As a senior consultant at Kinaura Partners with the AI, Digital Technology, and Innovations team, Matthew brings deep expertise in AI for development, funder strategy, and multi-stakeholder platform design. He leads complex engagements at the intersection of technology, investment, global development, and human capital development, translating strategic agendas into actionable programs and coordinating diverse institutional partners toward shared goals across the AI for Development Funders Collaborative.
Matthew brings his experience in strategy creation and development finance to the Collaborative, advising on AI strategy and knowledge initiatives. He builds alignment among leading foundations and bilateral donors to strengthen AI investment planning and support locally-led implementation across Africa and Asia. Matthew also coordinates across working groups to drive measurable outcomes in compute for the global South, low-resource languages, AI-related skills, and evaluation.
With nearly 20 years of experience in strategy, advisory, and program leadership roles, Matthew has served as a trusted advisor and embedded expert at the intersection of digital economy, education and international development. At the Mastercard Foundation, he led the Foundation’s internal AI working group and managed a portfolio of more than $150 million. Prior to that, as a team leader at Open Capital, he produced impact investment strategies, value chain assessments, and financial analysis for clients including USAID, the Gates Foundation, and the former CDC Group. His previous work includes serving as the education advisor at the US State Department in Zambia.
Matthew holds a MA in International Comparative Education from Stanford University and an MBA from the African Leadership University. Originally from the United States, he has lived in Africa for nearly 20 years and is now based in Kilifi, Kenya.
Beyond work engagements, Matthew is very curious about how new forms of education can better serve the modern era. To test this firsthand, Matthew, his wife, and two kids travelled across seven countries for 18 months to explore different forms of “worldschooling.” This included worldschooling hubs in the Caribbean and a traveling school that moved countries each month across South-East Asia.
