Building the foundations of tomorrow's Africa
Infrastructure Finance · Planning · Management
33 years at the intersection of infrastructure, climate finance, and international development — from the World Bank to the Africa Infrastructure Fund.
"Dreaming of an Africa, free of poverty"
About
James Orehmie Monday is a Structural Engineer by training and a global infrastructure leader by experience. A native of The Gambia, James has lived and worked in Banjul, London, Washington DC, Bangkok and Dubai — bringing a truly international perspective to every engagement.
With 22 years at the World Bank, James led complex, high-risk infrastructure projects across Africa, East Asia, and South Asia — covering energy, transport, water, solid waste, and climate finance. Since retiring from the Bank in 2019, he founded the Africa Infrastructure Fund group, working to close the infrastructure gap in Africa through innovative, climate-friendly investment strategies.
Today James offers independent advisory and consulting services to governments, development finance institutions, private investors, and infrastructure developers seeking experienced, senior-level strategic guidance.
Dreaming of an Africa, free of poverty — and building the infrastructure foundations to make that dream a reality.
— James Orehmie Monday
Service in Focus
James offers independent, professional credit and risk rating services for sovereigns, infrastructure projects, and corporates operating in West Africa's financial markets. The service is designed to fill a critical gap: West African markets are often misunderstood and undervalued by international capital — viewed as a black box due to geo-political, governance, and fragmentation risk factors.
Drawing on over 33 years of infrastructure finance and development experience across 46+ countries, James provides clients with rigorous, independent risk assessments benchmarked to internationally recognised methodologies — combining deep local market knowledge with global best practice to deliver ratings that are both credible and actionable.
The ratings are dynamic and subject to continuous review, and are designed to give lenders, investors, and governments the strategic market intelligence they need to price risk accurately, manage portfolios effectively, and reduce systemic exposure in high-reward frontier markets.
Coverage Areas
Two-Pillar Rating Methodology
Pillar 1
Business Risk Profile
Pillar 2
Financial Risk Profile
The two pillars are assessed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, then combined through professional analytical judgement to arrive at a final rating. All ratings are benchmarked to internationally recognised standards and remain under continuous surveillance.
Rating Scale
Career
Environmental & Social Sustainability Advisor
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), The Gambia
Advising a government team on improving the environmental sustainability, efficiency, and reliability of operations across five state-owned enterprises, developing performance contracts to improve overall institutional performance.
AIF First Official Mission · Freetown, Sierra Leone · 12–14 February 2020
As CEO of the Africa Infrastructure Fund, James undertook his first official AIF mission to Freetown in February 2020 — meeting with the highest levels of government to introduce AIF's investment strategy and explore Sierra Leone's infrastructure pipeline.
AIF CEO James Orehmie Monday in private consultation with H.E. President Julius Maada Bio at the Presidential Residence, Freetown
Minister of Finance
Jacob Jusu Saffa
Presidential Infrastructure Advisor
Dr. John E. Tambi
Presidential Adviser, Economic & Financial Policy
Joe Demby
"My visit to Freetown over the last couple of days reminded me of the resilience and unbridled optimism of the people of Sierra Leone, which is awe-inspiring. I welcome this wonderful opportunity for the AIF and the Government of Sierra Leone to work together to help address the country's critical infrastructure needs."
— James Orehmie Monday, AIF Media Release, 14 February 2020AIF Visit · Freetown, Sierra Leone · February 2020
James with the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, during an Africa Infrastructure Fund visit in February 2020 — exploring infrastructure investment opportunities in Sierra Leone as part of AIF's pan-African pipeline development.
World Bank ESF & Infrastructure Consultant
World Bank · Africa, ECA, SAR & LAC
Short-term consulting on Environmental and Social Framework implementation across multiple regions; leading the Bank's team on solid waste management in the Eastern Caribbean and Pacific Islands, and on transport, energy and ICT projects in The Gambia.
Founder & Group CEO
Africa Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Group · Banjul & Washington DC
Founded and leads the AIF Group — developing a $500m net-zero PPP infrastructure investment fund to close the infrastructure gap in Africa. Operations span asset management, transaction advisory, project origination, and investment fund management across Gambia and the USA, with plans to launch the AIF Luxembourg fund targeting EU institutional investors.
Senior Environmental Engineer / Environment Coordinator · South Asia
World Bank · Dubai, UAE
Led business development and technical support for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Task Team Leader for the Maldives Clean Environment Project; Team Lead for the Karachi Environment Diagnostics and Afghanistan Solid Waste Assessment; Environment Coordinator for Afghanistan SCD and CPF. Safeguards support on high-risk hydropower projects in Nepal (Kabeli A, Upper Arun, Upper Trishuli) and major urban infrastructure in Karachi.
Community Engagement · Uttar Pradesh, India
James conducting direct community consultations during a World Bank field assignment in Uttar Pradesh, India — part of a career defined by engagement at every level, from finance ministries to village households.
Senior Environmental Engineer · Southeast Asia
World Bank · Bangkok, Thailand
Task Team Leader for a $145m Indonesia Solid Waste Management Project and the EAP Regional Centre of Excellence for Waste Management. Coordinated environment safeguards across Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and Pacific Islands. Environmental specialist on hydropower, oil palm, and CDD projects in Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Laos PDR, and Pacific Island ICT connectivity projects.
In the Field · East Timor (Timor-Leste) · October 2006
James on a World Bank field assignment in East Timor (Timor-Leste), October 2006 — one of over 46 countries where he has undertaken substantive work programmes.
Senior Environmental Engineer · Africa & East Asia Pacific
World Bank · Washington DC, USA
Task Team Leader for three Carbon Finance CDM projects in Indonesia. Environmental safeguards work across China (Hubei Hydropower, Hunan Highways), Laos PDR (Nam Theun 2), Indonesia, Vietnam, and across the Africa region on energy, agriculture, education, health and municipal projects in Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, Chad, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Africa and others.
Founder & CEO
Epsilon Consulting Ltd · Banjul, The Gambia
Founded and led a consulting engineering firm offering civil/structural engineering and project management services. Key projects included rehabilitation of the Banjul Drainage System (World Bank-financed), design and management of a 10-storey luxury apartment complex at Senegambia, and structural steel design for Kepel Harbour, Singapore.
Director, Civil & Structural Engineering Division
Bomon Associates · Banjul, The Gambia
Co-founder and Director responsible for structural engineering, business development, contract management, and team leadership. Delivered major ADB- and World Bank-financed projects including a $5m Health Services Development Project, $6m Education Programme, and the $4m Serrekunda Hospital.
Structural Engineer
Oscar Faber Consulting Engineers · London, UK
Structural design of major London buildings including the £90m Barclays Bank HQ at 54 Lombard Street (17-storey composite steel/concrete), 55 Basinghall Street, and the refurbishment of London Underground's Bayswater Station.
Services
End-to-end advisory across the infrastructure investment and development lifecycle.
01
Structuring infrastructure investment funds, debt, equity, and blended finance instruments. Advising on PPP fund design, investor readiness, and capital raising strategies — including DFI and institutional investor engagement.
02
Sector master plans, infrastructure gap analyses, and investment prioritisation frameworks. Aligning infrastructure programmes with national development goals, climate commitments, and fiscal realities.
03
End-to-end oversight of infrastructure project delivery: governance structures, procurement strategy, contractor management, and performance monitoring to ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
04
Deep expertise in World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and legacy safeguard policies. High-risk project support across hydropower, transport, energy, and urban infrastructure sectors.
05
17 years of experience developing climate-friendly policy and finance frameworks, including CDM projects under the Kyoto Protocol. Advisory on net-zero infrastructure strategies, carbon finance, and green investment structuring.
06
Strengthening the technical and managerial capacity of government ministries, agencies, state-owned enterprises, and utilities to plan, procure, and manage infrastructure programmes effectively — grounded in real World Bank operational experience.
07
Independent credit and risk rating services for sovereigns, corporates, and infrastructure projects in West Africa's underserved financial markets. Benchmarked to international best practice (S&P/Moody's methodology), covering Business Risk Profile and Financial Risk Profile across six risk dimensions — delivering the market intelligence needed to price risk, manage portfolios, and reduce systemic exposure in high-reward frontier markets.
Global Reach
James has undertaken substantial work programmes in over 46 countries across four continents, with deep regional expertise in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia Pacific.
The Approach
World Bank Pedigree
22 years of operational experience at the World Bank as a senior technical professional — bringing institutional knowledge, policy rigour, and global networks that few independent advisors can match.
Engineer to Executive
A rare combination of hands-on engineering expertise and C-suite leadership — from designing the structural frame of a Barclays Bank headquarters to founding and running an infrastructure fund group.
Climate & Development Nexus
17 years developing climate-friendly finance frameworks, carbon markets, and net-zero infrastructure strategies — deeply relevant as DFIs and investors apply increasingly strict climate conditions to infrastructure lending.
Africa-First Perspective
As a Gambian national who has worked across 16 African countries, James brings authentic local knowledge and government relationships — not just external expertise — to African infrastructure mandates.
Fragile & Frontier Markets
4 years of direct experience in fragile and conflict-affected states (Afghanistan, Chad, South Sudan). Comfortable operating in complex, high-risk environments where most advisors have no track record.
Independent & Outcome-Oriented
As an independent advisor, interests are fully aligned with the client. Focused on practical results — financial close, operational delivery, policy adoption — not advisory reports that sit on shelves.
Policy & Research
Independent, evidence-based policy analysis on critical infrastructure challenges facing Africa. Papers are available for purchase — the first is free.
Further policy papers coming soon. Contact James to be notified on publication.
In the News
The Africa Infrastructure Fund Group is active across The Gambia and the USA, originating and structuring climate-friendly PPP infrastructure transactions. Follow our latest news, press releases, and investment updates.
Africa Infrastructure Fund
AIF Group launches $500m net-zero PPP infrastructure investment fund targeting climate-friendly projects across Africa.
The Gambia
James Orehmie Monday advises Gambia government on SOE performance contracts covering five state-owned enterprises.
Recognition
Nominated for the 2026 Top 100 Influential Africans in Infrastructure — recognising transformative impact in African infrastructure finance.
Get in Touch
Whether you have a project to discuss or want to explore how we might work together — reach out.
