Astrid brings 25 years of experience in development finance and sustainable investments in the public and private sectors with a focus on infrastructure and climate finance, including through public-private partnerships. During her 11 years at the World Bank (2003-2014), she led the upstream preparation of infrastructure sector strategies, reform dialogues and project pipelines and the downstream financing of complex projects in the energy sector in Africa, Europe and Central Asia (ECA), and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions, including based in Cameroon and Ukraine. She also served as Director of Energy Partnerships and Director of Operations at the African Development Bank, based in Abidjan. In the private sector, Astrid held roles as Managing Director for Sustainable Investments in Europe and Africa at Deutsche Bank Asset Management and as Vice President of Emerging Markets Power at Shell Renewable Energy Services. In addition, she served as Director of Climate Finance at the European Climate Foundation in Brussels.

Astrid has extensive background in interacting with governments, regulators, donors, development partners, project developers, private investors, civil society, philanthropy and academia and in managing teams for high performance. She is a recognized expert in public-private ‘blended’ partnership finance, having structured and managed several blended finance investment vehicles. Astrid holds an MBA from the WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany and an MSc in Political Economy of Transition from the London School of Economics in the UK.

Towfiqua Hoque, a Bangladeshi national, has been with the GIF since 2015 and has been part of the team that designed, launched, and operationalized the Global Infrastructure Facility.  Towfiqua is passionate about development finance and has 20 years of experience in delivering infrastructure projects in emerging markets.  Her experience spans policy design, transaction advisory, bid structuring and implementation, project development, and equity and debt financing. 

Towfiqua brings deep experience in building relations between public and private sector decision-makers, financiers, and donors influencing infrastructure investments and policies.  Prior to joining the GIF, Towfiqua spent 18 years with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and worked on both the transaction advisory and investment side in Washington, D.C., Dubai, Hanoi, and Singapore. She has worked in many sectors, including power, airports, ports, water, and social infrastructure sectors in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and the Pacific Islands. Towfiqua is based in Singapore and oversees GIF’s activities in Asia.  She has an MBA from George Washington University. 

Michael covers the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions for the GIF. His current portfolio consists of projects from across a diverse range of infrastructure sub-sectors including water, telecommunications, transport, and energy and he works in collaboration with the GIF’s Technical Partners including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the World Bank.

Michael joined the GIF from the African Development Bank (AfDB) where over an 8-year period he held several infrastructure-related positions/titles with the latest being as a PPP Advisor within the renewable energy department working on project development and transaction structuring for small- to medium-scale renewable energy projects across several technologies including biomass, waste-to-energy (WTE), mini hydropower plants, and solar.

Prior to the AfDB, Michael worked in engineering consultancy in the UK focusing on the transport/highways sector where he advised clients, including the Highways Agency (on the private finance initiative (PFI) roads programme) and PFI Contractors, Transport for London (TfL), the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), private developers, and municipal/county councils. 

Michael is a national of Ghana where he completed his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering. He has an MS in Transport Engineering & Planning (University of Salford, UK), an MS in Infrastructure/Construction Economics (University College London/UCL, UK), and an MBA from Imperial College London. 
 

Mukta has over 17 years of professional experience including 14 years in the infrastructure sector comprising origination, due diligence, structuring, and negotiation of infrastructure financing and PPP advisory across multiple sectors and regions. 

Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Mukta worked at ADB’s Office of Public-Private Partnership where she led the implementation of the Uzbekistan PPP program and closed the first water and wastewater PPP project in the country.  She also led PPP activities in Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan. 

Mukta was a Vice President with SBI Capital Markets Infrastructure Group, based in Mumbai, and advised public and private sector clients on project finance transactions as well as M&A and corporate finance transactions including debentures and equity.  Some of her key transactions included fund syndication of  $4 Billion for 6MTPA Greenfield Integrated Steel Plant of Tata Steel Limited (PFI Industrial Deal of the Year); Bid Advisory to Tata Realty & Infrastructure Limited for 8 operational road projects being bid under TOT Model; and Advisory to JSW Energy Limited for the acquisition of two Hydro Projects with a total capacity of 1300 MW. 

Prior to SBI Caps, Mukta was a Treasury Relationship Manager and Derivative Dealer, with ICICI Bank in Mumbai. 

With 10 years of experience in the infrastructure sector, João joined the GIF in 2019 focusing on transport and energy across different regions including Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining the GIF, João started his career at IFC’s investment business focusing on the real estate sector. In 2013, he joined IFC’s Corporate Transaction Advisory team in Brazil, supporting central and local governments to develop and structure their infrastructure projects in various sectors including transport (airports and roads), energy (distribution and public street lighting), and social infrastructure. 

Ms. Silva Zuniga is a senior infrastructure and sustainable finance specialist, with over 15 years of experience. She started her career in the investment banking industry in Hong Kong before transitioning into the policy space. Over the last decade, working as an infrastructure finance expert for the International Institute for Sustainable Development and most recently the InterAmerican Development Bank, she provided technical advisory services to governments in Asia, America and Europe on their infrastructure procurement processes in a manner that provides for economic growth, social justice, and stewardship of the natural environment. Mariana has ample experience in the capitalization of infrastructure assets, with emphasis in project finance, investment due diligence and Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s).

Mariana has designed and implemented multiple funds & Initiatives, including: the UK Sustainable Infrastructure Program, the MDB Sustainable Infrastructure Aligned Set of Indicators and she acted as a member for the G20 infrastructure taskforce, co-authored and presented a report at the Antalya G20 summit on ideas and solutions for closing their infrastructure deficits.

Mariana Silva holds a Master’s degree (Hons) in International Banking and Finance from Hong Kong Lignan University. She has pursued her studies and working experiences in different regions to gain an international perspective born in Mexico, she has since lived in Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and now the United States.

She speaks fluent English, German, French, and Spanish.

Jade Wong is an infrastructure finance professional with a wide range of experience in the public and private sectors. She has direct hands-on experience in financial and project structuring as well as in assessing public policies for infrastructure projects. 

Before joining the GIF, Jade was with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Infrastructure group where she had closed investments totaling over $550 million. She has built expertise in originating new business, conducting due diligence, structuring project and financial instruments, managing portfolios, and executing successful exits. She was a key member of the pioneering team to structure convertible loans and syndicate equity investors for the Asia Infrastructure program. Prior to IFC, she was an investment analyst at a global macro hedge fund with $1.7 billion of assets under management where she was responsible for investment strategies in the global commodities and energy sectors. 

Jade is bilingual in English and Mandarin Chinese. She holds an Executive Master’s in Finance from INSEAD and obtained her Bachelor’s degrees in Accountancy and Finance from the Nanyang Technological University.

Yohei started his professional career in MUFG Bank in Japan in the corporate sales, syndicated loan and structured finance department. Thereafter, he moved to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and was responsible for both sovereign and private finance operations in developing countries. Until October 2023, Yohei worked in the JICA Indonesia Office where he handled PPP transaction advisory and electricity sector support. He was also a working group member of JETP in Indonesia. In his role at the GIF and as member of the GIF’s Asia team, Yohei will be responsible for the GIF’s business development and portfolio management in Asia in collaboration with the GIF’s technical partners, work with the Asian members of the GIF’s private sector advisory council, contribute to the GIF’s strategic initiatives and collaborate with the WBG and IPG colleagues on PPPs in infrastructure and private capital mobilization in Asia.

Yohei holds a Bachelor of Literature from the Sophia University in Tokyo.

Sara joined the World Bank Group in 2014 and worked for several years in the Infrastructure Finance, PPPs and Guarantees (IPG) group of the World Bank, as well as spending one year at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). While at IFC, she worked on multilateral engagement and managed relationships with key multilateral development bank (MDB) partners and other global platforms—such as the G20 Infrastructure Working Group, MDB Infrastructure Cooperation Platform, and the OECD. She has also continued to manage the strategic partnership with the Islamic Development Bank on the role of mobilizing Islamic finance for infrastructure PPPs, while both at IFC and the World Bank.

Before IFC Sara worked on supporting the management of the IPG Group and Infrastructure Vice Presidency, including support to various infrastructure-related trust funds. She also spent a few years at the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), managing the Global PPP Knowledge Portfolio, focusing on developing products to help client governments strengthen policies, regulations, and institutions that enable sustainable infrastructure development with private sector participation.

Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Sara worked as a Program Manager at AECOM International Development, where she managed USAID-funded infrastructure programs based in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. She holds a Master of Arts in International Economics & Energy, Resources, and Environment from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Tehreem brings over 12 years of experience working with diverse teams in international organizations including the World Bank, ADB, NATO, the US Congress, and academia on tough issues like COVID, conflict and climate. At the World Bank, she led strategic communications and stakeholder engagement for the South Asia regional gender platform and WePOWER- South Asia Women in the Power Sector Network. She is highly skilled at advocacy campaigns, media engagement, brand awareness and reputational risk management. Before joining the World Bank, Tehreem worked as a Research Associate and International Programs Coordinator in the Center for Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security (CIP/HS) at George Mason University. Tehreem holds a Master’s of Public Policy degree from George Mason University and a Master’s of Political Management from the George Washington University.

Rui joined the GIF in May 2017 as an Operations Analyst. Over her 20 years with the World Bank she has held various positions, including most recently supporting the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) on its budget formulation and monitoring, funds management, and financial reporting. Prior to that, Rui was responsible for the resource management of the Poverty Global Practice and South Asia Region. She also worked in the World Bank’s Beijing office to provide project support to the energy team. Rui holds an MBA from the University of Maryland University College.

Khasan Khamudkhanov is an Uzbek national who joined the GIF team in September 2022. He has worked in the Infrastructure Finance, PPPs and Guarantees (IPG) group of the World Bank since late 2015. Prior to joining the GIF, Khasan was an M&E Consultant at the Public – Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), where he assisted in developing results framework for PPIAF interventions, evaluated the portfolio, and lead the annual country assessment process. He also spent several years as a PPP Consultant at the Benchmarking Infrastructure Development Project, where he evaluated legal frameworks applicable to PPPs in various economies and led the scoring and data visualization process of the project.   

Khasan holds a Master in Public Policy from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, and a Bachelor in Commerce specializing in Finance and Business Technology Management (BTM) from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. He is fluent in Russian and Uzbek.