EBRD names new managing director for southern, eastern Mediterranean region

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) appointed Heike Harmgart as managing director for its southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region.

Harmgart will take up her position on 1 January 2020. She replaces Janet Heckman who is retiring from the EBRD.

A German national, Harmgart will head up the EBRD’s banking operations in the SEMED region, which currently comprises Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and the West Bank and Gaza.

The EBRD promotes private sector development across 38 emerging economies. It began investing in the southern and eastern Mediterranean in 2012.

“It is a great privilege to take over responsibility for the EBRD’s activities in this key region for the Bank. I look forward to building yet further on the achievements of my predecessors in working to deliver robust and sustainable economies in support of the people who live there,” Harmgart said.

The EBRD engaged rapidly in SEMED. Since the start of its operations in the region, it has invested over 10 billion euros, supporting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting agribusiness, developing infrastructure and local services and supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency and the development of local capital markets.

Harmgart joined the EBRD in 2006 as an economist. She was appointed EBRD head in Jordan in 2013 and subsequently assumed responsibly for the wider eastern Mediterranean region, which includes Lebanon and the West Bank and Gaza as well as Jordan.

The EBRD’s investments in Egypt stand at around 5.3 billion euros over 99 projects, 58 percent of which are private sector.

Source: MENA