SPEAKERS
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Cape Town Deputy Mayor Alderman Eddie Andrews
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Dr. Frank Aswani
Chief Executive Officer, African Venture Philanthropy Alliance
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Ziyad Cassim
South Africa Country Representative for the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP)
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Karabo Chadzingwa
Researcher, Governance and Specialised Reporting Directorate of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Continental Secretariat
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Raisa Cole
F20 South African Chair & Organisational Development Manager at Democracy Works Foundation
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Michelle Cruywagen
Senior Just Transition and Coal Campaign Manager, groundWork
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Slim Dali
Regional Economist, French Development Agency (AFD)
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Rudi Dicks
Head of the Project Management Office (PMO) in the Private Office of the President of South Africa
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Bertha Dlamini
Founding President of African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP)
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Saliem Fakir
Executive Director, African Climate Foundation
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Duncan Hay
Strategic Advisor, The Lewis Foundation
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Katrin Harvey
Secretary General of the Foundations Platform F20
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Dr. Chantelle Howlett-Downing
Senior Scientist, Pretoria MRC Climate Change and Health division
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Janet Jobson
Chief Executive Officer of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation
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H.E. Mrs Sandra Kramer
EU Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa
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Mandisa Mathobela
International development and philanthropy consultant
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Indiphile Matini
Programme Manager, Youth Ambassador for Climate Change, Social Change Assistance Trust
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Dorah Modise
Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Commission
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Jerrod Moodley
Finance Specialist, JET PMU
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Nyasha McBride Mpani
Project Leader Data for Governance Alliance Project
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Malango Mughogho
Managing Director of ZeniZeni Sustainable Finance
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Aliness P. Mumba
Regional Lead on Climate Justice and Natural Resource Governance, Southern Africa Trust
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Joel Netshitenzhe
Executive Director and Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA)
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Bongiwe Ndondo
Executive Director, Hlanganisa Community Fund
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Olawunmi Ola-Busari
Political Impact Manager, The ONE Campaign
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Dr. Artur Runge-Metzger
Fellow, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons
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Vumile Senene
South Africa Country Lead, Clean Air Fund
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Dr. Nomvuselelo “Mvusy” Songelwa (PhD)
WWF South Africa Board Member & Founder of Lipstick Chronicles Movement
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Jiao Tang
Deputy CEO, Catalytic Finance Foundation
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Nivedita Varshneya
Regional Advisor, Advocacy and Collaborations, Welthungerhilfe (WHH)
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Alan Wallis
Programme Officer, Natural Resources and Climate Change Programme, Ford Foundation
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Mark Wittcoff
Chairman and General Partner of KW Commercial Landmark & former U.S. Ambassador to the Council for Ukraine Reconstruction
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Deputy Mayor Alderman of Cape Town
Alderman Eddie Andrews holds a Bachelor of Administration (HONS) majoring in Public Administration and Politics (University of Western Cape). Before entering public office, he played professional rugby for Western Province, Stormers, and Springboks. As a consequence of being an active community activist and wanting to do more, he transitioned into politics in 2011 as a City of Cape Town Councillor and has since served as a Sub Council Chairperson, Portfolio Committee Chairperson, and Mayoral Committee Member. He is currently serving the residents of Cape Town as the Executive Deputy Mayor and the Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment. He remains resolute in his desire to ensure that the City of Cape Town fulfils its enabling obligation and contributes sustainably towards Cape Town’s shared future.
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Chief Executive Officer, African Venture Philanthropy Alliance
Dr Frank Aswani has extensive experience in both the private and social sectors. Before joining AVPA Frank held the position of VP and Director of Strategic Relations for six years at the African Leadership Academy (ALA) in Johannesburg, where he led ALA’s corporate partnerships, business development and fundraising activities. He has also worked for Absolute Return for Kids (ARK) as the Regional Director for Africa and spent fourteen years with Eli Lilly where he worked in Kenya, England, Switzerland and South Africa. His last role at Eli Lilly was Sales Director for South Africa and Regional Director for Sub Sahara Africa.
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South Africa Country Representative for the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP)
Ziyad Cassim is the South Africa Country Representative for the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), where he works closely with South African government to accelerate the Just Energy Transition. In South Africa, GEAPP has focussed on strengthening the enabling environment, accelerating fossil-fuel decommissioning pilots and supporting projects that enable the jobs transition. Prior to joining GEAPP, Ziyad was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, working across more than 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North America on strategy on corporate finance topics for energy, mining and manufacturing players. He also co-led McKinsey’s sustainability and energy transition practices in Africa.
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Researcher, Governance and Specialised Reporting Directorate of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Continental Secretariat
Karabo Chadzingwa is a researcher in the Governance and Specialised Reporting Directorate of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Continental Secretariat where she coordinates work on Natural Resource Governance, undertakes governance research and facilitates several flagship projects in APRM members states. She holds a master’s degree (MSc) in Environmental Science from Rhodes University, South Africa. Her research interests include natural resource governance, socio-ecological systems, land policy, Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), climate finance, and public policy.
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Organisational Development Manager at Democracy Works Foundation
Raisa Cole’s work embodies the principles of intersectional environmental feminism, recognising the interconnectedness of social justice, racial and gender equity, and environmental sustainability. As the Organisational Development Manager at Democracy Works Foundation, where she also leads the organisation’s Climate Governance Programme, she works to amplify the voices and ingenuity of those at the forefront of the climate crises. She is currently pursuing a PhD in environmental governance at the Wageningen University and Research. She refers to herself as a scholar activist who uses participatory and community-centred research approaches to inform more inclusive and responsive decision making.
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Senior Just Transition and Coal Campaign Manager
Michelle Cruywagen joined groundWork in 2022 as a Senior Just Transition and Coal Campaign Manager, her work includes support to the Africa Coal Network (ACN), Life After Coal Campaigns and capacitating grassroots activism. Prior to joining groundWork, she provided input to GIZ’s Climate Support Programmes response to the IKI call for proposals for a Just Transition to a decarbonised economy. Michelle has an MPhil in Sustainable Development and her master’s thesis explored the cost of a just transition in South Africa. Her career includes 20 years of strategic communications experience.
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Regional Economist at the French Development Agency (AFD)
Slim Dali is a Regional Economist at the French Development Agency (AFD), currently based in Johannesburg. A graduate of the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), he has held various economist positions within the French Ministry of Economy and Finance and AFD, with a strong focus on macroeconomic analysis, country risk, and climate change. He is currently engaged in supporting policy dialogue around the Just Energy Transition.
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Head of the Project Management Office (PMO) in the Private Office of the President of South Africa
Rudi Dicks is the Head of the Project Management Office (PMO) in the Private Office of the President. He is responsible for supporting the implementation of the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES), the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) as well as unblocking regulatory challenges that impact on employment an economic growth. He also oversees the coordination and implementation of the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan. Rudi jointly leads Operation Vulindlela which has been established as a joint initiative between the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate structural reforms.
In his previous role, he was an Outcomes Facilitator at the Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), responsible for monitoring the performance of economic and infrastructure outcomes and supporting various economic interventions across government. In this role he established the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS) that is currently applied across national government.
He also formally served as the Executive Director of the National Labour and Economic Development Institute (NALEDI), the research arm of COSATU from 2008 to 2013. Before 2008, he worked at COSATU and its affiliates, in various capacities since 1994.
Rudi has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Economic Principles as well as a Master of Science (MSc) Finance from the University of London. He also has a Management Advanced Programme qualification from the WITS Business School.
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Founding President of African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP)
Bertha Dlamini is a seasoned management consultant and gender equity strategist with over 15 years of experience in stakeholder engagement, strategic programme design, change management, and entrepreneurship development. As the Founding President of African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP), she has led pioneering work to integrate women entrepreneurs into Africa’s energy value chains, delivering capacity-building programmes across 30 African countries
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Executive Director, African Climate Foundation
Saliem Fakir is an expert in the fields of climate and energy, finance and economics. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the African Climate Foundation, the first strategic grant-making foundation on the African continent with a focus on delivering impact through support to interventions at the climate-development nexus. He currently also holds the position of honorary lecturer at the Mandela School of Governance (UCT). Saliem served on the Board of GreenCape and is currently serving on the Board of the Atlantic Special Economic Zone.
Prior to establishing the African Climate Foundation, Saliem served as the Head of the Policy & Futures Unit of WWF South Africa for 11 years. He worked at Lereko Energy Investments. He served as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Administration and Planning and an Associate Director for the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy at Stellenbosch University. Prior to that he served as Director of the World Conservation Union, South Africa (IUCN-SA) for eight years. He has served on several other Boards and is a prolific writer who contributes regularly to leading South African publications like Engineering News, Business Day and the Daily Maverick
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Strategic Advisor, The Lewis Foundation
Duncan Hay is the Strategic Advisor to the Lewis Foundation, a conservation focused philanthropy, and an Associate Research Fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is the retired Executive Director of the Institute of Natural Resources (INR). He is also a non-executive director of the GreenMatter Partnership where, in 2022, he also served as interim executive director. Duncan earned an MSc degree in Zoology from the University of Natal (now UKZN) and a post-graduate diploma in environmental security from the University of Cambridge. He has over forty years’ experience in natural resource management and rural development programmes and projects, and in developing the capacity of young professionals in these fields. He has led multi-disciplinary teams to several international and national awards including the national Green Trust Award for the Eastern Cape Estuaries Management Programme. He has authored over forty reports and publications, many of them focusing on translating technical subjects into language that is understandable to the general public. Apart from directing the INR and GreenMatter, his recent focus has been on freshwater resources and catchment conservation, particularly the role nature plays in water security.
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Secretary General, Foundations Platform F20
Before joining F20, Katrin was Chief Operations Officer of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. In that role, she worked closely with global leaders and young changemakers to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, as part of the legacy of former UN-SG Ban Ki-moon.
In over 15 years working in the fields of sustainability, climate action, clean energy, and organizational management, Katrin has managed projects in Europe, Africa, and Asia in partnership with philanthropic organisations, UN agencies, the EU, and governmental development agencies. In her work she focused on climate change adaptation, sustainable agriculture and food systems, clean energy access, climate change education and capacity building, public-private dialogue, and on facilitating South-South and South-North knowledge exchange among experts in energy efficiency, energy regulation and international law.
Katrin has academic degrees in language studies and international development.
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Senior Scientist in the Climate Change and Health division of the MRC in Pretoria
Dr Chantelle Howlett-Downing is a Senior Scientist in the Climate Change and Health division of the MRC in Pretoria. With a history of chemistry, environmental management and environmental health studies, Chantelle is very interested in the interface between air pollution and health and finding new ways to investigate and understand how these very complex systems work apart and when they meet. At the MRC, Chantelle is active with the Clean Air Fund project and contributing to a range of other analytical activities. Chantelle is also active in academic activities such as supervision for postgraduate students, and is currently an Extraordinary Lecturer at UP. Chantelle is active in the Ethics and Philosophy division for ISES-ISEE.
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Chief Executive Officer of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation
Janet Jobson is the Chief Executive Officer of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, where she drives their work on societal healing for peace and transformation. Previously, Janet was the Deputy CEO (and Acting CEO for the period Feb 2021 to Feb 2022) at the DG Murray Trust (DGMT). At DGMT Janet worked to grow the organization as a public innovator aiming to build a South Africa where all people can fulfil their potential. Alongside her overall organizational leadership, at DGMT Janet specifically led strategies focused on creating platforms for youth leadership networks, tackling school dropout and youth unemployment, and growing an innovative and inclusive society. Janet has held governance roles and worked in various capacities with a range of organizations such as Activate! Leadership, Amandla.mobi, Life Choices, Amnesty International South Africa, CIVICUS, and the South African Girl Child Alliance. Janet brings to her work a drive to build a more compassionate, connected, and just world.
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EU Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa
Sandra Kramer is the European Union’s Ambassador to South Africa since August 2022. Ambassador Kramer joined the European Commission in 1995 in the Directorate-General for External Relations. She served as Trade Counsellor at the EU Delegation to Indonesia and as Head of Economic Co-operation at the EU Delegation to India. Ambassador Kramer served as assistant to the European Commission’s Chief Spokesperson and assistant to the Deputy Director-General in the Directorate-General for Enterprise & Industry. In 2014, Ambassador Kramer joined the Cabinet of European Commission President Juncker as Director of Coordination and Administration with key responsibilities on Budget and Human Resources. She served as Africa Director at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships from 2019 - 2022. Ambassador Kramer holds a Master’s degree in Literature from the University of Groningen, as well as a Master’s degree in Economics and International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna and Washington DC.
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International development and philanthropy consultant
Mandisa Mathobela is an international development and philanthropy consultant with a specialisation in strategic partnerships and corporate affairs. Her career experience spans across the public and private sector, covering roles in Africa, Europe and the United States. Mandisa is passionate about accelerating socio-economic transformation and mobilizing the delivery of the SDGs through strategic philanthropy and public-private partnerships. Within the United Nations (UN), Mandisa has led resource mobilisation and fundraising for UNICEF and brokered strategic partnerships for UNHCR with the private sector to drive and support the UN’s work in South Africa. Prior to joining the UN, Mandisa served as the Group Head of Stakeholder Relations for Old Mutual Limited and the Group Marketing Manager for Old Mutual plc. In these roles, she was instrumental in spearheading the Group's external affairs and sustainability strategies with its primary stakeholders across 14 markets in Africa. Mandisa is a 2022 recipient of the international Eisenhower Fellowship for Climate Action and a founding director of the Institute for Stakeholder Relations Southern Africa. She holds a Masters degree in International Trade and Investment Policy from The George Washington University and a BA (Hons) degree in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand.
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Programme Manager, Youth Ambassador for Climate Change, Social Change Assistance Trust
Indiphile Matini, they/them, is a Programme Assistant at the Social Change Assistance Trust and coordinates the Youth Ambassadors for Climate Change (YACC) programme. This youth focused-programme forms part of the Rural Action for Climate Resilience (RACR) project, in which Indiphile has been involved since 2022. Indiphile holds an honours degree in Social Policy and Management, and a Bachelor of Social Work degree, both from the University of Cape Town. Indiphile grew increasingly interested in working with rural communities as a result of their involvement in the RACR project, SCAT’s Youth Development Programme and their participation in the DGMT Innovation Fellowship. When not at work, Indiphile enjoys walking in the forest, live music shows, and being out in the city at open-mic poetry events. Their work presents them with the unique opportunity to work with people at grassroots level sharing knowledge, experiences and contributing to social change.
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Regional Lead on Climate Justice and Natural Resource Governance, Southern Africa Trust
Aliness P. Mumba is the Regional Lead on Climate Justice and Natural Resource Governance at the Southern African Trust. With over 15 years of experience across Zambia and the African continent, she is a seasoned development practitioner committed to social impact, policy innovation, and sustainable development. Aliness specializes in gender inclusion within climate-smart agriculture (CSA), advocating for the equitable participation of women and marginalized communities in climate-resilient agricultural systems. Her expertise spans institutional capacity strengthening, gender-responsive policy development, programme implementation, and results-based management. Aliness brings a grounded perspective to policy engagement, aligning grassroots realities with broader frameworks to support climate solutions that are both inclusive and sustainable. She holds a Master’s degree in Gender Studies and degrees in Sociology from the University of Pretoria and the University of Zambia.
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Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Commission
Dorah Modise is the Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Commission. In this role, she is responsible for running the Secretariat of the PCC and its various policy and research programmes. She previously held the position of C40 Regional Director for Africa, working in the African Region through cooperative engagements with city leaders and teams to accelerate implementation of their climate change programmes.
Dorah is a sustainability enthusiast with over 26 years’ experience in the environmental sustainability, international diplomacy, Government (local, regional & national) as well as Industry Associations.
She was the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the South African Paper and Packaging Producer Responsibility Organisations Alliance (PRO Alliance) tasked with conceptualising and implementing joint extended producer responsibility programmes with and on behalf of member PROs. Her other executive role was as Chief Executive officer of the Green Building Council of South Africa where she led green transformation of the built environment sector through numerous green building certification tools and programmes also served as the chairperson of the World Green Building Council’s Africa Regional Network with a key role of coordinating, consolidating, and stimulating the development of Green Building Councils across the African Continent. Dorah also held a position of Head of Sustainability at the City of Tshwane (Capital city of South Africa) where she conceptualised and implemented groundbreaking city sustainability programmes. Dorah’s tenure at the National Environment allowed her to develop & refine her environmental diplomacy skills through her leadership roles in the then United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development processes including the Rio plus 20 in 2012. Dorah is proud to have led the development of the environment sector green economy response programme including the establishment of the national green fund.
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Finance Specialist, JET PMU
Jerrod has a Bachelor of Commerce Honours (Accounting) from the University of KwaZulu Natal, and a professional Chartered Accountancy qualification from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (“SAICA”).
Jerrod joined Rand Merchant Bank (“RMB”) in 2009 as a corporate credit analyst, before moving into various roles within the bank's Investment Banking Division. He specialised in the provision of debt solutions for large South African corporates and won the ABSIP 2018 Deal of the Year award for Life Healthcare’s acquisition of the Alliance Medical Group.
Jerrod spearheaded RMB’s Shared Value initiative since 2019, which led to the formation of RMB’s Sustainable Finance and ESG Advisory team in 2021. He then took up the role of FirstRand Limited’s Group Shared Value Enablement Manager providing him with a broader platform to drive impact related activity across the integrated financial services group. Jerrod's passion to contribute to the national interest led him to the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan ("JET-IP") Projects Management Unit based within the Presidency. His focus includes commercial and blended finance opportunities for the implementation of the JET-IP
He is an alumni of GIBS Business School’s Nexus Leadership course, Duke CE's IEDP Leadership Programme and the African Leadership Initiative.
Jerrod previously served as a trustee of the FirstRand Foundation, and currently serves as a trustee on the Boleng Trust and a non-executive board member of the Makers Valley Partnership.
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Project Leader Data for Governance Alliance Project
Nyasha McBride Mpani is a governance expert with extensive experience in data-driven advocacy around democracy, good governance, and human rights in Africa. He specializes in harnessing data, technology, and policy analysis to promote transparency, ‹ accountability, and inclusive decision-making processes, with a strong background working with African Union organs and Pan-African Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) across the continent.
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Managing Director of ZeniZeni Sustainable Finance
Malango Mughogho is the Managing Director of ZeniZeni Sustainable Finance which works to change the way financing decisions are made, so that all finance leads to beneficial results. The firm has a strong focus on developing financing structures for projects that deliver sustainable impact, and on financial sector policy solutions to address gender inequality, climate change and the sustainable provision of water.
She has over 20 years’ experience in banking and development finance and served as a member of the UN Secretary General’s 2022 High Level Expert Group on the net zero commitments of non-state entities and a Climate Finance Member for the Global Water Partnership’s Southern Africa Coordination Unit Regional Technical Committee.
Malango holds a BSc (Hons) in Banking and International Finance from City, University of London and an MSc in Economics and Finance from Warwick University, and was the 2015 Mo Ibrahim Foundation Leadership Fellow at the African Development Bank.
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Executive Director and Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA)
Joel Khathutshelo Netshitenzhe is the Executive Director and Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA). He has a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Financial Economics and a post-graduate diploma in Economic Principles from the University of London; as well as a diploma in Political Science from the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow. Before his retirement in 2009, he served in government as head of Communication in President Nelson Mandela’s office, CEO of Government Communications (GCIS), and head of the Policy Unit in The Presidency. He was a member of the first National Planning Commission and nonexecutive Director of NEDBANK Group and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He currently serves on the Boards of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and Life Healthcare Group. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC from 1991 to 2022, and is currently a member of the ANC Veterans League NEC.
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Executive Director, Hlanganisa Community Fund
Bongiwe Ndondo is a distinguished South African social justice activist and development professional, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the Hlanganisa Community Fund for Social and Gender Justice. With a career spanning over three decades, she has been instrumental in designing and implementing programs that uplift marginalized communities across Southern Africa, emphasizing the importance of grounding development work in local contexts.Under her leadership, Hlanganisa has expanded its reach, supporting community-based organizations in South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The organization focuses on grant-making, capacity building, and advocacy to promote social accountability and human rights. Ndondo is a passionate advocate for women's empowerment. She has led initiatives such as gender analyses of political party manifestos to assess their commitments to women's rights. She also emphasizes the integration of indigenous knowledge systems in addressing climate change, as highlighted in her TEDx Johannesburg talk. Beyond her professional endeavours, Ndondo is an avid reader, keen golfer, and a proud grandmother to Sesethu.
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Political Impact Manager, The ONE Campaign
Olawunmi Ola-Busari is committed to using her imagination, strengths, love, and courage to help build a world of opportunity and prosperity for all. She currently serves as the Political Impact Manager with the Africa team at the ONE Campaign. In this role, she supports ONE's government relations teams in G7 countries by providing informed and nuanced perspectives on African development priorities, strengthening African diaspora engagement, and helping to ensure that African issues secure the attention of policymakers and their constituents. Previously, as a Policy Officer with the ONE Campaign, she helped shape ONE's climate advocacy strategy and represented ONE at COP27 and the Africa Climate Summit. Before joining The ONE Campaign, Olawunmi held short-term consultancies with the World Bank and Two Rabbits, an education NGO, and was a Policy Associate with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab in South Africa. Olawunmi has a master's degree in Global Human Development from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a bachelor's degree in Economics from Bard College.
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Fellow at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Berlin and a member of the boards of AGORA and Germanwatch, and the sustainability advisory council of Novo Nordisk, Copenhagen.
Until his retirement in early 2021, he was Director at the European Commission in charge of developing climate neutrality strategies and the governance of EU climate policy, regulating emissions from non-ETS sectors and supporting innovation in the EU's energy and industrial sectors (e.g. Innovation and Modernisation Fund). He served on the Boards of the European Environment Agency and the European Fund for Strategic Investments. From 2003 until the conclusion of the Paris agreement in 2015, he led on international climate negotiations for the EU. He co-chaired the working group preparing the Paris agreement in 2013/14 and was a Member of the UNFCCC Bureau from 2010-12. Between 1993 and 2003, he worked as European Commission official in Sarajevo, Brussels and Harare. Until 1993, he conducted research in West Africa and lectured at the University of Göttingen. He holds a doctoral degree in agricultural economics.
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South Africa Country Lead, Clean Air Fund
Vumile Senene has over 17 years of experience in the air quality management field, having worked at national and local spheres of government. He has over the years worked with officials across spheres of government providing technical support and promoting cooperative governance. He also facilitated the development and implementation of air quality improvement programmes and coordinated stakeholder engagements involving corporations, civil society and academia. He is currently the Country Lead for the Clean Air in South Africa and is responsible for overall strategic and programmatic leadership for Clean Air Fund's operations in the country.
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Founder of Lipstick Chronicles Movement/ Author /Strategic and Operations Leader/ Executive and Leadership Coach/ Conversation Catalyst/Research Supervisor
Popularly known as “Mvusy” is a founder of the Lipstick Chronicles, a movement that amplifies the silenced voices of women and communities through coaching and inspiring engagements. Passionate about issues of social justice and transformation she facilitates conversations on gender, equity, inclusion and belonging, and is a podcast host of Lipstick Chronicles on Vukaonlineradio. As an Executive and Leadership Coach, her coaching philosophy resonates with the concept that, “The Strength of the Baobab Tree Lies from Within!” She is a mentor and research supervisor to graduate students on Conservation, Entrepreneurship and Leadership in Tshwane University of Technology and Institute for IntegratedConservation in the US. Mvusy is an advisor and an ambassador to a Community Conservation Development Project (BOLD) based in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. She is a strategic and ethical leader with experience in Education, Environment, Technology, Travel & Tourism and Heritage sectors in South Africa. She excels in integration of social and environmental issues whilst nurturing and developing human talent. Her latest corporate Executive experiences include the only and last woman to date in the Conservation and Tourism sector to hold the positions of Managing Executive: Operations of South African National Parks, and the Chief Operating Officer of the Eastern Cape Parks, and Tourism Agency. Mvusy’s leadership is influenced by her childhood experience of being a cattle herder. Passionate about governance and ethical leadership, she currently serves in the following Boards/ Councils ; World Wildlife Fund – South Africa (WWF-SA), Nelson Mandela Museum (NMM,SA), the Tourism Transformation Council (SA), and the Institute of integrated Conservation, William and Mary University in USA. In these oversight structures she is a chairperson of the following Committees; Social, Ethics & Transformation (WWF_SA), Strategic & Operations (NMM), Supplier &Enterprise Development (TTCSA), and a member of HR & REMCO (WWF-SA, and NMM). She is a Hubert Humphrey Fellow, a Ford Foundation Fellow, and a South African Women in Science (SAWS) award recipient.
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Deputy CEO, Catalytic Finance Foundation
With a corporate finance and private equity background, combined with her environmental science and international relations’ specialisation, Jiao has worked in the space of international climate finance over 15 years in various sectors including waste management, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy. As the Deputy CEO of Catalytic Finance Foundation (Catalytic), Jiao oversees the implementation of Catalytic’s mandates and execute organisational strategies. At Catalytic, with the CEO, Jiao is leading the work on the design of blended-finance solutions for donors, philanthropies, and capital providers aiming at scaling the flow of finance towards impactful projects in developing countries and regions, providing technical assistance at project level to bring them towards impacts and bankability, and deploying catalytic, patient, and concessional capital on behalf of donors into early-stage projects and impact funds.
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Regional Advisor, Advocacy and Collaborations, Welthungerhilfe (WHH)
Nivedita Varshneya is Regional Advisor, Advocacy and Collaborations, working with Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and is based at New Delhi. She works closely with WHH offices in India, Nepal and Bangladesh and has her focus on key themes such as food systems, agroecology and sustainable livelihoods. She is passionate about connecting the dots between sustainable food, nutrition, health, ecology and smallholder livelihoods. Nivedita has been with WHH for 18 years. In her previous role as Country Director for India, she played a pivotal role in driving several food system initiatives, reinforcing WHH’s commitment to sustainable development.
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Programme Officer, Natural Resources and Climate Change Programme at the Ford Foundation
Alan Wallis currently holds the position of Programme Officer, Natural Resources and Climate Change Programme at the Ford Foundation. Prior to this he was the Strategic Advisor to the African Climate Foundation, assisting ACF in the development of the Foundation’s strategy, programme development and fundraising. Alan is a human rights lawyer, with over 12 years of experience having worked within a variety of socio-legal, economic and political contexts. Alan has worked in the not-for-profit sector as a human rights litigator and researcher; managed programming, budgeting and strategy development in human rights philanthropy; and has provided technical support and human rights advice to civil society organisations, government institutions and judiciaries in the global south. Prior to joining ACF, Alan was the Director for Legal Affairs at the Judiciary of Seychelles. Alan also has 5 years of experience in philanthropy and grant making at the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, where he managed the Foundation’s Information, Expression and Accountability portfolio. Alan holds an LLB from the University of Cape Town, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law, and a LLM in international human rights from the University of Michigan, where he was the Ismail Mohammad Human Rights Fellow and Grotius Scholar.
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Chairman and General Partner of KW Commercial Landmark & former U.S. Ambassador to the Council for Ukraine Reconstruction
Mark Wittcoff is Chairman and General Partner of KW Commercial Landmark, a commercial real estate investment company affiliated with Keller Williams Beverly Hills. Mark’s responsibility for properties throughout the United States informs his belief that the value of the built environment is dependent on the wellbeing of the social landscape. He leads efforts to help improve communities as founder and trustee of the Wittcoff Foundation that donates and raises funds to support efforts in education, healthcare, climate and partnerships aligned with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Mark was nominated by President Biden as U.S. Ambassador to the Council for Ukraine Reconstruction. He received the Public Leadership Credential from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he is a member of the Dean’s Council Leadership Circle. Mark is a former member of the Board of Directors of UCLA Health System, the Stuart M. Ketchum Downtown Los Angeles YMCA, Challengers Boys and Girls Club, Meals on Wheels West, the William H. Parker Los Angeles Police Foundation, the World Children’s Transplant Fund, the Alliance to Stop Slavery and End Human Trafficking and Jewish National Fund in Los Angeles. Mark has an adult son, Nicholas and he lives in Laguna Beach, California with his fiancée Nancy Christiano