Deputy Team Leader, Tech & Innovation Unit — Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)

Grace is an international development and innovation leader working at the intersection of technology, economic development and social impact. As Deputy Team Leader in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Technology & Innovation Unit, she works across major initiatives including AI for Development (AI4D), M4D, AT2030 and Frontier Technology, supporting the development and scaling of technologies that address complex challenges in emerging and developing economies.

Her work is driven by a strong focus on making innovation inclusive, responsible and relevant to the people it is intended to serve. She has championed approaches that place local entrepreneurs, communities and lived experience at the centre of technology and development. This includes work on inclusive AI and assistive technology, where she has highlighted the risk that technology can reinforce exclusion when people with disabilities or underrepresented languages and communities are not considered in its design. Grace has also helped advance innovative partnerships between government, business and social enterprises through programmes such as TRANSFORM, a collaboration involving FCDO, Unilever and EY that supports enterprises developing solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Before focusing on FCDO’s technology and innovation portfolio, Grace worked on manufacturing and private-sector development, including as a Manufacturing Africa Adviser and Country Adviser supporting investment and economic diversification in African markets. Her experience spans areas including digital innovation, inclusive growth, climate and clean technology, health, disability inclusion and entrepreneurship. Grace holds a Master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she was also an editor of SAIS Perspectives focused on Inclusive Development. Through her work, she continues to explore how technology, partnerships and locally led innovation can translate ambitious ideas into sustainable impact at scale..