Albert Boateng
Team Leader
Albert has over 19 years of experience in
banking, investment and finance. Throughout his career, he has played roles in
supporting investments, fundraising and strategic project development for various
projects and diverse businesses across West Africa. Albert has demonstrated a
consistent track record of effectively overseeing investment portfolios and driving
impactful clean energy initiatives in West Africa.
He was the Regional Director
of Persistent Energy Partners, a clean energy investment company. He oversaw the
investment and portfolio development of PEP’s West Africa operations including
pipeline development, investment appraisal, transactions structuring, asset
management, supervision of exits as well as liquidation strategies. He was the
regional Asset Manager for E+Co, a clean energy fund management company that
provided enterprise development services to SMEs alongside provision of investment
capital. Albert previously worked as credit analyst with Citizens Financial Group
and Belmont Savings Bank in the US.
Albert is an Advisor for the GET.Invest
Finance Catalyst program in Sub-Saharan Africa, and currently serves as a member of
the Investment Committee for Wangara Capital, a climate-smart impact investment
fund. He also served on the IC of the Commodity Aggregation Development Fund
(CADeF). Albert previously served on the Boards of PEG Ghana Ltd, Persistent Energy
Capital Partners and Connect Capital.
He holds an MBA in Finance from Boston
College, USA and BA Social Science (Economics and French) from KNUST, Ghana.
Lauren Burnhill
International Expert
Lauren is a finance, investment and
international development advisor with more than 30 years’ experience in all aspects
of responsible investment and management of complex programmes including Micro,
Small & Medium Enterprise (MSME) Finance, Sustainable Finance and
Infrastructure, Renewable Energy, Climate Risk, Adaptation and Resilience, Gender
Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI), Community and Social Resilience.
She is the
Managing Director of One Planet Ventures LLC, offering strategic advice, financial
product and project design services, as well as governance support for corporates
and nonprofits looking to create sustainable, values-driven funding streams to
leverage activities and impact in meaningful, practical and sustainable ways. Some
of the notable projects she has been involved in include, as Senior Advisor, Gender
and Social Inclusion (GESI) for ADB-GCF Green Finance Facility (GFF) for India,
where she provided advice and review of GESI policies for the GFF and its end
beneficiaries in connection with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Green Climate Fund
(GCF) project. She was also the Team Lead for the EIB Greening Financial Sectors
(GFS), Technical Assistance Program, supporting the goals of a net zero and climate
resilient global financial system.
Lauren has extensive experience collaborating with multiple stakeholders in
the design and successful implementation of clear and innovative strategies,
policies, financial products, technical assistance projects, capacity
building/training and metrics for achieving financial, social and environmental
goals in various projects across Latin America, Middle East and Africa, Europe and
the United States.
She holds a Masters in Social Change and Development from the
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and an MBA in Finance
and Strategic Planning from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. In 2015,
she earned a Development Finance Professional Certification from the US Council of
Development Finance Agencies (CDFA).
Mark Dela Koto
Junior Expert
Mark Dela Koto is a finance professional with extensive experience in managing financial processes, supporting SMEs in business planning, financial reporting, and tax planning. His career includes roles in finance and grants management, where he has successfully overseen financial operations and compliance. Mark also brings investment analysis and due diligence expertise from his time as an Investment Analyst.
In the energy sector, Mark has served as a Junior Expert for the EU-TPSDE on the Ghana Energy Investment Climate Analysis Project. He provided strategic insights and conducted comprehensive market assessments, supporting the development of actionable investment strategies within Ghana's energy landscape.
A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana, Mark holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Ghana Business School. He has also contributed to academia as a Visiting Lecturer at Academic City University College, teaching courses in Investment Theory, Credit Policy, and Audit and Assurance.
