Betsy Bassan

Betsy Bassan is the President and CEO of Panagora Group, a woman- and employee-owned small business she founded in 2011. Panagora provides novel solutions in health, development, and learning with a focus on using highly participatory approaches. Betsy brings over 30 years of experience as an innovator in the international development field. Over the last 10 years, Betsy has grown Panagora into an over 200-person company working in and supporting 55 countries with a robust portfolio and a proven track record of excellence. The company was named Small Business of the Year for FY2018 by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Panagora’s main client.

Betsy is a leader in her industry and is recognized as a successful entrepreneur outside of it. She is a 2021 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic region and a 2020 Enterprising Woman of the Year Awardee for her leadership and mentorship of other women entrepreneurs. As an indication of her expertise and leadership, Panagora was on Inc. Magazine’s list of “5,000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America” three times; in 2019, 2020, and 2022. Panagora also ranked number 12 on the Women Presidents’ Organization list of “50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned and Led Companies” in 2020. 

Betsy has decades of hands-on regional experience working across Africa, Asia, Europe and Eurasia, and the Middle East, and across a variety of sectors, including global health, private sector development, environment, democracy/governance, and organizational development. During her career, she has held various executive and leadership positions, where she led many strategic initiatives and innovative programs to provide services to people in need around the world.

She has also held several key industry leadership positions among the major professional, advocacy, and trade associations in the international development sector. Through the USGLC, a membership-based foreign aid advocacy group, Betsy helped build support for critical foreign aid programs. As Program Vice President and then Chair of the Society for International Development-Washington D.C., a leading professional association, she greatly enhanced its profile as the “the public square of development” through cutting-edge knowledge exchange.

As an industry leader who has developed novel approaches to address major global health challenges, Betsy also works tirelessly to elevate the voice of small business in international development. Through the Panagora platform, Betsy led the founding of the Council for International Development Companies (CIDC) and, as chair, transformed the Small Business Association for International Companies (SBAIC) over three pivotal years from an informal network into a registered and recognized advocate.

She lived overseas for seven years in Kenya and Sudan, where she worked for a variety of NGOs and USAID missions. She holds an M.A. from Columbia University in New York City, where she completed a joint degree program (Planning in Developing Nations) in the School of International Affairs and the Division of Urban Planning; and a B.A. cum laude from St. John’s College, Great Books Program, in Annapolis, Maryland. She speaks French. Betsy has three children: Madeleine, Rebecca, and Ben. 

Industry Leadership

Betsy has held a host of industry leadership positions among the leading professional, advocacy, trade associations in our space. Through the USGLC, a membership-based foreign aid advocacy group, Betsy helped build support for critical foreign aid programs. As Program Vice President and then Chair of the Society for International Development-Washington D.C., a leading professional association, she greatly enhanced its profile as the “the public square of development” through cutting-edge knowledge exchange.

As an industry leader who has developed novel approaches to major global health problems, Betsy also works tirelessly to elevate the voice of small business in international development. Through the Panagora platform, Betsy led the founding of the Council for International Development Companies (CIDC) and, as chair, transformed the Small Business Association for International Companies (SBAIC) over three pivotal years from an informal network into a registered and recognized advocate.