Avril Benchimol Dominguez

Avril Benchimol Dominguez is leading the blended finance initiative (Non-Grant Instruments) at the GEF with a portfolio of active projects above $250 million. The goal of this initiative is to test blended finance structures that de-risk private investment and help create innovative financial structures to combat global environmental degradation. The GEF blended finance window offers a wide array of financial instruments including equity, debt, and risk-sharing instruments to be used in environmental projects that are perceived as too risky for commercial finance alone.

Avril has seventeen years of experience in capital markets and structured finance both in multilateral development banks and investment banking. During her eight years of work at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), she designed and executed capital markets and structured finance transactions supporting SDGs. She also led a green microfinance facility in 11 countries that facilitated microfinance clients’ mitigation and adaptation initiatives. Prior to joining the IDB, she spent six years working in investment banking for Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas in London, Madrid, and Brussels. Her main areas of expertise included capital markets and structured equity derivatives. In capital markets she worked in the origination and structuring of equity and debt transactions such as IPOs, rights issues, and corporate bond issues. In 2011, she received her Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, where she graduated with honors. Avril is originally from Spain and currently lives in Washington, DC.