Karnika Yadav is a seasoned development-finance expert passionate about designing and scaling market-led solutions for solving social and development challenges in emerging economies. She has worked with over 500+ innovative enterprises and impact-focused organisations across Sub-Saharan Africa in scaling their solutions while creating decent livelihood opportunities for underserved communities, specifically youths and women. Karnika brings in 17+years of experience in climate resilience, gender diversity and equality and women’s economic empowerment. She has designed, raised funds, and coordinated international development projects in various countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and India. In the course of her career, Karnika has directly supported private sector players, government entities and development sector organizations such as the World Bank, IFC, USAID, GIZ, FCDO, IDRC, The Rockefeller Foundation amongst others. She is a leader working at the nexus of gender and climate, leveraging her experience and networks in Sub-Saharan Africa to advocate for inclusive approaches to developing, financing and coordinating interventions that would best meet the needs of underserved communities in the Global South.

Elizabeth Pollitzer is a renowned expert, scholar and co-founder of the not-for-profit organisation Portia, established in 2001, which is dedicated to improving gender equality in science and integrating gender dimensions into scientific research. She has coordinated several European and international projects, including the genSET project and the Gender Summits, which bring together scientists, gender scholars, and policy makers to address gender issues in research. She also serves as an expert adviser on gender issues to the European Commission and is involved in various projects aimed at promoting gender equality in research institutions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

Nambula Kachumi is the Executive Director of WEAC, a women’s entrepreneurship centre. She focuses on addressing gender barriers in entrepreneurship, increasing women’s access to economically empowering tools and resources, and supporting their transition from the informal to the formal sector. With over 12 years of experience, she has worked extensively within the Zambian entrepreneurial ecosystem and across the region to influence policy around financial inclusion, business leadership, and women’s participation in quality education. WEAC centres aim to address gender-specific barriers in entrepreneurship and help women transition from the informal to the formal sector. They focus on creating a supportive environment where women can thrive and succeed in their business ventures.

Urbans Benywanira is an Article 6 and Carbon Pricing Expert at RCC East and Southern Africa, where he supports outreach activities to develop understanding on the needs of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. He is also an Interim Coordinator of the Eastern Africa Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance, where he provides readiness support to both public and private sector actors within the Alliance member countries to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Prior to joining the RCC, Urbans worked with a Programme of Activities (PoA) called Improved Cookstoves for East Africa, as a Carbon Finance Specialist. His duties among others included screening of projects prior to their inclusion in the PoA, supervision and monitoring of projects’ stoves databases in accordance with the PoA’s procedures to ensure an effective monitoring and verification process.

Flaubert Mbiekop is an international development expert with more than 20 years of experience. As a senior program specialist at IDRC he manages a diverse portfolio of projects aimed at promoting the economic empowerment of women and youth in the context of a transition to low-carbon economies, including through sound public policies and private sector action. Prior to joining IDRC in 2011, Flaubert has taught at Cornell University and Drew University in the USA.