Daniele Nyirandutiye

Daniele Nyirandutiye is a Senior Fellow for Foreign Assistance and Investment at the Center for American Progress, a Partner at Desmos Capital Partners, and Founder of Frontiers Growth Partners, a strategic advisory firm at the intersection of public policy, development finance, and investment in frontier markets. A global strategist and senior policy practitioner, Nyirandutiye's career spans the White House National Security Council, nearly two decades as a U.S. diplomat with USAID, and private capital markets. As Director for African Affairs at the NSC, she advised the President, National Security Advisor, and senior U.S. officials on U.S. strategy toward Africa, including national security, democracy and governance, trade and investment, development and humanitarian assistance, and public health security. As USAID Mission Director in Uganda, she brokered a landmark $2.5 billion U.S.–Uganda development agreement, led a team of more than 200 professionals overseeing a $500 million annual portfolio, and expanded partnerships with local organizations. Having worked and lived across more than twenty African countries, she has mobilized $400M in private capital, negotiated policy reforms and coordinated across governments, the private sector, and civil society to strengthen enabling environments, improve service delivery, and advance inclusive economic growth. Her work has consistently focused on translating policy into practical solutions by aligning public institutions, private capital, and local partnerships to address complex development and governance challenges.

Nyirandutiye is a contributor to Semafor Africa, The Africa Report, and Devex, and a commentator on Bloomberg, where she writes and speaks on U.S. foreign policy, development finance, investment, and Africa. She brings a practitioner's perspective to the classroom, drawing on experience at the highest levels of government, diplomacy, and private investment to explore how policy is developed, negotiated, financed, and implemented. A published researcher on child nutrition and global health, with work in Nature Reviews Endocrinology and PLOS One, Nyirandutiye holds a Master of Public Health from Emory University and dual degrees from the University of Dayton, with a minor in Human Rights.