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, he has focused on climate finance and impact investment.

During his 11-year tenure at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Jonathan was involved in impact investing and climate finance, where he developed innovative structured finance solutions and sourced funding for large infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. He also 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.