Nnema Byrd serves as Managing Director for DFC’s Real Estate team in
the Office of Infrastructure. She leads corporate and project finance
transactions that enable critical infrastructure development such as data
centers, industrial/logistics hubs, and health and technology-related
facilities in countries across Africa, Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, and
Latin America. With more than 23 years of finance and investment
experience, she specializes in delivering innovative financing solutions
that advance affordable, technologically innovative, built environments.
Since joining DFC in 2021, Nnema has applied her cross-sector expertise
to transformative projects that expand market liquidity for real estate
projects, many integrating next-generation IT and telecommunications
capabilities. She previously spent seven years in Johannesburg, South
Africa, as Portfolio Manager for STANLIB, one of Africa’s largest asset
managers, where she led private equity investments in retail, office, and
mixed-use projects across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Earlier, as Vice President at a Chicago-based, SEC-registered real estate
private equity firm, she structured mezzanine and joint-venture
investments for residential, commercial, hospitality, and industrial
property developments across the United States, managing a portfolio
exceeding $1 billion.
Nnema holds a BSc in Architecture and an MBA from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst
designation.