Elisa Gambino is a Hallsworth Fellow in Political Economy and Lecturer in Globalisation, Trade and Development at the Global Development Institute of the University of Manchester, UK. She holds a PhD in African Studies from the University of Edinburgh and has previously worked as LSE Fellow in the International Politics of China at the International Relations department of the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.

Elisa’s research explores the rise of South-South engagement, with a focus on the intersection between China’s outward economic engagement and African countries’ development trajectories. Her work places particular emphasis on the role of embeddedness in fostering firm internationalisation, focusing mainly on the trade, manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors. She is currently completing a 3-year project on the development implications of Chinese private capital internationalisation for regional integration and industrialisation in West Africa.

During her stay at FDDI, she will conduct research on the trade of Chinese mobile phones in West Africa, with a particular focus on the governance of distribution networks.

Elisa Gambino will be a visiting scholar at Global South Field Research Laboratory, Fudan University (GSFRL-FDU) and Fudan Development Institute (FDDI) from May 25, 2026 to June 25, 2026.