If there is such a thing as a sensation in African development, it would be Dambisa Moyo. The author of the new book Dead Aid, she has taken on many of the conventions of the relationship between the West and Africa–aid, celebrity spokespeople, the “China does bad” storyline.

In her book, she argues that government aid has not helped Africa, despite an inflation-adjusted $1 trillion being poured into the continent over the last four decades.

Moyo was born and raised in Lusaka, Zambia. She holds a Doctorate in Economics from Oxford University and a Masters from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She also has an MBA in Finance and Bachelors degree in Chemistry from American University in Washington D.C. She worked for the World Bank for 2 years as a Consultant (from 1993-1995) and at Goldman Sachs for 8 years (from 2001 to 2008), where she worked in the debt capital markets and as an economist in the global macroeconomics team.

Moyo is a Patron for Absolute Return for Kids (ARK), a hedge fund supported children’s charity, and serves on the Board of the Lundin Charitable Foundation that supports microfinance initiatives in developing countries. In November 2008, Moyo was nominated to the of Board of Lundin Petroleum.  She’s on the board of directors of Room to Read, a non-profit that provides educational opportunities to local communities in the developing world.

In 2009, Dambisa Moyo was honoured by the World Economic Forum as one of its Young Global Leaders.

“I wish we questioned the aid model as much as we are questioning the capitalism model. Sometimes the most generous thing you can do is just say no.”