The African Development Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Astrid Manroth as the Director for Energy Transformative Partnerships with effect from 15th February 2017. She joins the Bank from her current position as Managing Director for Sustainable Investments Europe and Africa at Deutsche Bank, Germany.
A German, Manroth brings over 20 years of investment banking and development finance experience in emerging markets, including over ten years of development finance experience in over 20 African countries including public, private and blended finance for energy, agriculture, and financial sector development. She has a demonstrated track record of high-level policy dialogue and successful project financing with governments, Multi-Lateral Development Banks, Development Finance Institutions, bilateral development partners, civil society and the private sector, as well as management of multi- country programming and delivery teams.
As Managing Director for Sustainable Investments Europe and Africa at Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt, Germany, since September 2014, she led a team of investment professionals, managing the only commercial bank-based private debt and private equity platform which blends subordinated public capital with senior-ranking private capital in structured funds for sustainable investments, providing a successful model for scaling up financing for the Sustainable Development Goals. Amongst others, she had investment management oversight of the European Energy Efficiency Fund, investing in project equity and debt for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in European municipalities, and the Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund, investing in sustainable agriculture in Africa. In addition, Manroth led Deutsche Bank's accreditation at the Green Climate Fund and the development of new public-private partnership funds in the area of energy access and microfinance.
Manroth started her career at JP Morgan Securities Ltd., London, UK, where she worked in various capacities including as Head of Credit Rating Advisory for Emerging Markets Debt Capital Markets between 1997 and 2003. Between 2003 and August 2014, she worked at the World Bank in various positions, most recently as Operations Adviser for Openness and Aid Effectiveness in the Operations Policy and Country Services Department. In this role, she was the institutional focal point for the World Bank's openness and aid effectiveness programs, Task Team Leader of the Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in World Bank Group Operations and represented the World Bank on the Steering Committee of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. She also coordinated the World Bank's publication to the International Aid Transparency Initiative. Prior to this, Manroth worked as World Bank's Senior Infrastructure Finance Specialist, Africa Region, based in the Cameroon Country Office, and later as Senior Energy Specialist, Europe and Central Asia Region, based in the Ukraine Country Office.
Manroth holds a Master of Science Degree in European Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK; a graduate degree from Koblenz School of Corporate Management, Otto-Beisheim-Graduate School, Germany.
The President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said of the appointment, "I am delighted that Astrid is joining the Bank. Astrid's extensive global experience in managing private sector operations and investments, including infrastructure and power sectors, will be great assets for the Bank, as we build strategic partnerships and coalitions to light up and power Africa".
