Astrid joined AfDB in February 2017 from Deutsche Bank, where she was Managing Director for Sustainable Investments Europe and Africa. She has more than 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 covering public, private and blended finance for energy, agriculture, and financial sector development.
Astrid has a demonstrated track record of high-level policy dialogue and successful project financing with governments, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, bilateral development partners, civil society and the private sector.
At Deutsche Bank, 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. Her work included investment management oversight of the European Energy Efficiency Fund and the Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund. In addition, she 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.
Astrid started her career at JP Morgan Securities Ltd in London, where she worked in various capacities including as head of credit rating advisory for emerging markets debt capital markets (1997-2003). Between 2003 and August 2014, she worked at the World Bank in various positions including operations adviser for openness and aid effectiveness in the Operations Policy and Country Services Department. She also worked as the World Bank’s senior infrastructure finance specialist for the Africa region, based in the Cameroon country office, and later as senior energy specialist, Europe and Central Asia region, based in the Ukraine.
Astrid holds a Master of Science Degree in European Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is also a graduate of the Koblenz School of Corporate Management, Otto-Beisheim-Graduate School, Germany.
Astrid is a panellist at the fourth annual Africa Investment Exchange: Power & Renewables meeting, which will be held in London on 15-16 November 2017.