Our People

Prior to establishing the African Climate Foundation, Saliem served for 11 years as the Head of the Policy & Futures Unit of World Wildlife Fund South Africa. He was 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. For eight years, Saliem was the Director of the World Conservation Union, South Africa. He has served on several Boards and is a prolific writer, contributing to leading publications.

Alan is a human rights lawyer who provides support to civil society organisations, government institutions and judiciaries in the global south. Before joining the African Climate Foundation, Alan was the Director for Legal Affairs at the Judiciary of the Seychelles. He gained experience in philanthropy and grant making at the Open Society Foundation for South Africa. Alan holds an LLM in International Human Rights from the University of Michigan, where he was the Ismail Mohammad Human Rights Fellow and Grotius Scholar. In addition, Alan has a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Law.

Amanda is a Durban University of Technology graduate who holds a National Diploma in Accounting and is perusing a qualification in Chartered Accountancy (CTA) with the University of South Africa. For several years, Amanda worked at the South African Revenue Services (SARS). She also gained experience working in the non-governmental space.

Charlene has 20 years’ experience working in the development sector and has extensive experience in grant management, project management and systems improvement. Before joining the African Climate Foundation, Charlene was the Grants Manager at the Open Society Foundation for South Africa. She holds an Honour’s degree in Psychology from the University of the Western Cape.

Ellen is based in Senegal and previously oversaw the extractives and nuclear energy portfolios at the World Wildlife Fund South Africa. She has been working on questions of sustainable economic development for the past ten years and has a keen interest in geopolitics, political economy and gender issues. She holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Cape Town, an LLB from the University of South Africa, a Bachelor of Commerce Honour’s degree and a Master of Commerce degree from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Evert is an Associate General Accountant South Africa – AGA (SA).  He has 25 years’ experience in auditing, commerce, business management and non-profit sectors. He previously owned a national franchise business but set his focus on business consulting over the last few years. In recent years, Evert has been consulting at various non-profit organisations and focuses on business efficiency and systems development.

Fikayo is Schwarzman Scholar, studying for a DPhil (PhD) in Politics and International Relations at Oxford University. Her research focuses on the politics and economics of China-Africa relations.

She is a Financial Products and Technology Growth expert with experience in the Middle East, Europe, China and Africa. In addition, she has experience working at Bloomberg, Stears and Refinitiv (now London Stock Exchange Group).

Francis moved into her current role at the African Climate Foundation after two years as the Executive Assistant. As the Special Projects Coordinator, Francis works in the ACF’s strategy team where she conducts research, coordinate, support and monitors the ACF’s special projects whilst developing strategic relationships and engaging with key partners and donors.  Francis holds a BSc in Environmental and Geographical Sciences from the University of Cape Town and a Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development from the Sustainability Institute at Stellenbosch University.

Prior to joining the African Climate Foundation in 2022, Faten served as the Senior Advisor to the African Union High Representative on future relations with the European Union. She has experience working for multiple think tanks in Africa and Europe, as well as multilateral agencies. Faten received her Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Pretoria.

Godrej’s experience stems from the FMCG, mining, chemical and agricultural sectors. Previously, Godrej worked at two agricultural start-ups focusing on sustainable business and manufacturing development in the cannabis sector. He also collaborated with the Reinventing Cities initiative during his time at C40 Cities where his focus was the analysis of various carbon neutral or negative projects centred around the 15-minute city concept. He has expertise and interest in process carbon modelling, process optimisation, data modelling and financial projection and expense analysis. Godrej holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Cape Town, specialising in Life Cycle Analysis, Industrial Ecology, Catalysis and Biotechnology.

Jonel has more than ten years of experience in human resources. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Bachelor of Arts Honour’s degree in Industrial Psychology from the University of South Africa and a Coach Practitioner qualification from SACAP. Jonel has worked in generalist and specialist human resource roles across different industries in both private and non-profit organisations. She has a passion for youth development and coaches unemployed youth in her spare time.

Prior to her role at the African Climate Foundation, Kelly was a Programme Director in the events and exhibition industry where she was responsible for conference production and developing high-level agendas within the finance and energy sectors. Her career began, however, in the non-profit sector where she spent six years. Her journalism-related role eventually took her to the Galapagos Islands as well as Peru to report on conservation efforts. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Science from the University of South Africa and a Diploma in Journalism.

Before joining the African Climate Foundation, Kaylene was the Portfolio Administrator at the Open Society Foundation for South Africa where she spent more than five years gaining extensive experience in grant-making. Prior to this, she worked at various organisations as an administrator in logistic firms, including MegaFreight and CMA CGM.

Lamine is based in Senegal and has more than 20 years’ experience implementing projects in West Africa, including 12 years as an M&E Manager. Previously, Lamine was the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager in Ghana for a sub-regional project, West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change supporting ECOWAS, the Abidjan Convention and more. He conducted a baseline review of policies on coastal and marine related issues under the intervention of the West Africa Coastal Area Resilience Infrastructures Project, which was led by the World Bank. Lamine holds a Specialised Graduate Diploma (DESS) in Regional Planning, Decentralisation and Local Development, as well as a Master’s degree in Public Instructure Management.

Lindela holds a Bachelor of Arts Honour’s degree in Development Studies from Nelson Mandela University. She has five years of experience working in grant-making and project management. Before joining the African Climate Foundation in 2023 as the Grants Officer, Lindela worked in grants and contract management for a donor-funded climate adaptation programme in Southern Africa.

Malik gained experience in South Africa’s biodiversity sector having worked with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) on their Natural Capital Accounting and Ecological Infrastructure programmes. He is an activist on social and environmental justice initiatives. He has a keen interest in sustainable forms of agriculture practiced across Africa to better understand how the sector can reduce its contribution to biodiversity loss, climate change and land degradation.
Malik graduated with his Master of Science degree in International Land and Water Management from Wageningen University and Research, specialising in Soil Physics and Sustainable Land Management.

Maria is an economist with experience in evidence-based research in East and Southern African markets. Prior to the ACF she held the position of economist at the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development and was more recently a senior research manager at the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa. Maria has led projects in areas of industrial development, regional integration, and inclusive finance. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Honour’s degree in Economics from the University of Johannesburg and a Master of Commerce degree from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Mshai is a project management specialist with experience in the development sector. She gained extensive expertise working in advocacy, research, relationship management and civil society organisation engagement. Mshai holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with Information Technology from Maseno University and a Master of Arts degree in Development Studies, Social Policy for Development from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Nazirah has more than 20 years of administrative experience, including overall project coordination. Prior to joining the African Climate Foundation in 2022, Nazirah spent seven years at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) South Africa supporting the Policy and Futures Unit where she worked closely with Saliem Fakir. Before this, she spent 10 years working in the higher education field.

Sefora is a 2021 IMF Youth Fellow.  Prior to joining the African Climate Foundation, she worked as a Research Coordinator at the Africa Centre for Evidence. Sefora holds a Master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of Johannesburg.

Willard has over three years of conducting public policy research and advocacy initiatives. Prior to joining the ACF, he worked as a policy analyst and associate researcher at the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) in Lusaka. Willard has also previously worked as a research assistant to Carlos Lopes. Willard’s interests lie in climate policy, green finance, industrialisation, political economy, and sustainable development.

Willard is a Master of Development Economics and International Development graduate from the University of Cape Town, a 2018 Mandela Rhodes scholar. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Development Studies from the University of Zambia. Willard is a former president of the University of Zambia Business and Economics Association.

Yolandy comes with over 14 years’ experience in the management and implementation of finance, accounting, audit and grant analysis processes. She has experience in working in various sectors, including the NGO sector. Prior to joining the African Climate Foundation, Yolandy worked for the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSFSA), where she held the role of Financial Accountant and Grants Analyst. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Management Accounting from the University of Stellenbosch.

Zira supports climate policy implementation at the Nigerian Ministry of Environment and the government’s Energy Transition Office. Zira previously worked at Quadrature Climate Foundation where he managed the foundation’s energy transition portfolio, covering decarbonisation and clean energy deployment in 51 countries. In Zira’s recent role at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, he led in-country research and drove the uptake of extractive sector data in Nigeria. He holds an MPhil in Public Policy from the University of Cambridge, MSc in Applied Economics from Colorado School of Mines, and a BSc in Information System from Girne American University.