Empowering Africa: Esther Mpagalile's Journey in Inclusive Growth and Development

Meet Esther Mpagalile, Inclusive Growth Analyst at the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa. Learn about her journey marked by a commitment to serve her continent and transforming approaches to poverty and development from the bottom-up.

January 13, 2025
a person standing in front of a flower

Esther Mpagalile, Inclusive Growth Analyst: Social Protection and Multidimensional Poverty, Inclusive Growth Team, UNDP/RSCA

©UNDP

Retrospectively, my journey to the UN started early on in my childhood. When I was in 7th grade, my father got the opportunity to work with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), upon which we relocated from Tanzania - my home country - to Italy. Though young at this time, I was not too young to recognize the stark contrast in living standards between these two countries. I had always been curious about my father’s work in the UN, and so it was to no surprise that a few semesters into my university studies, I found myself inside the UN as well, as I interned for UNAIDS in Ghana. It was all this exposure to different countries and to the global development arena that instilled in me a strong determination to go back to the continent of Africa, which I call home, and make a difference.

Championing Inclusive Growth: A Focus on Social Protection and Poverty Reduction

Right after I finished my Master’s Degree in Emerging Economies and International Development from King's College London, an opportunity to pursue exactly this dream presented itself to me, as I discovered the African Young Women Leaders (AFYWL) Fellowship Programme. The AfYWL is designed to empower a new generation of young African women leaders to play a key role in the design and implementation of development programmes in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2063 laid out by the African Union. I saw this as the ideal platform to serve not only my country but also my continent, so I courageously decided to apply, regardless of the uncertainty ahead. As a result of a leap of faith, I was successful in my application, and joined UNDP as an AfYWL Fellow. For one year, based in UNDP's Regional Service Centre for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I was able to deep-dive into a variety of thematic fields within UNDP’s work on inclusive growth, including poverty metrics, SDG integration, trade, and social protection, setting me up for my current role as an inclusive growth analyst. 

As an Inclusive Growth Analyst, I continue to work with all the above areas, specializing in social protection. While countries across Africa have experienced accelerated economic growth over the last decade, this has not been to the benefit of everyone, with high levels of poverty and inequality continuing to persist. For that reason, our work in the inclusive team is dedicated to ensuring that nobody gets left behind in this trajectory of growth. 

While my work is varied and diverse, it is guided by the dedication to develop solutions that are context specific, rather than importing and prescribing development solutions in a one-size-fits-all manner. Solutions presuppose problems, and therefore, our approach focuses on a deeper investigation of the problems we deem to solve through bottom-up, local approaches. Everybody is probably familiar with universal measures for poverty such as the absolute poverty line. Yet, such metrics often obscure the complexities of poverty. Against this backdrop, the Human Development Report Office (HDRO), UNDP, and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford have come up with a new and innovative approach to measure poverty, the annual global Multidimensional Poverty Index, which is published annually since 2010. It measures poverty beyond monetary factors by assessing interlinked deprivations in health, education and standard of living that directly affect a person’s life and wellbeing, using data from more than 100 countries and 1,200 subnational regions. An initiative to measure poverty as a lived experience and tell a story of poverty that is situated, comprehensive, and narrated by those who are most affected by it, the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index has been a milestone in global development.

a group of people sitting at a table

Learning to be a 21st century leader through service, collaboration and positive-thinking at the AfYWL Cohort 2 Leadership Training in Kigali, Rwanda.

©UNDP RBA

The Local Multidimensional Poverty Index: Tailoring Solutions to Africa's Needs

My team is now working on developing an integrated and local multidimensional poverty index (LMPI) for the African continent. Learning  from the Multidimensional Poverty Index , the LMPI focuses on measuring poverty at the lowest localities where poverty is persistent, with the specific goal of measuring poverty in a way that empowers the voices of those who experience it. This index addresses region-specific poverty issues, delves into local patterns and trends, and it is based on expanding Global MPI indicators and dimensions to include those that are more relevant to the African context. As numbers alone cannot capture the full picture of multidimensional poverty in Africa, we also incorporate qualitative and participatory approaches that capture and empower the voices of those living in poverty. So far, we have been working with four different African countries on this, namely Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia, but we are hoping to eventually collaborate with the entire continent.

Not only do I make sure that development challenges are better understood, through my work in the realm of social protection I also work on the intervention side of things. Here too, I work with a strong data-driven approach. This has opened my eyes in many ways. Whereas most people probably think of social protection as national pension and healthcare insurance schemes, My research has shown me that social protection can also be community based, rooted in savings groups and loan associations that have been functioning parts of society for a long time. What I am essentially doing is more than just providing policy advice. I am placing the African face on development by building on the resilience and innovativeness of the communities I work with, and letting their voices guide my work.

While my work spans across a variety of tasks, such as project management, providing technical advice, data collection and policy research, the red thread tying it all together is knowledge production. I see this as a very critical component in development practice, as I firmly believe that policy decisions need to be made on the basis of sound evidence. Working in a regional hub, I do not always directly see the impact of our work with the communities we work with. Nonetheless, I experience moments of gratification especially when our work is being received by national and regional decision-making bodies. For example, just recently, we received a request from the UNDP Country Office in the Republic of Congo to support a project on special economic zones, upon which I researched the history of special economic zones in Africa, the lessons learned, and how special economic zones have been implemented in other regions to inform a strategy on how they can be implemented in the Republic of Congo. This report is now being reviewed by the UNDP Country Office of the Republic of Congo and the  Ministry of Trade, Supply and Consumption .

Moreover, I experienced a similar feeling of gratitude at a regional workshop for all countries that collaborated in the local multidimensional poverty index. Amongst the UNDP colleagues, civil society representatives, as well as representatives from different Ministries of Finance who attended the workshop, there was a great sense of optimism about the potential to produce more targeted development interventions thanks to the newly gathered data. 

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Community Based Social Protection: Esther facilitating a UNDP Panel discussion on community based social protection organisations in Africa

©UNDP RBA

 

Inspiring the Next Generation: Leadership and Mentorship through the African Young Women Leaders Fellowship

Having drawn a lot of inspiration from the African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme, my fellow "fellows", and my current team members, I am eager to support future leaders. Having entered UNDP on the back of my degree and with little work experience taught me a crucial lesson: Believe in yourself. My second tip is to draw from your network as much as possible. Finally, make sure that you gain the technical expertise required for the job. In my own experience, I felt extremely challenged when I was working in three thematic areas at once. However, in every job you will be confronted with things you do not know. Embrace this as an opportunity. I was lucky to not only have very supportive supervisors but also a learning and development budget through the fellowship that allowed me to do courses in data analysis, project management and more. As such, it is extremely crucial have a growth mindset, self determination, and be willing to push yourself as much as you can.

A big part of my vision with the work that I do is to pave the way for others who share my passion for making a positive difference in people’s lives. My goal is to make the platforms advancing the sustainable development agenda, accessible for everyone willing to contribute. I too, am learning and growing on a path laid by others. The African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme was a truly unique way for me to enter the development world. Firstly, due to the professional exposure it gave me, but also being able to start my career on the back of a strong support system and community, being surrounded by other women who have similar experiences and goals, and who are on the same journey as me. The bond that we have formed throughout this journey is more than just a professional one, it is one of sisterhood and UBUNTU.

a group of people sitting at a table

A day in the office – RSCA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

©UNDP RBA
Looking back at my journey so far, I would say that my path in the field of development aligns with what my younger self had envisioned. In essence, the way that we love and the way that we give back is through the development work that we do, so for me it is a platform to love and to say thank you to the huge community that has raised me.
Esther Mpagalile