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Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies, aka Stanford Seed, has named Darius Teter as the new executive director of the institute to oversee its growth and expansion in Africa and into India respectively.
Teter, is a former VP of global programs at Oxfam America where he oversaw the humanitarian emergency response team and regional development programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as research, learning and evaluation. Stanford Seed believes his experience in international development, humanitarian emergencies and financing public infrastructure mega-projects will be key to expanding its programs in Africa and India.
“Darius is passionate about promoting global economic prosperity, making him the ideal leader for Stanford Seed,” said Jonathan Levin, the Philip H. Knight Professor and Dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business. “As Stanford Seed continues to grow and evolve, Darius’ deep experience will help guide the institute to its next level of success.”
Teter will work closely with Sørensen, who served as executive director of Seed from 2015 to 2017, and Raj Chellaraj, associate dean for finance and administration at the GSB, who served as chief operating officer of Seed during the same time period. Teter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale University and a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard Kennedy School. He has also completed advanced studies in resource economics at the University of British Columbia.
Founded in 2011, Seed held its first Transformation Program in Accra, Ghana, in 2013 and expanded to Nairobi, Kenya, in 2016. Since then, the Seed Transformation Program has trained and mentored 565 entrepreneurs and senior staff members, leading to increased revenue and new job creation throughout the region. In addition, participating companies have raised almost $11 million in funding and 79 percent have grown their customer base.
In May 2017, Seed announced its expansion into India through its new location in Chennai, which will serve entrepreneurs from across the country. The first annual program will run from August 2017 to August 2018 and will be held at the state-of-the-art Infosys corporate campus.
