Jonathan First

JONATHAN FIRST spent 18 years in investment banking in London, Toronto and Johannesburg and 9 years in development finance after qualifying as a lawyer. Since 2014 Jonathan has focused on climate finance and impact investment. Jonathan has been involved in impact investing and climate finance for 11 years At the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Jonathan developed innovative structured finance solutions and sourced funding for large infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. He led the DBSA’s initiative to create a green bank which culminated in the establishment of the GCF & EIB funded Climate Finance Facility in 2018. Previously, Jonathan was part of the task team that set up the Impact Investment National Advisory Board in South Africa and a board member and was a consultant to Rwanda Green Fund on the setting up of Rwanda’s IREME Invest. Currently Jonathan is Head, Africa and country director for CPI; a senior consultant to World Bank MIGA; chair of the advisory committee for Africa’s first green outcomes-based fund (GOF) and a director of the Sustainable Finance Coalition. Climate Policy Initiative CPI is an analysis and advisory organization with deep expertise in finance and policy. CPI’s mission is to help governments, businesses and financial institutions drive economic growth while addressing climate change.