Dambisa Felicia Moyo, Baroness Moyo (born 2 February 1969)Moyo showed a copy of an official document with her date and place of birth as part of a lecture she gave at TEDGlobal 2013, Edinburgh, Scotland. is a Zambian-born economist and author, known for her analysis of macroeconomics and global affairs. She has written five books, including four New York Times bestsellers: Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa (2009), How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly – And the Stark Choices that Lie Ahead (2011), Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What It Means for the World (2012), Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth – and How to Fix It (2018), and How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World (2021).

Early life and education Moyo was born in 1969 in Lusaka, Zambia.Moyo, Dambisa. "Preface" . Excerpted from DEAD AID: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009. Reprinted in The Wall Street Journal, 20 March 2009. She spent some of her childhood in the United States, while her father was pursuing his post graduate education, then returned to Zambia.

She studied chemistry at the University of Zambia, and completed her BS in chemistry in 1991 at American University in Washington, D.C. via a scholarship. She received an MBA in finance from the university in 1993.Curley, Robert. "Moyo, Dambisa" . In: Britannica Book of the Year 2013. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. p. 97.Dambisa F. Moyo BSc, MPA, MBA, Ph.D. – Executive Profile at Bloomberg.

She acquired a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1997.Anderson, Lindsay Hodges. "Alumna Argues Aid in Africa is Failing, Needs to be Reassessed" . Harvard Kennedy School News & Events. HKS.Harvard.edu. 1 April 2009. In 2002 she received a DPhil in economics from St Antony's College, Oxford University,Dambisa Moyo . Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 May 2015. where she was elected an Honorary Fellow in 2026.

Career World Bank and Goldman Sachs Following her MBA, Moyo worked at the World Bank from May 1993 to September 1995. She was a consultant in the bank's Europe, Central Asia and Africa departments, and was one of the 20 contributing authors to the World Bank's 1994 annual World Development Report.

After pursuing her MPA and PhD, Moyo joined Goldman Sachs as a research economist and strategist in 2001.Elmhirst, Sophie. "The NS Interview: Dambisa Moyo, economist" . New Statesman. 5 March 2010. Accessed 11 July 2015. She was with the company until November 2008, working mainly in debt capital markets, hedge funds coverage, and global macroeconomics."Global Economics Paper No: 134" . GoldmanSachs.com. 1 December 2005. Accessed 11 July 2015. Part of her tenure at Goldman Sachs was spent advising developing countries on the issuing of bonds on the international market.Solomon, Deborah. "The Anti-Bono" . The New York Times Magazine. 19 February 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015. She was also head of economic research and strategy for sub-Saharan Africa.

Board memberships After leaving Goldman Sachs, Moyo joined the board of directors of the international brewer SABMiller in 2009.Board of Directors – Dambisa Moyo . SABMiller. SABMiller.com. Retrieved 11 July 2015.Sustainability – Governance and monitoring . SABMiller. SABMiller.com. Retrieved 20 May 2015. She is also a former board member of Barclays Bank,"Barclays Board change" . Newsroom.Barclays.com. 22 April 2010. Accessed 11 July 2015.Dambisa Moyo . Barclays.com. Retrieved 11 July 2015. the international mining company Barrick Gold,Board of Directors . Barrick Gold. Barrick.com. Retrieved 11 July 2015."One-on-one with Dambisa Moyo, Barrick Gold's newest Board member" . Barrick Beyond Borders. Barrick Gold. 26 August 2011. Accessed 11 July 2015. 3M, and data storage company Seagate Technology.Dr. Dambisa Moyo Elected To Seagate Board Of Directors . Seagate Technology. Seagate.com. Retrieved 26 October 2015.

As of 2025, she is on the boards of directors of National Geographic, Chevron Corporation, Condé Nast. and the Starbucks Corporation.

Moyo is also a former board member of the charities Lundin for AfricaLundin For Africa Annual Report 2008 . p. 8.Lundin For Africa Annual Report 2009 . p. 8. and Room to Read."Room to Read Welcomes Economist and Author Dambisa Moyo to Its Board of Directors" . Room to Read. Media.RoomToRead.org. 4 March 2009.Room to Read Annual Report 2008 . p. 30.

She is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Global Economic Imbalances,Global Agenda Council on Global Economic Imbalances 2014–2016 . World Economic Forum. Retrieved 20 May 2015. The Trilateral Commission, and the Bretton Woods Committee.The Bretton Woods Committee – Committee Members . Bretton Woods Committee. Retrieved 30 May 2015.

In June 2026, Moyo was named Chair of The Economic Club of New York.

Journalism and public speaking

Moyo is a public speaker, commentator, and columnist. She has written for international financial and economic journals, periodicals, and publications, including The Wall Street Journal,Moyo, Dambisa. "For Poor Countries, China Is No Model" . The Wall Street Journal. 19 September 2014. Financial Times,Moyo, Dambisa. "Not Enough Bad News is Priced into the Financial Markets" . Financial Times. 27 March 2015. The New York Times, and Time.Moyo, Dambisa. "The Resource Shortage Is Real" . Time. 8 June 2012.

She has lectured at financial and economic summits, forums, and conferences, including the annual World Economic Forum conference in Davos,Dambisa Moyo . UN Leaders Programme. United Nations. May 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015. the Council on Foreign Relations,"Is Aid Dead? A Discussion with Dambisa Moyo on Foreign Aid and Development" . Council on Foreign Relations. 21 April 2009. the American Enterprise Institute,"Does Africa's Future Depend on Global Financial Institutions?" American Enterprise Institute. 20 April 2009.AEI – Dambisa Moyo discusses how to incentivize African governments and end aid dependence (video). 20 April 2009. the annual Bilderberg Conference,Bilderberg Meetings – Sitges, Spain 3–6 June 2010: Final List of Participants . BilderbergMeetings.org. the Peterson Institute for International Economics,Event: Dambisa Moyo: America's Hobson's Choice . Peterson Institute for International Economics. 9 March 2011.Event: Dambisa Moyo: Q&A . Peterson Institute for International Economics. 9 March 2011. the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),OECD 50th Anniversary Forum – Speakers . Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 24–25 May 2011. the Aspen Institute,McCloskey Speaker Series: A Conversation with International Economist Dambisa Moyo . Aspen Institute. August 2013.A Conversation with International Economist Dambisa Moyo . (video) Aspen Institute. August 2013. and the Ambrosetti Forum.Morrison, Patt. "The Ambrosetti Forum: Economic brainstorming, Italian-style" . Los Angeles Times. 11 September 2013. She also speaks at venues including TEDTalks and BBCs HARDtalk,Dambisa Moyo . Speakers.com. Retrieved 4 June 2015.Speaker Brief for Dr. Dambisa Moyo . DambisaMoyo.com. Retrieved 3 June 2015. and is a commentator on business-news television networks.

Awards and honors On 8 November 2022, she was created Baroness Moyo, of Knightsbridge in the City of Westminster, receiving a life peerage in the 2022 Special Honours. Initially introduced as a Conservative peer, since 2024 she has sat as a non-affiliated peer.

She was also elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2022, and as an Honorary Fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge in 2023.

Recognition includes: World Economic Forum Young Global Leader (2009)Young Global Leader Honorees 2009 . World Economic Forum. Retrieved 19 May 2015. Time 100 (2009)Wolfowitz, Paul. "The 2009 Time 100: Dambisa Moyo" . Time. 30 April 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015.The 2009 Time 100 – Full List . Time. 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015. Oprah Winfrey's O First-Ever Power List (2009)"The Power of Going Against the Grain: Dambisa Moyo, Economist and provocateur" . In: Os First-Ever Power List. O, The Oprah Magazine. September 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015. Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award (2013)"Dambisa Moyo received the Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award 2013" . Austrian Economics Center. AustrianCenter.com. 17 October 2013."A worthy winner" . Austrian Economics Center. AustrianCenter.com. 15 April 2013. GQ and Editorial Intelligences The 100 Most Connected Women (2014)"GQ and Editorial Intelligence's 100 Most Connected Women 2014" . GQ. 8 March 2015.Roberts, Anna. "The 100 most connected women" . The Telegraph. 29 September 2014. Handelsblatts 25 Great Thinkers (2015)"DAMBISA MOYO: Unbequeme Freiheitsfrau" . In: Die großen Denker. Handelsblatt. Handelsblatt GmbH, e-published 14 April 2015.Heckel, Manuel. "An Inconvenient Woman" . Handelsblatt Global Edition. No. 108; 4 February 2015. Reprinted: ."DAMBISA MOYO: Unbequeme Freiheitsfrau" . Handelsblatt Online. 29 January 2015. Evening Standard: London's Most Influential People (2015), (2016), (2017)

Books Dead Aid Moyo's first book, Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There is Another Way for Africa (2009), became a New York Times bestseller.Best Sellers – Hardcover Nonfiction . The New York Times. 12 April 2009. It argues that government-to-government foreign aid has harmed Africa and should be phased out. In the book she states that in the past 50 years, more than $1 trillion in development-related aid has been transferred from rich countries to Africa, and questions whether anything has changed.Lawler, Joseph. "Overcoming Aid" . The American Spectator. 16 March 2009.

The book suggests that official development assistance (ODA), as opposed to humanitarian aid, perpetuates the cycle of poverty and hinders economic growth in Africa.Majhanovich, Suzanne and Macleans A. Geo-JaJa. Economics, Aid and Education: Implications for Development . Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. pp. 17–18.Gueye, Lika. "The Secrets of Their Success: Damibsa Moyo, Economist and author" . Finance & Development. International Monetary Fund. June 2013. pp. 25–26.Wallis, William. "Lunch with the FT: Dambisa Moyo" . Financial Times. 30 January 2009. It offers developing countries proposals for financial development instead of relying on foreign government-to-government aid. The Financial Times summarized the book's argument, stating "Limitless development assistance to African governments, [Moyo] argues, has fostered dependency, encouraged corruption and ultimately perpetuated poor governance and poverty."Wallis, William. "Foreign aid critic spreads theory far and fast" . Financial Times. 23 May 2009. Moyo's solution is to cut poor countries off from aid in five to ten year to force them to instead borrow from international bond markets while touting Chinese foreign direct investment in Africa - an approach many called reckless and harmful.