Entrepreneur Pauline Koelbl was in the first cohort to study MA Poverty & Development. She has set up a gender lens investment fund called ShEquity, which aims to close the gender funding gap in Africa.
Watch a video of Pauline’s interview about how IDS has shaped her career, or read excerpts below.
Why did you come to IDS?
I chose to study at IDS because when I finished my degree at the University of Arizona, I got a Fullbright scholarship which opened the opportunity to find the best school in UK where I could study international development. IDS was recommended as the best because the professors are practitioners, and the combination of research and practice was very attractive to me. Also, I knew that by coming to IDS, I will be hanging out with people from all over the world. Which again, I can learn from beyond learning from the fellows.
What are you doing now?
So right now I’m running a gender lens investment fund that I set up. The fund is called ShEquity, and it proposes to close the existing agenda funding gap, which is about 42 billion right now in Africa.
How did studying at IDS help your career?
Studying at IDS has really had a huge impact on my career because I’ve had amazing training, and been exposed to the best of learning in international development.
Throughout my career, I keep asking questions because that’s what we learn at IDS, it’s a question of trying to do better. And this has led me to become an entrepreneur – that’s what IDS does for you. You get equipped with the tools to go out into the world and try to solve problems, and you are continually learning.
At the end of the day, international development is all about trying to address the challenges that we face globally. I learned that one of the challenges we’re now facing is gender inequality. I believe that whatever challenges we’re discussing today, we cannot achieve if we don’t include women. So IDS has equipped me with the tools and knowledge that have led me to where I am right now, where I’m building a business that will impact people and the planet.
What advice would you give to someone considering studying at IDS?
If you’re considering studying at IDS or even better if you’re considering studying international development anywhere, choose IDS. Why? Because you’re going to be learning from the best. And once you’re here, if you’re doing an MA like I did, it’s a one-year programme that goes very fast. So make sure that you take advantage of every day spent on campus. So learn from the books, learn from the fellows but make time to hang out with your fellow students. Because most of them are coming after having been practising a lot and the discussion you get exposed to helps you understand better what you’re learning from the books. And before you leave make sure you make contacts and you get information for the people you’re studying with. Because they might become your community and your tribe you go out into the world and try to change it.