Innovations in Development Finance: Crowding in Private Investments for Africa

Dr. Christopher Marks of Mitsubishi Financial Group discusses how innovations in development finance such as new risk management tools are now “crowding in” private investments into emerging markets like Africa. As the flow of overseas development assistance shrinks, governments and development banks in emerging markets are increasingly seeking out new, private investors. In this context, risk management tools –– from balance sheet readjustment, to project cofinancing, and risk guarantees –– have become critical for attracting and retaining investment. 

Dr. Marks is Managing Director, Head of Emerging Markets EMEA, at the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). Prior to his current role, Dr. Marks served as Senior Advisor at the African Development Bank, responsible for the origination, structuring, and execution of synthetic structured finance and capital markets transactions for the AfDB’s balance sheet and African sovereign and quasi-sovereign clients. He was previously Global Head of Debt Capital Markets at BNP Paribas in London, and has worked for the World Bank, OECD, Price Waterhouse International Privatization Group, and as a three-year resident US Government Advisor to Poland's Ministry of Finance. 

Dr. Marks holds a M.A. from Johns Hopkins SAIS, a D.E.A. from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School for Public Policy and International Affairs. 

Dr. Marks gave a presentation in Princeton titled “Successful Risk Management in Development Finance: Cutting-Edge Case Studies from Africa” in November, 2018. For more information, please visit: https://jrc.princeton.edu/events/successful-risk-management-development-finance-cutting-edge-case-studies-africa.