Dr. Daniel Alexander Schroth has been appointed Director of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), effective May 16, 2022.
Schroth, a German citizen, served as Acting Director prior to his appointment. Schroth joined the Bank in 2012 following several senior appointments with various international organisations, including as Political and Economic Adviser to the EU Special Representative for Bosnia & Herzegovina; Economic Adviser in the EU Delegation to North Macedonia; Energy Sector Coordinator for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, and for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s natural resources team in London.
Schroth has led various projects across the continent and coordinated several partnerships since joining the Bank as a Principal Energy Specialist in the Energy, Environment, and Climate Change Department.
They include the Africa Climate Technology and Finance Center, the Sustainable Energy for All Africa Hub, the Green Mini-Grid Market Development Program, and the Bank’s participation in the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund.
He was appointed Advisor to the Vice President of the Energy Complex in July 2017. Several partnership agreements were signed under his leadership, including the Regional Development Objectives Agreement with USAID/Power Africa and the US$600 million Korea-Africa Energy Investment Framework. From January 2019 until the time of this appointment, Schroth served as Acting Director.
He has also been in charge of large-scale climate finance mobilisation, including more than $320 million from the Green Climate Fund for the Leveraging Energy Access Finance Framework and the Sahel G5 Desert to Power Financing Facility.
Schroth has 20 years of experience in international relations, energy policy, and renewable energy, and has developed a strong network of partners in the energy and climate change sectors.
He is a recognized expert in Africa’s renewable energy sector, and he has represented the Bank in a number of high-level international fora and conferences. He is a member of the SDG 7 Technical Advisory Group and serves on several steering and oversight committees.
“I am grateful for the confidence placed in me by President Adesina to scale up the African Development Bank’s support for the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects across the continent, with a view to ensuring that the Bank is at the forefront of driving Africa’s just energy transition,” commenting on his appointment, Schroth said.
Schroth holds a Ph.D. and an M.Phil in International Relations, with a focus on international energy policy, from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and degrees in international business administration from Reims Management School, France, and the European School of Business, Reutlingen, Germany.