The Team

BGFA is a financing facility managed by Nefco and implemented on the ground with support from the project implementation partners NIRAS and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). Meet the teams below.

Nefco logo
Facility Manager:

Nefco

As Facility Manager, Nefco has overall responsibility for the Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA), including fundraising, procurement, contracting, financial administration and disbursements.

For more information please visit: www.nefco.int

Contact Nefco staff by email in format: name.surname@nefco.int 

The Nefco team

Kari Hämekoski
Kari Hämekoski
Senior Programme Manager, Fund Manager of BGFA

Kari is leading the day-to-day management of BGFA implementation, with responsibility for monitoring the operational work programme, procurement and costs.

Dennis Hamro-Drotz
Dennis Hamro-Drotz
Acting Head of the Special Funds Department at Nefco

Dennis is Acting Head of the Special Funds Department at Nefco and responsible for the BGFA institutional support programme.

Tina Möller
Tina Möller
Programme Manager

Tina is managing several BGFA projects and coordinates reporting with the BGFA donors and implementation partners.

Aleksandra Reskalenko
Aleksandra Reskalenko
Programme Officer

Aleksandra manages BGFA projects and supports the BGFA programme with various project management related tasks.

Petra Mikkolainen
Petra Mikkolainen
Senior Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Manager

Petra is responsible for the monitoring, evaluation and learning activities of BGFA

Aliona Fomenco
Aliona Fomenco
Investment Manager

Aliona is managing several BGFA projects and responsible for BGFA country programmes.

Heli Sinkko
Heli Sinkko
Programme Manager

Heli is managing BGFA projects.

Ritva Kauppi
Ritva Kauppi
Principal Counsel

Ritva is responsible for legal affairs related to BGFA.

Lia Oker-Blom
Lia Oker-Blom
Senior Communications Officer

Lia is responsible for BGFA programme communications.

Amica Dristig
Amica Dristig
Administrative Officer

Amica is working with various administrative tasks related to BGFA.

Emma Yrjölä
Emma Yrjölä
Programme Officer

Emma supports the BGFA programme with various project management related tasks.

REEEP new logo
Project Implementation Partner

REEEP

As Project Implementation Partner, REEEP supports the programme with market scoping, design of funding windows, due diligence review and development work.  Working on the ground, REEEP has organised local stakeholder engagements as part of the market scoping and currently provides technical assistance to the markets and administrative support to the Platform for Market Change under the BGFZ pilot programme.

For more information please visit: www.reeep.org

The REEEP team

Peter Storey
Peter Storey
Team Leader

Peter is an independent expert in international financing solutions in developing countries and transition economies, currently specialising in climate change, clean and renewable energy projects.

Merja Laakso
Merja Laakso
Director of Programmes

Merja provides strategic advice on the design and implementation of BGFA across all markets.

Giuseppe Gregu
Giuseppe Gregu
Senior Programme Manager

Giuseppe is responsible for managing internal operations of BGFA and contributes to BGFA’s implementation across all target countries.

Wilhelmina Diop
Wilhelmina Diop
Senior Analyst

Wilhelmina is a social entrepreneur with expertise in solar technologies. She supports the deployment of the program in BGFA countries and assists BGFA awardees in the implementation of their objectives within the beneficiary communities

Jessica Gogo
Jessica Gogo
Analyst

Jessica works on the implementation of BGFA across all target countries

Philimon Kamanga
Philimon Kamanga
Senior Analyst

Philimon works on the implementation of BGFA across all target countries

Antoine Lucic
Antoine Lucic
Senior Analyst

Antoine works on the implementation of BGFA across all target countries.

Andrew Loebus
Andrew Loebus
Head of BGFA

Andrew is responsible for the design and implementation of BGFA across all markets.

Kumbirai Makanza
Kumbirai Makanza
Senior Analyst

Kumbirai works on due diligence and provides financial technical assistance for BGFA across all target countries

Teresa Oberascher
Teresa Oberascher
Senior Manager

Teresa works on the implementation of BGFA across all target countries.

NIRAS
Project Implementation Partner

NIRAS

As Project Implementation Partner, NIRAS supports on-the-ground monitoring of the BGFA contracted companies, i.e. the energy service providers, incl. reporting and verification services (MRV), review of implementation progress and milestones reached by the financed projects, supports and coordinates work related to impact evaluations and verification of established energy service subscriptions and provides institutional support in the BGFA countries.

For more information please visit: www.niras.com

The NIRAS team

Jeroen van der Linden
Jeroen van der Linden
Team Leader

Jeroen is the overall NIRAS Team Leader for both Component 1 (Provision of MRV services for the Energy Service Providers/ESPs supported by BGFA) and Component 2 (Provision of Institutional Support Services). Jeroen has extensive experience in planning, development and deployment of off-grid RE technologies, as well as institutional strengthening at both state and local level in developing countries.

Annegrete Lausten
Annegrete Lausten
Deputy Team Leader

Annegrete is a seasoned clean energy expert and is responsible for overseeing the contract, co-leading the design of the project, and providing strategic oversight and technical guidance to the team for both Component 1 and 2.

Joss Swennenhuis
Joss Swennenhuis
MRV Lead

Joss is a leading MRV specialist and is responsible for leading the design, establishment and implementation of the BGFA MRV system and for coordinating the MRV work of the national MRV experts.

Klaudine Wakasa
Klaudine Wakasa
Regional Institutional Lead

Klaudine coordinates the work of the national institutional experts to catalyse the set up and implementation of the Off-Grid Task Forces in each country.

Lovisa Arlid
Lovisa Arlid
Gender specialist

Lovisa as Gender specialist is responsible for assessing the quality and adequacy of Gender Action Plans as well as the implementation of these plans and KPIs by respective ESPs.

Henry Karanja
Henry Karanja
ESG Specialist

Henry assesses the design and implementation of the ESPs Environmental and Social (E&S) plans, including e-waste plans, and related KPIs.

Ines Maghrebi
Ines Maghrebi
Financial Analyst

Ines is a senior international Financial Expert and is responsible for leading the monitoring and assessment of the financial health and status including the longer-term financial sustainability of the energy service providers (ESPs).

Lukas Grüner
Lukas Grüner
Finacial Analyst
Søren Bisgaard Vase
Søren Bisgaard Vase
Security Expert
Lloyd Chingambo
Lloyd Chingambo
Insititutional Expert - Zambia
Lynnly Mayenga
Lynnly Mayenga
Insititutional Expert - Zambia

Lynnly works to create and help implement an off-grid task force, composed of stakeholders from the public, private and donor community in Zambia

Salia Konaté
Salia Konaté
Institutional Expert, Burkina Faso

Salia works to create and help implement an off-grid task force, composed of stakeholders from the public, private and donor community in Burkina Faso

Gertrude Kasole
Gertrude Kasole
Institutional Expert, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Gertrude works to create and help implement an off-grid task force, composed of stakeholders from the public, private and donor community in DRC

Wilson Idahor
Wilson Idahor
Institutional Expert, Liberia

Wilson works to create and help implement an off-grid task force, composed of stakeholders from the public, private and donor community in Liberia

Mayra Pereira
Mayra Pereira
Institutional Expert, Mozambique

Mayra works to create and help implement an off-grid task force, composed of stakeholders from the public, private and donor community in Mozambique

Alexander Komakech Akena
Alexander Komakech Akena
Institutional Expert, Uganda

Alexander works to create and help implement an off-grid task force, composed of stakeholders from the public, private and donor community in Uganda

Fabris Wendintaré Compaoré
Fabris Wendintaré Compaoré
MRV Burkina Faso

Fabris as an MRV expert is responsible for monitoring, reporting and verifying the implementation progress of energy service providers in Burkina Faso.

Korvah L. Mulbah
Korvah L. Mulbah
MRV Liberia

Korvah as an MRV expert is responsible for monitoring, reporting and verifying the implementation progress of energy service providers in Liberia.

Xan Ehardt
Xan Ehardt
MRV Mozambique
Ben Kasozi
Ben Kasozi
MRV Uganda

Ben is an MRV expert responsible for monitoring, reporting and verifying the implementation progress of energy service providers in Uganda.

Kenneth Zulu
Kenneth Zulu
MRV Zambia

Kenneth as an MRV expert is responsible for monitoring, reporting and verifying the implementation progress of energy service providers in Zambia.

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