MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship

MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
Name	MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
Formation	2007
Founder	Legatum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Type	Research center
Headquarters	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Key people	Dina H. Sherif (Executive Director), Fiona Murray (Faculty Director)
Parent organization	MIT Sloan School of Management
Website	https://legatum.mit.edu

MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship is a research center within the MIT Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Founded in 2007 through a partnership with the global investment group Legatum, the center is dedicated to advancing prosperity in low- and middle-income countries by supporting market-driven, innovation-based entrepreneurship. Its work integrates rigorous academic research with practical fellowship programs, executive education, and field-building initiatives aimed at empowering entrepreneurs who tackle complex development challenges.

History and founding

The center was established in 2007 following a significant philanthropic grant from the Legatum Foundation, the charitable arm of the international investment firm Legatum. The founding vision was championed by Michael Fairbanks, a development strategist and author, alongside leaders at MIT Sloan School of Management who sought to apply MIT's strengths in innovation and technology to global economic development. Its creation was influenced by the broader discourse on the role of the private sector in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The center was initially housed within the MIT Community Innovators Lab before becoming a core part of the MIT Sloan School of Management ecosystem, reflecting its focus on market-based solutions.

Mission and objectives

The core mission is to drive inclusive prosperity by enabling entrepreneurs to build and scale ventures that create economic opportunity and solve pressing societal problems. Its objectives are threefold: to generate and disseminate pioneering research on entrepreneurship in emerging markets, to educate and mentor a global network of principled entrepreneurial leaders through its flagship Legatum Fellowship, and to foster ecosystems that support innovation-led growth. The center operates on the belief that sustainable development is best advanced through bottom-up, enterprise-driven approaches rather than traditional aid models, aligning with concepts like creative destruction and bottom of the pyramid strategies.

Programs and initiatives

The center’s flagship initiative is the **Legatum Fellowship**, a competitive program providing tuition funding, mentorship, and tailored coursework to exceptional MIT graduate students committed to launching ventures in the developing world. Other key programs include the **Foundry Fellowship**, which brings together accomplished African entrepreneurs for leadership development, and the **LIFT Program**, offering practical training for innovators in specific regions like the Middle East and North Africa. The center also hosts the annual **Legatum Center Conference**, convening thinkers like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Muhammad Yunus, and publishes influential research through its **Working Paper Series** and collaborations with institutions like the World Economic Forum.

Leadership and governance

The center is led by a faculty director, a role held by Fiona Murray, a renowned scholar in innovation and entrepreneurship who also serves as the Associate Dean for Innovation at MIT Sloan School of Management. The executive director is Dina H. Sherif, an expert on social enterprise in the Middle East. Governance involves a steering committee of senior MIT faculty and a board of advisors comprising prominent figures from academia, philanthropy, and business, such as Philip Auerswald and representatives from the Legatum group. The center operates under the broader oversight of the dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Impact and recognition

The center has cultivated a global network of over 400 fellows and alumni whose ventures have collectively raised significant capital and created thousands of jobs across sectors like fintech, agritech, and healthcare in countries from Nigeria to India. Its research has shaped policy dialogues at institutions like the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The center’s model has been recognized as a benchmark for university-based entrepreneurship development, influencing similar initiatives at other leading institutions such as Stanford University and Harvard University.

Partnership and funding model

The center operates through a blended funding model anchored by the foundational grant from the Legatum Foundation. It also receives support from corporate partners, philanthropic organizations, and individual donors. Key partnerships have included collaborations with the Mastercard Foundation for the Foundry Fellowship and with regional entities like the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab. This model ensures the center can offer programs at no or low cost to participants while maintaining its research independence and commitment to its mission of fostering entrepreneurship in underserved markets.

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology Category:Research institutes in Massachusetts Category:Entrepreneurship organizations