Jennifer Boca is the Head of Responsible Investment at Lekela Power.

She joined Lekela Power in October 2015 and is responsible for providing oversight for all of Lekela’s projects across Africa, to ensure they are delivered to the highest standards. In her role, she engages with various stakeholders including governments, lenders, contractors, and local communities to ensure the delivery of clean energy across Africa.

Her experience spans across a number of African countries including South Africa, Senegal and Egypt. She is currently developing the Ayitepa Wind Project in Ghana.

She also leads the company’s ESG due diligence on projects.

Jennifer has more than 15 years of experience working in the areas of environmental sustainability and consulting for a wide range of public and private sector clients, including the World Bank, Development Finance Institutions, commercial banks and project developers.

She was early this year, named in the Cranfield School of Management’s list of annual Women to Watch for 2020.

Benjamin Boakye is an Energy Governance Professional and the Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy.

Prior to becoming the Executive Director, he served as the Deputy Executive Director, Programmes Director and Operations Director, managing the Research Unit and the Programmes Unit.

He has made contributions to the extractive sector governance in Ghana and Africa with much focus on corporate governance, institutional development, fiscal governance, contract governance and evolution of legal framework for effective management of extractive resources. He has also consulted for the World Bank Group, UNDP, and many research institutions in the resource sector.

Benjamin has delivered presentations at various international conferences on the extractive sector, particularly on revenue generation and expenditure. He works with host communities, analyzing the communities’ issues relative to the development of extractives’ projects and revenue redistribution. He also has extensive experience on power sector reforms.

Benjamin holds an MSc in Energy Studies from the University of Dundee, UK and a BA Hon. in Sociology with Information Studies, from the University of Ghana.

Mr. Prosper Ahmed Amuquandoh is an Energy, Infrastructure Development and International Trade professional, with over 10 years of combined working experience that spans Academia, International Development and Public & Private Sectors. He has consulted for several organizations, including the United Nations Environment Program and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and Fuels. He has previously worked at the Global Institute of Sustainability, at the Arizona State University (Tempe, USA).

Mr. Amuquandoh currently serves on the National Risk Management Team for the implementation of Ghana’s Paperless Port System to facilitate international trade; and the Technical Select Committee of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s Business Awards. He is also the Energy Advisor to the Integrated Water & Agriculture Development Ghana Ltd. Furthermore, Mr. Amuquandoh works with the Ghana Energy Commission, where he helps with the development, as well as leads the enforcement, of Regulations, Standards and Codes of Practice in Ghana’s renewable energy industry.

He has received a number of awards and recognition for his professional service and achievement. Notable among these are: the African Initiative for Governance Award, which he received in 2018; and the Rising Star of the Year in Ghana’s energy sector, which he received at the 2018 Ghana Energy Awards. In 2017, he was adjourned the winner of the Energy category at Ghana’s maiden 40 Under Forty Awards. In 2016, he was a finalist for the Future Energy Leader Award in West Africa, at the West African Power Industry Awards, held in Nigeria. In the same year, Mr. Amuquandoh received the Mandela Washington Fellowship Award by President Barack Obama and the US State Department.

His training is in Public Policy, at the University of Oxford; Theoretical Physics at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (Trieste, Italy); Zero–Net Energy Systems & Policy, at the University of California (Davis, USA); Hydropower & Sustainable Development, at the International Center on Small Hydro Power (China); and in Physics & Computer Science (with First Class Honours), at the University of Ghana.

Professor Chukwumerije Okereke has over 20 years of active engagement with, and leadership in Africa’s climate change and development agenda.

He is currently the Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development (CCCD) at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Nigeria and a visiting Professor of Environment and Development at the University of Reading.  Professor Okereke was previously a Senior Research Fellow and Head of Climate and Development Centre at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford.

He is the Coordinating Lead Author of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III, Sixth Assessment Cycle Report. Professor Okereke was founding project manager of the Rwandan National Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy, which was the first-ever National Green Economy Strategy in Africa; the Principal Investigator of the African Development Bank funded project on Assessing the Adaptation components in Africa’s NDCs; and the Principal Investigator of the African Adaptation Initiative, funded by the UNDP.

Mandy Rambharos is Eskom’s Climate Change and Sustainable Development Manager. She also heads up Eskom’s Just Energy Transition (JET) Project Office, overseeing the development of the utility’s JET vision and strategy.

She has over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector which has allowed her to gain deep insights into various aspects of the sector, at the international, regional and national levels.

Mandy is a member of the South African delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She also serves on the Boards of the NBI (South Africa’s National Business Initiative), Verra and Global Change Institute (University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg).

She represents Eskom on the World Bank’s Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition advisory committee and serves as the co-chair of the African Working group for this initiative.

Dr Linus Mofor is presently the Senior Environmental Affairs Officer, leading the portfolio of work on energy, infrastructure and climate change at the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). He also provides  technical lead on the ECA’s SDG7 Initiative for Africa, which aims to accelerate private sector investments in clean energy in Africa in support of access and the continent’s climate action ambition.

Before joining the ACPC, he was Renewable Energy Innovation and Technology Analyst with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Prior to joining IRENA, he was an industrial development expert with the Energy and Climate Change Branch of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in Vienna, where he worked  on various Global Environment Facility (GEF) and technical assistance renewable energy projects in various countries in Africa, including Cameroon, Zambia, Sudan and Chad.

Linus joined UNIDO from academia where he was a senior lecturer, postgraduate programme director and senior consultant at the Centre for Engineering Research and Environmental Applications at the University of Glamorgan (now University of South Wales), UK.

Yorm Ama Abledu is a bilingual Legal Practitioner and a Harvard Certified Negotiator, holding a postgraduate degree in Oil and Gas Law (International Investment Arbitration) from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Yorm is a Critical thinker with a high-performance rate in court proceedings. In 2014, she obtained her master’s degree in Oil and Gas Law with professional skills from University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where her outstanding academic performance won her the Ede & Ravenscroft 2014 Prize for Academic Excellence. Within the same period, Yorm attained certification from the Oil and Gas Academy of Scotland as an Oil and Gas contract negotiator. She was called to the Bar in 2016 after which she joined Bentsi Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, a leading law firm in Ghana, practising primarily in the areas of Corporate Law, Litigation, Oil and Gas and Mining Law. Yorm is also certified in Human Rights and Oil and Gas Law from the Fordham University and her passion for Human Rights Law was reflected in how she won a total of 57 human rights cases on behalf of several indigents over a 12 months’ period in her position as Assistant Public Defender under the Legal Aid Commission, where she continues her pro-bono service.

Currently, she consults on Petroleum Agreements, Regulatory and Compliance Framework, Tax, Labour and Employment issues for local and multinational companies in the Energy Sector. She is also an  Assistant Law Lecturer at the University Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), where she teaches Energy Law and Legal Environment of Business.

Yorm loves legal research and currently collaborates on research on the regulatory framework on decommissioning in Ghana and the diversity and inclusion of women in the Energy sector.  Outside the classroom, Yorm enjoys travelling. She is passionate about the increase in women’s inclusion, leadership and participation towards development in the energy sector.  Yorm also volunteers as the Policy & Advocacy Committee Head with the African Women in Energy Development Initiative (AWEDI). Yorm is a member of the Ghana Bar Association and the International Bar Association.

Mr. Mark Ofori Kwafo is the Regional Coordinator, Environmental Sustainability at Ecobank Anglophone West Africa.

He has held various other positions at Ecobank Ghana Ltd, including head of Procurement and Project Manager, Ecobank-Trust Bank Integration. Prior to his engagement with Ecobank, he worked with the Electricity company of Ghana and Tema Municipal Assembly.

Mr. Kwafo is an alumnus of Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership. He also participated in the Climate and Sustainability Energy Finance Summer Academy in Frankfurt, Germany.

He holds a degree in Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ghana Business School.

Dr. Olufunso Somorin is the Regional Principal Officer at the African Development Bank. He leads the Bank’s work on climate change and green growth in the 13 countries which consist of the Eastern Africa region. In addition, he leads policy dialogues with national/regional governments on developing policy frameworks for managing local and regional economic and social issues, resilience, state-building goals, regional integration, food security, climate change and inclusive growth.

Prior to joining the Bank in 2011, Dr. Somorin was an Associate Professional Officer with the Centre for International Forestry Research, based in Cameroon. He led a number of policy-relevant research analysis on mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation into national development policies of Central African countries.

Dr. Somorin holds a PhD in International Environmental Policy from Wageningen University, in the Netherlands.

He has also received numerous executive training on development issues at Cambridge and Oxford Universities in the UK.

Venan A. Sondo is a Sustainable Business & Management Professional with over 16 years of experience in sustainable business and climate consulting, especially with integrating ESG in traditional business environments.

He is a Co-Founder of CHAiNT Afrique LTD, a Change, Innovation & Transformation Hub that focuses on helping households, organisations and communities realise value through the eco-efficiency & eco-innovation lens. CHAiNT is an aspiring circular StartUp in Africa, focusing on promoting inclusive sustainable lifestyles as the main solution towards addressing sustainable consumption and production (SDG12).

Venan formerly led the PwC Ghana Sustainability & Climate Change Services for West Africa, where he steered the development of the Sustainable Banking Principles in close collaboration with the National Steering Committee for Sustainable Banking Principles and the Bank of Ghana as Lead Consultant with PwC Ghana.

He also currently consults for Diageo Africa on plastics recycling and MPower AG Switzerland on inclusive energy access.

Maybel is an extractive and energy professional with Bachelors’ and Master’s degrees in Economics, from the University of Ghana. She is currently the Head of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning and a Senior Policy Analyst at the Africa Centre For Energy Policy (ACEP). Maybel leads the implementation of multi-donor projects in the energy and extractive industries on behalf of ACEP.

Her interest areas include optimizing extractive resources for inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development in Africa, promoting gender diversity in natural resource governance, and the differential impact of the energy transition on citizens.

Rosalind Kainyah, MBE, is a trusted advisor to Boards and Senior Executives of global companies on sustainability, responsible business investment and partnerships in emerging markets. She is also an experienced professional non-executive director.

In 2014, she was awarded an MBE for services to CSR for the benefit of youth in Africa.

Rosalind is a member of the Bar of England and Wales and of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

She is a Non-Executive Director of CAL Bank Limited, Ghana; Board member of Results for Development (R4D); Vice Chairperson of the Africa Gifted Foundation; and Founding President of International Women’s Forum Ghana. Rosalind is also a Non-Executive Director of Aker Energy AS and of GEMS Africa.

Giuseppe Valenti has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas sector. He holds a degree in Geology from the University of Parma (Italy) and an MBA from Robert Gordon University of Aberdeen (UK).

He Joined Eni Upstream in 1988 as a Geophysicist and moved from R&D to Geophysical Services, and then to Exploration & Production, working on different areas of the world.

Giuseppe is present, Managing Director of Eni Ghana, after spending 3 years at the Eni Headquarters in Milano (Italy) as Executive Vice President, Geology & Geophysics for Eni SpA, managing the Well & Seismic Operations, Services and Integrated Studies worldwide.

He was previously assigned to Moscow as Chief Representative Office of Eni SpA in the Russian Federation, and General Manager of Eni’s local branch. Before his assignment in Moscow, he had spent few years as President of Eni Oil do Brazil in Rio De Janeiro (Brazil), following his long years of experience in the USA where he served as Senior Vice President – Exploration, at Eni US affiliate for E&P based in Houston (Texas), dealing with Gulf Mexico Deepwater, Alaska and onshore Unconventional Resources.

Shamini Harrington is the Vice President of Climate Change at Sasol. She has worked for Sasol for 15 years and holds a Master of Science degree in Climate Change.

Shamini is both the Environment and Just Transition Chair of the Business Unity South Africa committees, representing mandated business views on climate change related policy issues into government processes. She has been involved in climate change policy development since 2005, in South Africa.

Shamini is also an experienced international climate change negotiator and represented business on the South Africa negotiating team at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for 5 years.

Rachael Akosua Antwi is an environmental and sustainable finance expert.

She holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom (UK) and the School of Geography and the Environment. She also holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), and a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree with a specialization in Corporate Law from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

She has over 12 years of experience, of which 10 years were spent in the financial sector in SA and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from Absa Capital (formerly Barclays Africa Group) and Standard Bank Investment Banking, where she assumed many roles. She also has experience in financial markets regulations and has worked in both London and Johannesburg.

She is currently a director at Nochua International, where she advises clients in SA and the rest of Africa on environmental and sustainable finance as well as the UN SDGs.

Her work spans many sectors such as renewable energy, project finance, water, infrastructure, ESG, debt and equity. She is also an expert reviewer for the UNFCC Climate Change Reports and IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).

Julius Karanja Mbatia is a Climate Justice Advocate and governance expert with 3-years of experience working in the non-profit sector, where he advocates for climate action at local, national, regional and global levels.

He is an expert in climate finance, working particularly on the Green Climate Fund (GCF). He is currently an Alternate Active Observer to the GCF, representing developing countries.

As a young climate leader in Kenya and Africa, Julius has volunteered for more than 5 years in various youth movements. As a young climate leader, he has been driving public climate discourse and been involved in global climate policy processes, representing Kenyan youth in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a young negotiator.

Dr Festus Asaaga is an Environmental Social Scientist based at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Broadly, his research focuses on advancing a better understanding of the interdependence and synergies between human health, animal health and the environment, with a view of improving policy outcomes for safeguarding livelihoods, health and well-being.

Through this interdisciplinary engagement, Festus’ research revolves around three key inter-linked foci: health, agriculture and environment with climate change as an underlying crosscutting theme in developing contexts.

Festus is currently working on two interdisciplinary projects, in which he is exploring the socio-ecological drivers of (re)emerging zoonotic disease vulnerability in the Western Ghats region of India.

Ekemini John is a first-class graduate of Mechanical engineering from the University of Uyo, Nigeria, who is committed to service and nation-building.

A Student of Msc Energy Systems at the University of Oxford for the 2020/2021 academic year, Ekemini is also a green energy enthusiast and a Sustainable Development knowledge facilitator in Nigeria. She is passionate about the use of artificial intelligence in proffering green energy solutions to end the challenges of energy in Africa.

In 2020, she received a “40 under 40” award for “Inspiring African Future Mechanical Engineers (IAFME)”, in recognition of her “distinguished services, accomplishments and endeavours towards the activities of engineering in Africa at a young age”.

She is a member of the International Association of Engineers (IAENG) and presently, a participant of the Young Professionals for Sustainable Development Goals (YPSDG) Seminar Series 2020, organised by the United Nations Association of the USA, San Francisco Chapter.

Chibeze Ezekiel is the Executive Coordinator of the Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND), a youth-oriented NGO that promotes youth inclusion in the governance of Natural Resources & Environmental (NRE) sector.

He is a strong advocate on Climate Change and Renewable Energy issues. He is a certified Youth Master Trainer on Climate Change, National SDGs Champion, Climate Reality Leader and serves on the Board of 350.org. He was recently appointed as Panel Member of International Experts on the Environment of Peace 2022 (EP 2022) project.

Ezekiel chairs the Youth in Natural Resources and Environmental Governance (Youth-NREG) Platform, which provides space for knowledge learning and sharing among young people working on different environmental actions as well as create opportunity for joint advocacy in a concerted manner.

Simphiwe is a PhD candidate in Human Geography at the University of Oxford where her thesis is focused on the political geography of populism. The research is funded by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust.

She is an Eldred Scholar at Linacre College, Oxford and a Civil Society Scholar through the Open Society Foundation (2018-2019).

Prior to Oxford, she was a research fellow at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Science Policy in Washington D.C.