Our Team

Kenta is a seasoned renewable energy and access professional. Since Kenta joined the Bank in 2014, he engaged in operations and advisory work for eight countries in East and Southern Africa. He led greenfield engagements in some of the most challenging countries, including the Board delivery of the very first energy lending operation in South Sudan, energy sector reengagement in Sudan, and turnaround of geothermal and energy access projects in Ethiopia. He engaged complex sector reform dialogue such as fuel/electricity subsidy and legal framework reform, and designed energy access interventions in highly fragile and conflict-prone environment. In his capacity as a TTL, he has mentored a number of colleagues new to the Bank operations. 

Prior to joining the Bank, he has worked at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris as a Policy Analyst, and at Institute for Global Environmental Strategies in Japan as Energy and Climate Researcher. He holds MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics, and BA in International Liberal Studies from Waseda University. 

Lucie has 24 years of experience in communications, with 16 years at the World Bank Group, including assignments with IFC in Nairobi and Dakar.  She has worked on environmental and social policies, transport and climate change, and trade and investment climate issues. 

As ESMAP’s communications lead, she is responsible for advising ESMAP teams on messaging and communication of ESMAP global knowledge products and program results; raising ESMAP’s profile in international forums and enhancing ESMAP’s digital presence; and supporting regional teams on energy subsidy reform communications.

Marie-Gisele provides integral support to the Energy Access and the World Bank Power System Planning teams. She has acted as the Sr. Executive Assistant in the Office of the Director and Sr. Director of the World Bank Energy & Extractives Global Practice.  Marie-Gisele's experience expands numerous World Bank operation systems, monitoring and evaluation, trust fund administration, and human resources related matters. Marie-Gisele is fluent in both French and English.

Marj implements front- and back-end development and oversees the overall design of the ESMAP website, subsidiary sites, activity databases, and other online platforms. She designs and produces the monthly electronic newsletter; writes news for the web; and maintains ESMAP’s external contacts database.  Marj leads the coordination of all ESMAP’s Donors’ Consultative Group Meetings and all International knowledge exchange and global outreach events, such as: ESMAP Knowledge Exchange Forums in Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; Mini Grids Learning Events in Ghana, Kenya, Myanmar, and Nigeria; and the ESMAP Geothermal International Conferences. She also implements ESMAP’s social media campaigns.

Michelle is passionate about knowledge and data-driven products for strategic decisions, with over 17 years of experience in the energy sector. Enthusiastic about innovation and policy adaptation for Just Energy Transition, working toward a zero net emissions industry that can deliver universal access to energy services. She has experience in promoting, designing, and evaluating clean cooking programs.

Michelle was a senior Economist and the Knowledge Coordinator at the Energy Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Responsible for leading the knowledge agenda, analytical products, databases, and dissemination, and developing the area, the funding, and the team from the beginning. Recently, she led the Energy HUB for Latin America and the Caribbean, a collaborative tool for data gathering and knowledge-sharing for Latin America and the Caribbean Energy Transition. And she led the development of a unified agenda for clean hydrogen at the IDB. 

Michelle was also an advisor on energy industries related matters for governments, regulatory authorities, utilities, and industrial associations in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. She has worked as an independent consultant and as part of consulting companies, think tanks, and ONGs. She has been actively involved in educating senior professionals and young researchers; she also serves as an Energy Policy Advisor at the Florence School of Regulation, and editor and peer reviewer of academic journals. She is a regular speaker in workshops, seminars, and conferences. As a result of her research interest, she has co-authored twenty-nine articles in peer-reviewed journals and eight book chapters.

Michelle has PhD in Economics from the University of Paris Sud XI and she was a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute.

In her new role in ESMAP, Michelle will be leading the Clean Cooking Fund.

Wali is primarily responsible for trust fund administration and financial management/reporting in the ESMAP and Energy Climate Finance programs.  He comes to us from the Afghanistan Country office where he was working on the Bank’s largest single country multi-donor trust fund, the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). Wali has extensive experience in financial management, Bank’s operational policies and procedures, disbursements and trust fund management. Over the last one year, Wali was with the South Asia Regional Integration Unit and the FCV Group on Development Assignment managing regional and global trust funds.

Naoki manages a regional and country grant portfolio as well as global knowledge development focused on regional energy integration and power market development. He has also been involved in lending operations and analytical work related to regional integration in Southern Africa and South Asia. Prior to joining ESMAP, Naoki worked as a consultant in business strategy and infrastructure finance, with a strong focus on the power sector. Naoki holds an MSc in Development Management (Applied Development Economics) from the London School of Economics.

Senior Program Assistant

Peace will support the SRMI team in developing and implementing renewable energy programs. This includes providing advisory services, technical support, and capacity building.

During the past six years, Peace has developed expertise in utility operations, risk management, and electricity regulatory affairs at the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL). Her previous role as a Junior Investment Analyst at PROPARCO in Paris involved project finance for energy solutions across Africa.  Peace began her career as an Audit Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Uganda. Passionate about advancing Sustainable Development Goal 7 (affordable and clean energy), Peace is committed to making a positive impact in the energy sector.  She holds a Specialized Master’s in Infrastructure Project Financing from École des Ponts in Paris and is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Perla will support the M&E functions and financial and budget activities of the Energy Transition team. She has previously worked for ESMAP as a consultant since 2020 supporting the Portfolio Team on the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities, including updates on ESMAP’s results framework and preparation of reporting to donors as wells as Progress Reports. 

Perla has also worked with ESMAP donors reviewing their LogFrames for consistency with ESMAP’s results framework and Business Plans. Previously, she worked in the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) focusing on grant portfolio management and key thematic donor’s reports. In 2008, Perla worked with the World Bank operational team in the Latin America and the Caribbean on project-cycle management of urban, water and sanitation projects. 

Prior to joining the World Bank, Perla worked in the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia, where she led the design and implementation of a M&E system for research programs focused on agriculture. Perla has also worked in the private and public sector and academia in Nicaragua. 

Rafael has been with the Bank since 2012 and had the chance to work first time with ESMAP as STC, contributing to the publication of “Bringing Variable Renewable Energy Up to Scale - Options for Grid Integration Using Natural Gas and Energy Storage”. In 2015 he became part of the CIF team, where he worked mostly on the SREP program and, in partnership with ESMAP, co-led three knowledge-exchange events on minigrids in 2016 and 2017. In 2019 he joined the LAC Energy operational unit, focusing on the decarbonization agenda in Central America, being the green hydrogen focal point for the region and playing the role of ESMAP RC. 

Prior to the Bank, Rafa had worked already a decade on renewable energies (mostly wind and solar PV), green hydrogen and fuel cells, both at the Spanish Institute of Aerospace Technology and at international private companies. He studied chemical engineering and holds a master’s degree on Renewable Energy and Energy Markets from the EOI, Madrid.

In his current position, Rafa will be supporting the ESP, Green Hydrogen y Climate Finance teams.