Role of Infrastructure Funds and Institutional Investors in Blended Finance PPPs

This multi-stakeholder panel will provide practical insights on how blended finance can be leveraged to enhance investability and scalability at a portfolio level, ensuring that PPPs attract the necessary private sector participation for long-term success.

Meet our expert moderator and speakers!

MAX VON ABENDROTH
Chair, Philanthropy in PPPs Chapter
WAPPP

In addition to his role at WAPPP, Max Von Abendroth is the Lead Public-Private-Philanthropy Collaboration at The Partnering Initiative, TPI, in Oxford (UK). He is also Senior Advisor Europe & Germany at MDIF, a global 300mio USD blended capital fund sustaining media freedom.

With his company CONNECT4GOOD he is strengthening collective impact by ensuring networks are well-connected, well-resourced, and aligned toward shared goals. In the past Abendroth co-designed impact communities, including Future Media Lab., PEX, Philea, International Climate Commitment for Philanthropy, European Impact Investing Coalition, and Social Impact Alliance for Central and Eastern Europe. Abendroth is the former Executive Director of Dafne (today Philea), the European umbrella organisation of philanthropy, (2017 – 2022) representing 10.000 public benefit foundations across Europe. He lives with his family in Brussels (B).

CHRIS CLUBB
Managing Director
Convergence Blended Finance

Chris Clubb, with over 20 years of experience, has financed development projects across 50+ emerging and frontier markets. At Convergence, he draws on his leadership at EBRD, where he grew annual investments fivefold in early transition countries and pioneered blended finance programs, including a local currency initiative for SME finance. Previously, he financed European infrastructure projects at the European Investment Bank, supported cross-border financing at Export Development Canada, and started his career in corporate banking at Toronto Dominion Bank. Chris has also held senior roles in strategic risk management, designing enterprise-wide frameworks at EBRD and EDC.

ZIAD-ALEXANDRE HAYEK
President, WAPPP

Ziad Alexandre-Hayek is President at WAPPP and Vice-chair of the Working Party on PPP of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and High Commissioner of the World Business Angel Investment Forum for Lebanon.  Following a long career in international finance and as an investment banker with Citibank, Salomon Brothers, Indosuez Capital, Bear Stearns, he led the Republic of Lebanon’s High Council for Privatization and PPPs for 12 years until he was nominated for President of the World Bank Group. He owns Hayek Associates, a PPP advisory boutique, and sits on numerous boards.

VALERIE HARRINGTON 
Senior Fund Manager – Blended Finance
BlueOrchard

As Senior Fund Manager for Blended Finance mandates at BlueOrchard Finance, a leading impact investment manager, Valerie Harrington focuses on the management of several existing investment vehicles as well as the development of new initiatives in emerging and frontier markets. Most recently she led the launch and development of BlueOrchard’s latest blended finance strategy focused on Gender, Diversity and Inclusion in Latin America. Before joining BlueOrchard, Harrington worked at the wealth management division of Panama’s largest bank as an investment advisor constructing clients’ portfolios. Harrington holds an MBA from SDA Bocconi (Milan) and a BS in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University (Washington DC).

PABLO CEVALLOS PALOMEQUE
Secretary, Public-Private Partnerships Secretariat,
Ecuador

Pablo Cevallos Palomeque stands as a distinguished legal expert, holding a Masters Degree in Administrative Law from the Santiago de Guayaquil University, complemented by a Diploma in PPP Structuring from the San Francisco de Quito University. His professional journey boasts significant contributions to public management, notably in fostering infrastructure development via Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). With an extensive tenure spanning over a decade, his overarching goal is to catalyze investment, stimulate economic expansion, and foster employment opportunities in Ecuador by bolstering infrastructure and public service provision. Entrusted by President Daniel Noboa with the role of Secretary of Public-Private Investments, his primary mandate is to allure private capital to fortify national progress, thereby enriching the lives of Ecuadorian constituents via PPP.

MARK VAN WYK
CEO, Infra Impact Investment Managers

Mark Van Wyk is the Co-founder and CEO of Infra Impact Investment Managers, where he leads the firm’s strategic development, investment execution, and overall management. Infra Impact is a specialist infrastructure investment manager focused on waste, water, renewable energy, and digital infrastructure.

Previously, Wyk was the Head of Mergence’s unlisted investment business, where he launched and managed several impact and infrastructure funds across multiple African jurisdictions. With over 24 years of experience in capital and investment markets, Wyk has been recognized with numerous ABSIP awards for his leadership in South Africa’s alternative asset management space.

He also serves on the boards of several companies in the energy, waste, and telecommunications sectors.

SALIM BENSMAIL
Executive Director
Meridiam

Salim Bensmail is senior investment director at Meridiam, a Paris-based independent Benefit Corporation specialising in the development, financing, and long-term management of sustainable public infrastructure. He is an Executive Director of The Urban Resilience Fund (TURF), a global blended finance impact fund launched in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to support cities in delivering critical resilient infrastructure projects. He previously held a number of different positions in the French public sector, notably as head of the infrastructure funding support programme (FININFRA) at the French Treasury between 2014 and 2018, and as Deputy Director of Finance in charge of public-private partnerships for the City of Paris.