The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) offers recent graduates and young professionals from diverse academic backgrounds the opportunity to contribute to AIIB’s mission to finance Infrastructure for Tomorrow while developing valuable professional skills. AIIB’s Graduate Program, a two-year rotational program, will give successful candidates an opportunity to gain experience in one of the five streams: Investment, Finance, Risk Management, Strategy, and Corporate. It also has a parallel Legal Associate program for young lawyers who want to work with the Legal Department.
Analysts work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and are mentored by specialists and experts in the field. The program has opportunities for professional and personal growth through Bank-wide workshops and trainings and project assignments.
AIIB first opened the program in 2022 and admitted 25 Graduate Program associates from a pool of 5,039 applicants worldwide (from 123 economies). The first cohort is composed of 19 female and 6 male young professionals from 16 economies (Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russia, United Kingdom, and Viet Nam). All of the successful candidates are multitalented young professionals, with excellent academic track records and interested in contributing to international development, particularly in Asia.
By working closely with clients in Asia’s public and private sectors, AIIB’s Graduate Program analysts will gain a deep understanding of, and broader perspectives on, infrastructure development and financing challenges and opportunities in Asia and beyond. By rotating across different departments, they also receive training, mentoring, career guidance and development opportunities to grow and develop professionally at AIIB.
Meet some of AIIB’s Graduate Analysts:
Nomundari Battsogt, Jessica Halim, Muykung Sorn, Ze Wang, and Jinwen Ye are all pursuing the Investment Track, assigned either to the Infrastructure Investment Departments or the Banking Departments, and are currently working with clients in preparing projects to ensure that they are sustainable from a financial, economic, environmental, and social perspective.
Nomundari, or Nami, is from Mongolia and has a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business from University College London. She has three years of experience working in the private sector prior to joining AIIB. “I realized I could learn a lot at this organization while contributing the best I can with the relevant private sector experience I already had,” she said. “For me, the graduate program is an excellent entry point to the multilateral investment sector where I feel I could make the most impact in infrastructure development in my home country and other developing nations across the world.”
AIIB’s focus on Asia was also what attracted Jessica to apply to the Graduate Program. Jessica, who is from Indonesia, began her career with AIIB as a summer intern while pursuing her master’s degree in engineering management from Tsinghua University. She said, “Three years ago, I grew an interest in international development, and AIIB stood out to me from other multilateral development banks (MDBs) due to its focus on my home region of Asia as well as its emphasis on technology-enabled infrastructure. I decided to apply for the full-time graduate analyst position after my internship as I could see myself contributing and growing professionally within AIIB’s supportive environment.”
| Technology-enabled infrastructure is one of AIIB’s main thematic priorities. AIIB plans to play a major role in supporting clients transform their infrastructure sectors, including health and education infrastructure, by digital means and through technological applications. In 2021, 39 percent of AIIB’s projects involved technology-enabled infrastructure. |
Jinwen, who is from Canada, is also working on several digital infrastructure projects as well as on-lending projects with other financial institutions. Her background in mathematics and finance is serving her in good stead as she works as an Investment Analyst with AIIB’s Banking Department. When asked what skills would help future applicants succeed in the role, she replied, “I think the ability to communicate with different parties would be valuable as members of the investment operations departments need to engage with multiple functions within the Bank to understand a project’s full implications. An understanding of financial products and financial modelling is also essential.”
Muykung, who is from Cambodia, had been working as a Cambodia-based investment analyst specializing in corporate finance for three years before relocating to Beijing to join AIIB’s investment team. She has a bachelor’s degree in banking and finance from Sheffield Hallam University. “What motivated me to apply to AIIB was the opportunity for career expansion and meaningful work,” she said. “Moreover, the Graduate Program is the best fit for me as a young professional as it offers both technical and soft skills training. I was attracted to the program because it gives me opportunities to rotate to a different department and allow me to further expand my knowledge and stretch my capacities. After spending one year in the Banking Department, I will rotate to the Risk Department for six months before coming back to my home department.”
Ze learned about AIIB when he was working at the China Development Bank, while doing some research on development finance. “I realized if AIIB would be a great opportunity for me to have a global career in a multicultural environment and enable me to contribute to development finance.” Ze, who is from China, has a Master of Laws from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Law from Sichuan University.
His typical workday includes project meetings with colleagues or clients and research or preparation of project documents. According to him, people who take initiative and are enthusiastic about their work are most valuable at AIIB.
Nicole Faith Blanco, from the Philippines, is also on the Investment track but focusing on the operations side. As a Social Development Analyst with the Operational Services Department, she supports project due diligence and ESG on different energy and transport projects located in Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia and West Asia.
She has a bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology, Major in Human Settlements Planning from the University of the Philippines. Compared to other fields like biology or engineering, Human Ecology is relatively a new discipline and deals mainly with understanding the interrelationship of humans and the environment and all the hierarchy and units that come across with it, including sustainable development and climate change.
“As a young environmental planner in the Philippines and an advocate for sustainable development, especially for developing nations, I have always been interested in working for an international organization,” said Nicole. “I believe that multilateral development banks play a pivotal role in transforming communities and cities into climate-resilient, inclusive, and sustainable ones. This is what really inspired me to be part of AIIB as it prioritizes green infrastructure investments and regional interconnectivity in Asian nations.”
She notes that her current career trajectory with the Graduate Program is consistent with her passion and background in environment and sustainable development. She says, “I believe that the Graduate Program offers a great opportunity and unique perspective for young professionals like me in paving the concrete path for our early career in the development world. In particular, the Graduate Program allows us to be involved in international infrastructure projects in different Asian regions; exposes us to a wider array of environmental, social, political, and economic issues; and allows us to forge global networks and partnerships with professionals who have similar visions.”
Hira Usman, from Pakistan, is also with the Operational Services Department, but as an environment analyst who supports environment specialists in implementing AIIB’s Environmental and Social Framework. “I research and analyze the environmental aspects of projects including biodiversity, sustainable use of resources like water and energy, pollution prevention, and climate change and share inputs with project teams. I enjoy collaborating with internal and external partners in planning and organizing E&S-related seminars. I also enjoy learning Chinese in a class offered weekly for free by AIIB.” Hira is a Fulbright Scholar, with a master’s degree in environmental resource policy from George Washington University.
On the other hand, Xiaomeng Zhang is on the Risk Track. Now a sovereign risk analyst with AIIB’s Risk Management Department, on the Credit and Investment Risk team, she helps the team assess, monitor, and manage sovereign risk in AIIB’s investments and operations. She participates in monitoring major developments affecting sovereign risk ratings and assists in the assignment of sovereign risk ratings and advising on the risks of AIIB’s sovereign investments and operations. She graduated from Peking University with a Bachelor of Economics and Columbia University, School of International And Public Affairs for an MA in Public Administration, International Finance and Economic Policy. She began her career as a portfolio analyst at CITIC Securities, where she spent three years focusing on secondary market investment analysis.
According to Xiaomeng, AIIB’s ‘lean, clean and green’ values are “well reflected in the working culture of the Bank.” Most of the graduate analysts “have plenty of chances to work together with different teams and departments, in a flexible and highly efficient manner most of the time. People who have teamwork, a passion to learn, curiosity and are self-motivated could thrive here.”
Justine Regine Tamano, from the Philippines, is on the Strategy track, assigned to the Strategy, Policy and Budget Department. She is a Certified Management Accountant and a foundational Public-Private Project professional. She has a master’s in accounting from Singapore Management University and graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines Diliman. As a budget analyst, she supports the full budget management cycle of the bank as well as the cost monitoring for select Special Funds resources, among others.
| AIIB Special Funds support project preparation and implementation services for high-quality projects, capacity building, information sharing, and making AIIB loans more affordable through interest buy down grants. They also allow AIIB to give additional support to the needs of its less developed Members. |
According to Justine, “Believing in the power of private capital for good and seeing the difference efficient infrastructure can make on everyday lives in the Philippines and in Singapore, I knew I wanted to specialize in infrastructure projects that would enable economic improvement for developing nations particularly in Asia. AIIB combines exactly the fields I want to specialize in and was offering a rare window for young professionals like me to join their experienced team. The Graduate Program–aimed at people starting their careers and offering a rotation through different departments of the Bank–is a perfect match and the first of its kind, even among other multilateral development banks, and so was something I could not pass up. The journey to getting the offer and coming to Beijing has been a whirlwind, but I would not have had it any other way.”
Young talents who are interested in applying to the AIIB Graduate Program should:
- Have a Master’s degree with at least one to two years of relevant working experience OR
- A Bachelor’s degree with at least two to three years of relevant working experience.
- Be fluent in oral and written English.
- Meet the criteria of the specific positions in each department.
For more information about the AIIB Graduate Program and to apply online, visit AIIB Career site. Deadline to submit applications is on Feb. 5, 2023.
Register for the virtual event on Graduate and Legal Associate Program on Jan. 20, 2023. It is an opportunity for young and entry-level professionals to engage directly with AIIB HR representatives, current Graduate Analysts and Legal Associates. For more information, visit AIIB’s campaign page on Impactpool.
