Sarah Whitten
Regional Manager for Finance and Implementation
U.S. Trade and Development Agency
Sarah is the Regional Finance and Implementation Manager at the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA), the United States government’s project preparation agency. USTDA provides grant-based funding for project preparation activities including feasibility studies, technical assistance, and pilot projects in the clean energy, digital, transportation and healthcare sectors. In her role, Sarah supports the fundraising process for infrastructure project developers across sub-Saharan Africa.
Prior to joining the U.S. government, she was an Executive Director and Global Account Manager with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Johannesburg, managing a portfolio of South African headquartered multinationals and South African regional offices, offering financing and risk management solutions.
In addition to these roles, Sarah serves on the Global D&I Committee at USTDA and on the steering committee of 100 Women in Finance in South Africa. She previously served as chairwoman for SCB South Africa’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Council, as well as on the steering committee of the 30% Club South Africa.
Prior to her roles in South Africa, Sarah spent time with SCB New York’s Debt Capital Markets team, covering origination for North American corporates focused on global bond issuances, and before that Sarah was with Merrill Lynch Chicago in Private Banking supporting investment decisions in the portfolios of high-net-worth individuals.
Click on the following link to read Sarah’s latest write-up that was featured in the U.S. Trade & Development Agency’s website, on the topic of utilizing project preparation and blended finance to get projects to bankability USTDA TradePosts (constantcontact.com)
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