David Sturmes-Verbreek
Co-founder, Director Partnerships & Innovation 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.
2025 Agenda Sessions
What needs to change to harness the full potential of ASM?
- What worked, what didn’t and want needs to change to ensure the artisanal and small-scale mining sector formalizes and professionalizes across the continent
- How to pivot from pilot projects and short-lived interventions to sector wide change
- Zooming in on the Ivorian gold sector and the Congolese cobalt sector, the panel will discuss what impact at scale could look like, if the right investments are made into the sector.
Tuesday 04 February 09:00 - 10:00 CTICC1
Sustainability Series
- What worked, what didn’t and want needs to change to ensure the artisanal and small-scale mining sector formalizes and professionalizes across the continent
- How to pivot from pilot projects and short-lived interventions to sector wide change
- Zooming in on the Ivorian gold sector and the Congolese cobalt sector, the panel will discuss what impact at scale could look like, if the right investments are made into the sector.
Disruption required - time for a new deal with local communities?
- Jobs and economic opportunity have always come with mining, but are those enough to earn the support of local communities?
- How can the inevitable local disruption and impacts of mining be best managed?
- When disagreements arise, how can those best be resolved for the common good?
Tuesday 04 February 12:00 - 12:45 CTICC1
Disruptive Discussions
- Jobs and economic opportunity have always come with mining, but are those enough to earn the support of local communities?
- How can the inevitable local disruption and impacts of mining be best managed?
- When disagreements arise, how can those best be resolved for the common good?
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