Rachel is a project finance thought leader and global strategist with 20 years’ experience working with some of the best international energy companies, investment banks, and multilateral organizations globally. She has delivered over $5 billion (USD) worth of pioneering and award-winning projects across the infrastructure and energy value chain that have fostered economic growth and delivered sustainable access to electricity and ICT services to millions of people. Rachel began her career in the US at AES Corporation, a global energy company where she developed vital electricity generation, transmission, and distribution assets in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Subsequently, she spent close to a decade with multilateral agencies at the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation, before joining Rand Merchant Bank, one of Africa’s leading investment banks, to head the infrastructure platform for West Africa. Rachel is passionate about Africa and the belief that true socio-economic development will be realized as Africans continue to conceptualize, construct, and drive progressive policies and reforms. She is invested in building a continent that is self-sufficient and is committed to implementing innovative solutions that tackle Africa’s prevailing challenges. She holds an MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Virginia and is a fellow of the Senior Executive Program – Africa, from the Harvard Business School. She serves on the Advisory Board of Inspired Evolution, a South African based renewable and clean energy infrastructure fund and is a Non-Executive Director of Eja-Ice, a solar powered refrigeration and cold chain service company that helps mitigate waste and sustain profit of fisheries and other small businesses in Nigeria.