Communities and Indigenous People

Emmannuel Nkumba

Executive Director

African Natural Resources Watch

Maître UMPULA NKUMBA Emmanuel is founder and executive director of AFREWATCH. With over 23 years' experience in the extractive sector in the DRC and Africa, he has worked for and sits on the Board of Directors of several national and international organizations. From 2012 to 2018, he was one of the Congolese civil society players who actively participated in the revision of the Congolese mining code and regulations. His current work focuses on natural resource governance, legal and judicial support for local communities, corporate social responsibility, the formalization of artisanal mining, human rights and community development.

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Sonwabo Modimoeng

Executive Lead

Faded Black Innovations

Sonwabo Modimoeng, is a Social Entrepreneur and CEO of Faded Black Innovations. My areas of focus are Community development, Social Enterprise Development, Project Management and Community Wealth Building. Faded Black Innovations is an Award winning NPO with a mission that is centered on empowering Civic organisations to achieve self-sufficiency through innovative social enterprises. We believe in the power of social entrepreneurship to elevate communities, create sustainable economic opportunities, and drive long-term positive change. Sonwabo was chosen as one of the News 24 Visionaries’ 2019, he was also awarded Job creation award by Proudly South African in 2021 and CSI- Legacy Awards - Best Social Entrepreneur award in 2022.

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Kgosi Seatlholo

Chairperson

National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders

1.Chairperson of the Southern African Network of Traditional Leaders in Drug Demand Reduction (SANTLDDR)
Currently serving as the Chairperson of the Southern African Network of Traditional Leaders in Drug Demand Reduction elected during the Continental Technical Experts’ Consultative Session on Drug Demand Reduction that took place on 10-13 December 2024 in Arusha, Tanzania. He leads Chairpersons of the National Councils of Traditional Leaders in all participating SADC Countries in the efforts to fight against drug and substance use in traditional communities.

2.Chairperson of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders (NHTKL)
Kgosi is the current Chairperson of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders. Prior to being elected as the Chairperson he served as the Deputy Chairperson of the NHTKL. 

3.Member of the North West Provincial House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders.
He is also a member of the North West Provincial House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders. 

4.Senior Traditional Leader (Kgosi) of Barolong Boo Rapulana Traditional Community in the North West Province
Kgosi is the Senior Traditional Leader of Barolong Boo Rapulana Traditional Community in the North West Province. In addition to his passion for rural development, Kgosi also has a vested interest in indigenous knowledge systems with the aim of ensuring rural communities also utilise their traditional knowledge passed through generations in navigating life challenges and also enabling socioeconomic livelihoods in communities.

5.Academic Accomplishments
His academic accomplishments include: B.A. Degree in Political Leadership And Citizenship 2020 (UNISA); B.Tech. in Business Administration, 2011 (UJ) and many other academic accolades .

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Mecktilder Mchomvu

Executive Director

Tanzania Women in Mining & Mineral Industry (TWiMMI)

Mecktilder M M, Executive Director & founding member of the Tanzania Women and Youth in Mining and Mineral Industry (TWiMMI), empowers women and youth in mining. Through TWiMMI, she implemented health and safety programs benefiting over 400 women miners in northern Tanzania. TWiMMI has empowered 3,900 youth & women in the mineral Industry, from miners, value addition,mineral traders, service providers and mining professionals. She is a former small-scale miner, Mecktilder’s journey spans Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, and Zambia. 

As Co-founder of WOOW ME JEWEL, she transforms gemstones into world-class jewelry, promoting local value addition. She contributes to mineral value discussions in the Great Lakes region and authored a PanAfGeo-2 chapter on sustainable artisanal mining. Her work emphasizes ethical practices and inclusivity in mining.
 

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David Sturmes

Co-founder, Director Partnerships and Innvoation

The Impact facility

David Sturmes-Verbeek is the co-founder of The Impact Facility, with the mission of helping transform mineral wealth into lasting prosperity for local communities. 

He applied his background in International to help set up a blended-finance financial inclusion programme targetting artisanal gold miners across Kenya and Tanzania, providing lease-to-purchase equipment financing to artisanal miners excluded from formal financing. 

David has also been instrumental in developing and growing the Fair Cobalt Alliance, a multi-stakeholder action platform dedicated to uplifting artisanal cobalt mining communities in the DR Congo, leading fundraising efforts that led to more than USD 5 million in investment into the professioanlisation of artisanal mining operations since 2020. 

David co-authored several reports including “Digging for Change”, which laid the groundwork for the creation of the FCA, and a report investigating barriers to accessing the formal gold market, as well as various artisanal gold value chain mappings and case studies documenting financial inclusion efforts across Africa and South America. 

In his current role, David focuses on forging partnerships across civil society and the private sector and mobilising blended-finance investment for the socio-economic development of mining communities. Through his work David hopes to help create thriving and resilient mining communities.

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