of £8,745 on each person per year providing services. But if you live in a lower middle-income [...]

As a bride-to-be, I remember having quite a few conversations about whether to change my surname after marriage. Apparently, grooms have been increasingly considering this question too. The pros [...]

If you’ve ever watched the seminal British comedy Yes, Minister, you’ll know that “technical” and “bureaucratic” are 2 words often associated with civil servants. [...]

This year I’ve been lucky enough to be one of the Guardian’s International Development Journalism Competition judges, which means I have had my first insight into what it is like to [...]

The coverage of the Tax, Transparency and Trade “Three T’s” agenda for the G8 over the past few days has been excellent. On my twitter feed I’ve seen many commentators, [...]

I have to travel a lot for my work, and over time I have refined my packing to be as compact as possible.  I’m particularly proud of a small see-through plastic zip-up toiletries bag, which [...]

A good friend of mine has started advertising her flat on Airbnb, a website that allows anyone that has a spare bedroom, owns a second property, or just want to rent their place out while they [...]

Did you know that Wikipedia had several predecessors? According to this article, there were plenty, but one of the main reasons they didn’t become as well known was because they [...]

A recent experience brought to life for me some of the issues facing developing countries trying to improve tax collection. I have lots of family in Kenya, and a few days ago, my dad received the [...]

A few months ago, DFID’s Secretary of State Justine Greening announced the beginning of a new, non-aid based relationship with India focused on trade and the private sector. Around the same [...]

A few weeks ago I went to see the new James Bond film Sky Fall. Without giving away too much, at one point in the film James Bond goes to a remote part of the UK. The area is portrayed as far [...]

Happy New Year to all my DFID friends and blog readers! Traditionally, the new year is a time for making new resolutions. Go on that new diet, start that exercise regime, enrol in that evening [...]

The world is definitely changing. The song “Gangnam Style“, made in Korea and sung in Korean, has gone to number 1 in the UK, number 2 in the US, and has broken the record for being [...]

About a year ago, I experienced one of the hardest working days of my life. It was the first day I chaired a meeting of a new 20-ish person taskforce on green growth and poverty reduction. It [...]

It might be over a month away, but my husband and I have already begun to think about the Christmas and New Year holidays here in the UK. In particular, it looks like lots of my family are likely [...]

Economists have a reputation for being sceptical. So much so that there is a book called the Skeptical Economist, and a new book referring to economics as the dismal science. This has a lot to do [...]

Over the past couple of weeks, two big changes have happened in my life. First, one of my sisters has moved to Glasgow from London with her little baby girl. So I’ve become a very busy [...]

Last week, there was a great quotation doing the rounds on Twitter, Pinterest and other social media from the Mayor of Bogota in Colombia.  The quotation was “A developed country is not a [...]

Every morning for the past three months, I’ve been saying a little mantra to myself when I wake up: “I am a marathoner”. I’ve been training for my first marathon and ten [...]

My alarm goes off at 6.15am. I hit the snooze button and realise I’ve been dreaming about work. I must be nervous. Not surprised really. Today’s going to be busy, despite the fact [...]

Sometimes, it seems like we are constantly under pressure to “pitch”. Whether it’s planning your two minute “elevator pitch” for the momentous day you meet your role [...]

I’ve always been a fan of birthdays. Mine falls on June 20th. Last year, I had a wonderful celebration. It wasn’t just because of the presents – I got to spend the weekend in [...]

Winning is great, but is it OK to talk about losing as well? Picture: Marcos Villalta/Save the Children A few days ago I was in a meeting with colleagues from a number of organisations and [...]

It’s Climate Week in the UK, and I’ve been busy working with several enthusiastic colleagues to organise photo exhibits, seminars and leaflets for DFID staff to better understand [...]

It’s the beginning of a new month, and I’ve just celebrated my 1st anniversary of blogging and tweeting about my work in DFID. I have to say I have really enjoyed it so far. [...]

The end of the year is always a time for reflecting on what has gone well and hasn’t: 2011 has been my first full year at DFID, working on the topic of green growth – one of the hottest [...]

The phrase “the benefit of hindsight” has been ringing in my ears as I’ve been reading the reports from the close of the Durban climate negotiations late on Saturday night. In [...]

Over the past few weeks, and as I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ve been continuing to help the DFID team in Ethiopia design an exciting new programme focused on supporting new small [...]

A few years ago, my grandparents came to visit my husband and me in London. It was a Sunday, so we welcomed them with a lovely, organic roast chicken. Unfortunately, it didn’t go down too well, [...]

A friend of mine has been raving to me about a new iphone app called Instagram. Instagram is a service that allows you to “pretty” up your photos and share them with millions of [...]

Did you participate in Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project last week?  I wasn’t able to because I was working in Ethiopia (my next post will tell you why), so I’ve been reading up on [...]

A few days ago, a report by the UK’s Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), declared that over 5,000 women were missing from the top jobs in the UK. If you’re a development economist, you [...]

I don’t know about you but I always dread “that time of the year” when I have to revise all my contracts – home insurance, energy, water, and so on.  I dread it so much that I usually stick to [...]

On my first day as a civil servant, my new boss asked, “So, Hannah, what would you say are the three key concepts in economics?”  I was tongue-tied – it felt like a trick question. What three [...]

Ok so I admit that’s a provocative title. But in many countries taking action on the two c-words “climate change” just isn’t a key priority. There are, perhaps, good reasons for this. A lot of [...]

“Green growth” is en vogue in the development and international affairs world. The Republic of Korea has created a new Global Green Growth Institute, and a major UN Summit to be held [...]

As a development economist, I’m itching to read Poor Economics, the new book by the amazing Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee. Unfortunately, it’s not yet widely available in UK bookshops. [...]

Most week days, I wake up at around 6.30am to go for a run, do some yoga or go to the gym. It makes me feel alive and ready for the day, and I am usually more productive and focused at work as a [...]

Yesterday, I played a “disaster game”. It was part of an event organised by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), which has brought together development practitioners, [...]

I live in Scotland.  A lot of people are often surprised at that.  They’re also often surprised to hear that DFID has a large office in Scotland, just on the outskirts of Glasgow.  From my desk [...]

I’ve just finished reading “When a Billion Chinese Jump” by Jonathan Watts. It took me a while – it’s a pretty huge book, with copious notes to flick back and forth to. But I am [...]

It’s a big week of change for DFID this week. Despite apparently being in the “sexiest” department in Whitehall (according to the London Evening Standard at least!) we’re [...]

Valentine’s day, and yet another excuse to apply economics to daily life – yes you guessed it, a book called “Spousonomics“. But despite my love of all-things-economics, this [...]

One of last week’s editions of the Financial Times featured an article by John Kay, a top UK economist, saying that “clarity of thought and clarity of expression tend to go [...]

I’ve been working with two of our Asian country offices this week – Vietnam and Indonesia – helping them focus their programmes on low-carbon and climate-resilient growth. Travelling back [...]

I’ve been a Senior Economist in DFID for just over a month. Many friends and colleagues are excited about my new role…even people I don’t know that well. My first challenge has been giving a [...]