Margie Brand brings over 30 years of experience working in sustainable development, small business development and market systems strengthening globally.

Margie founded Vikāra Institute, an international nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., which brings systems lenses to development challenges. She previously founded EcoVentures International, a non-profit focused on supporting the promotion of ecological and climate-responsive business ventures in lower-income contexts. She co-founded Making Cents Inc, a business supporting the capacity building of entrepreneurs and the communities and organisations that support them.

After graduating from UCT and working in small business and entrepreneurship development in South Africa, she spent 20 years based in the USA while working in 30+ countries across Africa, South East Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe. She acts as Co-Chair of the Global Market Systems Symposium. Margie is currently based between Washington, D.C. and Cape Town.

Margie has developed a large range of experiential curricula and tools that have been translated into over 15 languages and used in over 35 countries. Margie supports development practitioners, donors and the private sector in strategic planning, facilitation, intervention design, implementation, capacity building, and training. Her experience spans practice areas that include the development of market systems, value chains, small and micro enterprises, microfinance, workforce, entrepreneurship, and youth and women, more recently including climate-affected and conflict-affected contexts. She has authored several papers and frameworks and regularly presents to audiences across the globe.