About


I am a political economist based in Washington, D.C., working at the intersection of institutions, policy, and economics of energy, natural resources, trade, industrialization, and development cooperation.

I am currently a Senior Research Scholar and the Managing Director for International Programs at the Energy Opportunity Lab at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. I lead the Center’s work on energy for development in emerging markets, with a focus on strengthening the links between energy systems, structural economic transformation, and sustainability. My enduring area of expertise is identifying the policies and institutions that enable resource-rich low- and middle-income countries to harness their hydrocarbons, minerals, and metals for sustainable economic development.

Before joining Columbia University, I served as the founding director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington D.C. From 2021 to 2025, I built the Carnegie Africa Program into a globally recognized platform for policy-relevant research, high-level convening, and impact. During my tenure, the program managed and raised nearly $6 million in funding, hired and supported a dynamic team of 15 experts and staff, produced research that shaped international debates on energy, trade, and global development, and convened presidents, ministers, and business leaders from across Africa, the United States, Europe, and Asia. My work has been featured in The Economist, Financial Times, Forbes, and The New York Times, and events I convened drew participation from senior officials at the White House, U.S. Congress, and more than 30 embassies in Washington, D.C.

Prior to Carnegie, I worked as a public sector specialist at the World Bank, where I focused on social sustainability, energy policy reforms, natural resource management, and digital technologies. I advised governments and development partners in Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Serbia, Tanzania, and Uzbekistan.

My research has been published across academic, policy, and media platforms. I am the author of Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy, selected by the Financial Times as one of the Best Books of 2022 on economics. I am also the co-editor of The Future of Work in Africa: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies for All. I contributed to the World Bank’s flagship reports Rethinking Power Sector Reforms in Developing Countries and Africa’s Resource Future: Harnessing Natural Resources for Economic Transformation during the Low-Carbon Transition. My analyses have appeared in African Affairs, the World Bank’s Policy Research Working Paper Series, and in edited volumes published by Oxford University Press and James Currey. My work has been featured in Al Jazeera English, BBC, Bloomberg News, Der Spiegel, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Project Syndicate, and The Washington Post.

I regularly deliver keynote speeches, presentations, and private briefings to investment banks, multinational corporations, global philanthropies, embassies and government ministries, congressional committees, and international organizations on international economic relations, the future of development cooperation, and energy diplomacy.

I hold a doctorate (DPhil) from the University of Oxford, a master of science (MSc) from the University of Birmingham, and a bachelor of science (BSc) from Ahmadu Bello University.

This website aggregates my work on policy – analysis, commentary, research and collaborations. More information about my work is available on Google Scholar, the publications page on this website and my resume on LinkedIn.

Contact me at: usmanzainab[at]hotmail[dot]com