Andrew Herscowitz serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Mission 300 (M300) Accelerator, a unit established by Rockefeller Catalytic Capital to help coordinate and support the efforts of many partners working together to advance the World Bank’s and African Development Bank’s ambitious commitment to help 300 million Africans gain access to electricity by 2030.
M300’s proposed speed and scale are unprecedented. We can only achieve that ambition by working together, by committing to do business differently, and by listening to and supporting the businesses, governments, and communities on the ground who are the ones that are going to drive these efforts. Not only can we do this, but we can exceed our goal through partnerships.
Andrew HerscowitzChief Executive OfficerMission 300 (M300) Accelerator, RF Catalytic Capital
Andy is a globally recognized leader and organization builder, most recently serving as the inaugural Executive Director for ODI Washington, one of the world’s leading global affairs think tanks. Prior to ODI, he spent more than 20 years as one of the U.S. Government’s most senior development diplomats, having lives and worked on four continents. He brings extensive expertise in international finance and energy access.
He has an exceptional track record in devising imaginative solutions to global challenges, including building and leading the U.S. Government’s Power Africa initiative, which grew to become the largest public-private partnership for development in the world and that has helped more than 200 million people in Africa gain access to electricity.
He also served as the first Chief Development Officer at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, where he devised and oversaw a $75 billion development strategy and served on the Investment Committee. Early in his career, he served as part of the U.S. government legal team that helped develop the original framework for the Global Fund.
He has received two Lifetime Achievement Awards for his work in advancing the African power sector. In 2018, Andy was awarded the “Serve to Americas” medal, given to the U.S. Government officials who have provided the greatest benefit to the American people. In 2005, the Federal Bar Association recognized Andy as one of the five most outstanding lawyers under the age of 35 in the U.S. government. He also has been named as an MIT/Rockefeller “Global Commissioner for Ending Energy Poverty” and has served on three different World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Future Councils (GFC) since 2013, including the GFC on the energy transition. He also serves as part of the high-level WEF Network for “Unlocking barriers and solutions to scale capital for energy transition in the Global South.”
Andy has authored more than 30 articles and opinion pieces, most of which have focused on how to improve the development finance architecture to advance investments in the Global South and in challenging sectors.