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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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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Indiphile Matini
Programme Manager, Youth Ambassador for Climate Change, Social Change Assistance Trust
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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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Bongi Ndondo
Executive Director, Hlanganisa Community Fund
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Olawunmi Ola-Busari
Political Impact Manager, The ONE Campaign
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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
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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
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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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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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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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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