Stephen Hunt

Research + business acumen + positive impact. 

I am a senior advisor and innovation consultant with over a decade of international experience advancing entrepreneurship and enterprise development across 20+ countries. My work has supported governments, multilaterals, and NGOs to design and scale inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems, with a focus on youth and women’s economic empowerment, rural market systems, and impact-driven enterprise growth.

Through senior roles at BRAC International, Mercy Corps, and as a independent consultent under Carsis Consulting, I have delivered enterprise development strategies, curriculum development, investment-readiness support, and ecosystem diagnostics across UK, Africa, and Asia. I’ve led large-scale, multi-country programmes and provided technical support on business environment reform, innovation acceleration, and inclusive finance. 

Some of my most recent advisory has shaped business envrionment reform positioning for the EU Investment Climate Reform Facility on youth entrepreneurship across Africa, Carribbean and Pacific Islands, supported MSME capacity building for national agencies like the Namibia Investment Promotion Board, advanced national agendas on inclusive business envrionment reform in Ghana with Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs, and contributed to evolving the social economy ecosystems in UK working with different HE inistiutions. 

My work combines strategic advisory, programme design, stakeholder facilitation, and learning for systems change — grounded in a commitment to building resilient, inclusive entrepreneurship pathways that drive long-term socio-economic impact.

I hold a Master’s degree in Poverty and Development (Economics) from the Institute of Development Studies, UK, where I focused on inclusive economic systems and enterprise policy. My undergraduate studies in Geography (Environmental Policy & Climate Change) at the University of Sussex provided a strong foundation in systems thinking and sustainability — both critical lenses in shaping enterprise development strategies in rural and frontier markets.

To complement my academic background, I have pursued professional certifications that enhance both strategic and operational delivery capabilities. These include PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner qualifications in project management, a Certificate in Innovation Strategy from EFQM, and a forthcoming Commercial Banking & Credit Analyst certification from the Corporate Finance Institute. I am also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, recognising my contribution to social innovation and enterprise development.