Thank you for joining us. Could we start with some background on you? You are well-known in the green economy space thanks to your work at Wesgro.
Well thank you very much for having me here, it’s such an honor every time I get the opportunity to speak about my work. I’m a multidisciplinary professional with more than 15 years of experience across marketing, trade, and investment promotion—and for the past seven years, I’ve specialized in the tech and green economy. My work has focused on helping businesses and investors enter new markets, secure funding, form strategic partnerships, and navigate complex regulatory environments. In my previous role at Wesgro, I helped facilitate billions in green investments into the Western Cape province of South Africa.
I’ve also made significant contributions in shaping the Western Cape’s Green Hydrogen Strategy and contributed to the creation of market intelligence publications—like the CEO’s Guide to Going Solar, the CEO Guide to Water Resilience, and 10 Reasons to Invest in the Green Hydrogen Economy—to help businesses, investors, and policymakers make informed decisions in the rapidly evolving sustainability landscape.
Beyond strategy and investment work, I serve and have served on advisory boards for several major industry events, including Africa’s Green Economy Summit, the Devac Hydrogen Summit, and IFAT, Africa’s leading environmental trade fair. In these roles, I help curate high-impact discussions, connect global investors with African opportunities, and ensure these platforms drive tangible outcomes—from unlocking funding to forging critical partnerships.
At the heart of my work is my passion for supporting impact-driven founders. I enjoy helping entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of the green economy—whether that’s accessing resources, funding, or strategic networks—to accelerate their growth.
To continue this work, I have recently started a climate content studio and consultancy called the cool mangrove, dedicated to empowering and supporting founders and leaders in the green economy to successfully grow their businesses. Ultimately, my mission is to help shape a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable future by enabling the people and businesses driving that change.
Q. Tell us more about your new company, The Cool Mangrove. What is it about, and are you seeking investors?
The Cool Mangrove is a climate content studio and consultancy focused on supporting green founders and their startups that are in the growth-stage and looking to build visibility, attract investors, or inspire trust through storytelling.
Through different digital platforms such as podcasts, YouTube, newsletter LinkedIn etc., we help green founders to
We’re also working on creating a dedicated hub for climate-tech founders—linking them to capital, partners, support systems, key private and government programmes and more.
So if you are a green founder with a startup that is ready to scale, and you’re working on some super cool sustainable solutions, you’re the type of person we want to chat to. Reach out.
Q. What major developments in the past 10 years have created the momentum for platforms like The Cool Mangrove to emerge?
Well there have been a number of things in the last 10 years, but I want to highlight just a few:
Q. How important are these developments for the continent, and how can we capitalize on them?
These developments are absolutely critical for Africa because they directly shape our ability to build, fund, and scale the next generation of climate solutions. The continent is already experiencing the impacts of climate change more intensely and earlier than other regions—so our founders are not innovating for a distant future; they’re building solutions for immediate, everyday realities.
The shift toward digital, the rise in climate-tech investment, and Africa’s young entrepreneurial population create a once-in-a-generation opportunity to position the continent as a global hub for green innovation. But to fully capitalize on this momentum, we need a few things:
2. Build strong support systems for green founders
Africa has no shortage of climate innovators—what we lack is visibility, investor readiness, and practical guidance. We must invest in digital platforms, founder communities, and knowledge hubs that equip start-ups with the tools, insights, and networks they need to grow. This is exactly where platforms like The Cool Mangrove can make a meaningful contribution.
2. Strengthen the bridge between policy, markets, and entrepreneurship
Climate change policies are constantly evolving, so we need to translate them into practical, founder-friendly insights—helping entrepreneurs identify opportunities, navigate challenges, and drive impact.
3.Unlock more African capital for African climate solutions
International investment is growing, but local capital is still limited. To truly scale, the continent needs to mobilize more local investors, DFIs, corporates, and government programs to back early-stage climate innovators. When founders have access to smart capital, they can test, grow, and commercialize solutions faster. But the funding needs to be tailor made to Africa, e.g. offering longer timelines, patient capital, blended finance models, and support for navigating regulatory and infrastructure challenges unique to the continent.
4.Use storytelling and digital platforms to amplify African innovation
Africa has incredible climate founders, but they often remain invisible—especially to global investors. This is why it’s important to build platforms that showcase African innovators, tell their stories, and connect them to opportunities. Visibility is not a luxury; it’s a growth strategy.
Q. The sustainability world is constantly evolving. In your view, what are the main challenges?
As someone with insight into the climate innovation pipeline in Africa, I’m optimistic. There are challenges, but the issue isn’t that we lack sustainable solutions or substitutes for most emissions problems. With the exception of few sectors such as aviation—which remains a tricky sector to decarbonize—we already have technologies at various readiness levels that can make a meaningful impact.
The real challenge lies in scaling these innovations. In Africa especially, moving from idea to impact requires significant resources, supportive ecosystems, and the right enabling environments.
This is exactly why platforms like The Cool Mangrove are so important: they make knowledge accessible, amplify founder stories, connect entrepreneurs to opportunities, and help climate innovations grow in a fast-changing world.
Q. You mention technology quite a lot. Which current technological innovations should we be looking out for, and what implications do they have for climate change?
Definitely AI definitely, which is one of the most exciting technological shifts in climate action right now. Its biggest advantage is speed: AI can analyze huge amounts of environmental data, model risks, optimize energy systems, and support faster decision-making for founders working on climate solutions. For early-stage teams, it can also reduce costs by automating research, content, and operational tasks—which is critical in resource-constrained markets like ours.
But the challenge is that AI’s potential is growing faster than our ability to use it responsibly. Many African countries still lack high-quality climate data, which limits how powerful AI tools can be here. There’s also a real risk of widening inequality—larger organizations can access advanced AI tools more easily than smaller green start-ups. And we can’t ignore the energy footprint of AI itself.
So AI is both an opportunity and a responsibility: if we improve data availability, ensure fair access, and build greener computing infrastructure, it can dramatically accelerate climate innovation across the continent.
Q. What is your vision for Africa’s green economy?
My vision for Africa’s green economy is one where climate solutions are created by Africans, for Africa. Too often, we see Western technologies being retrofitted to our context, instead of solutions being designed from the start with our realities, ecosystems, and communities in mind. Africa has the talent, the creativity, and the lived experience to build original climate innovations that work here—and that can scale globally.
I want to see a continent where local founders are supported, funded, and celebrated for building climate solutions rooted in African knowledge systems, African problems, and African possibilities. A future where our entrepreneurs aren’t adapting someone else’s blueprint but setting the blueprint for what a resilient, low-carbon, inclusive economy can look like. I hope I live to see it
Q. At the upcoming Africa’s Green Economy Summit in February in Cape Town, you will be part of the pitch programme as well as an official project partner. What will be your key message?
I want to highlight the power of local founders, local knowledge, and context-specific innovation. My role at the summit is to make sure these voices are heard, their stories are amplified, and their ideas are taken seriously. Through The Cool Mangrove, we’re showing that storytelling isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s a strategic tool that helps founders attract capital, inspire trust, and scale their climate impact.
Q. How important is such an event for the continent?
Events like this are essential. Africa has no shortage of brilliant climate innovators, but many lack visibility, networks, and the right connections to move from idea to impact. The Summit creates a rare space where founders, investors, policymakers, and partners can meet in the same room—which is exactly what accelerates meaningful progress. It allows Africa to set its own agenda, showcase its own solutions, and shift the narrative away from dependency and toward opportunity and leadership.
Q. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Just that Africa isn’t behind—we’re already innovating. We just need more support and trust in African-led solutions. If we back our own founders, we can shape a green economy that truly works for us. And I also hope to see you at AGES and network with as many of you as possible. Let’s meet up and exchange ideas and move the continent towards a more sustainable one. Thank you.
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