John Meyers founded Meyers Global+ to create a more expansive platform for his consulting and advisory work in international development and impact finance. His recent consulting engagements include contributing to the development of $100M de-risking guarantee facility for a private sector solar company specializing in last-mile electrification in sub-Saharan Africa. He has supported partnership engagement in Uganda to expand health service delivery, led impact design for WASH, and served as technical lead in the design of a Climate Gender Equity Fund.
Previously, he served as Director, Innovation, Organizational Learning, and Private Sector Engagement practice area at Panagora Group, where he had oversight for advancing inclusive private sector partnership and financing models. Previously he served as Team Lead – Private Sector Engagement (PSE) on a $33+M contract to support the implementation of USAID’s PSE Policy.
Over the past two decades, John has played an instrumental role in program design and implementation of inclusive development models in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. He contributed to privately-funded projects: Wayuu artisan producers in Colombia and Mayan weavers and jewelry makers in Mexico, inclusive finance in the readymade garment sector in Bangladesh, inclusive market systems approaches to support agricultural resiliency, and consulted on the development of export and supply chain models to promote equitable and inclusive growth.
Additionally, he contributed to blended finance and impact bond approaches to expand the impact of youth programs. His previous work at Swisscontact allowed him to contribute to and advance inclusive development through Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) program design and approaches.
Over several decades, John has been a regular contributor and advocate for inclusive topics. Opportunity Collaboration selected him to co-lead a Capacity Building Clinic on “Inclusive Development: Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Growth.” Covering the broad spectrum of inclusive development, John has served as an advisor for two agricultural companies in West Africa; previously served on the Steering Committee of RTI’s Youth IDEATHON hosted by its Global Center for Youth and Employment
Previous clients include International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Education for Employment, Opportunity International, Athena Infonomics, Food Enterprise Systems, and the World Food Bank.
John’s leadership positions include six years as Executive Director, Swisscontact North America, and Managing Director – North America for Swisscontact, a Swiss NGO supporting private sector development in over 35 countries. Prior to that he was Director, Global Programs and Sector Innovation and Senior Advisor, Business Development/Social Investing at Aid to Artisans (ATA) In these positions, he secured financing for impact investing and access to finance projects in agricultural (Peru, quinoa; El Salvador, honey) and artisan/handcraft supply chains.
John is Past President, Board of Directors, Impact Capital Forum, among the largest individual global networks in the impact finance and social enterprise sectors. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation for St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Executive Committee) and has previously served on the Advisory Board of Adifa (Kenya), a factoring finance company.
John has spoken on a wide range of subjects, including panels at the UN High Level Political Forum and UN Commission on Social Development Side Events on impact investing and supply chains. He has also been a speaker on Philanthropy (Opal/Family Office and Private Wealth Management Forum), Supply Chain Assurance (Sustainable Investment Leadership Conference); Financing Smallholders (Opportunity Collaboration); Innovative Finance (Concordia Annual Summit); and other venues on Venture Philanthropy, Corporate Sustainability, and Impact Investing in Women.
John received his B.A. in International Relations from The American University of Paris; MLS from Rutgers University School of Communication & Information; and M.A. in History from Columbia University.