Winsome Leslie

Dr. Winsome J. Leslie is an internationally recognized economic development specialist and thought leader with over 25 years of expertise in micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) development. As President and CEO of DevSolutions Consulting, LLC — a boutique firm headquartered in Maryland — she delivers high-impact advisory and consulting services in small business financing and development to public and private sector clients across the US and the Caribbean, with partners including the Caribbean Development Bank, the European Commission, and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Under her leadership, DevSolutions has conducted small business finance assessments, designed projects to expand access to micro and small business financing, and developed and delivered Training-of-Trainer programs in financial education and innovative financing instruments for business support organizations and entrepreneurs throughout the Caribbean. Dr. Leslie is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Inter-American Foundation , the US Government entity focused on grassroots economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean — where she is the sole Caribbean representative. She has also served as a volunteer judge for pitch competitions and start-up funding programs, including Jamaica's Ignite Program (Development Bank of Jamaica), the Global Green Growth Institute Caribbean program, GEN’s Entrepreneurship World Cup - Caribbean, and Pharrell Williams' Black Ambition Competition in the US.

Prior to founding DevSolutions, Dr. Leslie held senior roles at the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF/IDB Lab), the grant facility of the Inter-American Development Bank Group in Washington, DC, rising to the Management Team as Head of Strategy and Caribbean Programming Coordinator. During her tenure, she led the development of a US$23 million project pipeline , mobilizing co-financing from the Caribbean Development Bank, the European Commission, and Citi Foundation. She also managed three landmark programs: the transfer and stewardship of the US$7.8 million Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund; a US$2.6 million knowledge management initiative; and a US$1.2 million Partners in Innovation Program across Latin America and the Caribbean. Before joining the IDB, she represented the Government of Jamaica as Economic Attaché at the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, DC, covering bilateral assistance and foreign investment.

Dr. Leslie holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in International Relations from Columbia University and a BA in Economics from Barnard College . She has held teaching positions at American University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Her contributions have earned her prestigious Antonio Ortiz Mena Award from the IDB, the Women in Business Trailblazer Award for promoting access to finance for minority-owned businesses in Maryland, and an Icon Award from the Baltimore Mayor's Office of Small and Minority Business Advocacy and Development.

A prolific commentator and researcher on Caribbean economic development, Dr. Leslie's publications span pressing issues of finance, inclusion, and entrepreneurship. Her most recent works include "Venture Capital in the Caribbean: A Study of Five Countries," (2025) a rigorous examination of the state of risk capital and investment ecosystems across the region; “Access to Finance for Women-Owned Businesses in the Caribbean” (2025), which investigates the structural barriers and opportunities shaping women's entrepreneurship and financial inclusion; and “Access to Finance for MSMEs in Belize: Challenges and Opportunities”(2024), a country-level diagnostic offering actionable recommendations for expanding small business financing in Belize.