Tsotetsi Makong
Tsotetsi Makong
Tsotetsi Makong is the Head of Capacity Building and Technical Assistance at the AfCFTA Secretariat. He is also Trade Facilitation Expert at ESAMI-Trapca. He further serves as a Senior Lecturer at trapca and ESAMI where he lectures in trade law, regional integration, trade negotiations, Competition Law, intellectual property law, digital trade, business and company law, policy analysis and transport law post graduate courses.
He previously served as a diplomat and a trade negotiator in Geneva, on behalf of the Kingdom of Lesotho where he severally served as the chief negotiator of African countries. Makong assumed further roles csuch as chairing WTO committees on TRIMS and import licensing, UNCTAD based G 77 and China (Geneva chapter), the WTO based African Group and technical focal point of WTO based LDCs and ACP groups.
Prior to working in Geneva he covered multiple regional trade negotiations including those under the remit of SACU, SADC, SADC-EPAs and AU. Makong is currently on the roster of Arbitrators under SADC EU EPA. He holds several post graduate degrees the University of Liverpool, Lund University and Queen Mary University of London. He currently serves as the chairperson of the Scientific Committee on Land Policy in Africa.
Dr. Emmanuel Sulle
Dr. Emmanuel Sulle
Sulle is a research advisor at the Aga Khan University’s Arusha Climate and Environmental Research Station, Tanzania. He is well-known as a leading scholar on agrarian studies in Africa, a contributor to the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa. He holds a PhD in Land and Agrarian Studies from the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of the Western Cape, South Africa and Master’s degree in Public Policy majoring in Environmental Policy from the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, United States.
Emmanuel has won various awards for his academic excellence including Harvard University Doctoral Student Fellowship and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) Doctoral Grant. He currently holds a visiting fellow award from the University of Cologne, Germany and a visiting scientist grant from Simon Fraser University, Canada.
Prior to joining AKU Emmanuel worked at PLAAS, where he led diverse groups of researchers on numerous complex studies in over seven countries in Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern Africa. These include large projects on women’s land rights with field research teams in seven countries and development corridors in four countries in Eastern and Southern Africa.
These multi-country and multi-disciplinary research experiences have helped him develop considerable leadership skills in managing research projects in different contexts and diverse groups. His current research interests include climate change, environment, regenerative agriculture, policy analysis, green economy, land tenure and agrarian transformation in Africa.
Dr.-Ing. Samuel Mabikke
Dr.-Ing. Samuel Mabikke
Dr.-Ing. Samuel Mabikke is a Land and Natural Resources Tenure Specialist, with over 15 years of experience working on land tenure issues, forest governance, land policy reforms, land administration and customary tenure.
He has led a number of projects on Responsible Land Investments, Land Use Planning, Water governance, Gender and women’s rights in many countries in Africa including; Sierra Leone, Liberia, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Malawi. He holds a Doctor of Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) specializing in Land and Water Governance from Technische Universität München (TUM) in Germany from where he also obtained his Master of Science in Land Management and Land Tenure.
Prior to joining the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Samuel worked for The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat/Global Land Tool Network) as a Land Tenure Specialist. He also worked as a Research Scientist and part-time Lecturer at the Centre of Land, Water and Environmental Risk Management, Faculty of Civil Geo and Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
He has authored several books and published scientific papers, book chapters in several reputable journals. He has supervised students at Bachelors and Master degree in the field of Land Management, Land Tenure, Environmental Engineering, and Transportation Systems. He is a member of the African Forest Forum and a distinguished fellow of the African Good Governance Network (AGGN) initiated in 2007 under the auspices of the former German Federal President Prof. Horst Köhler.
Prof Ernest Molua
Prof Ernest Molua
Ernest L. Molua is a Professor of Agricultural Economics in the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, University of Buea, Cameroon. He obtained academic degrees in Agricultural Economics and Policy Analysis from the Georg-August University, Goettingen, Germany and the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark.
He is a member of the College of Research Associates of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, a continent-wide network of senior research scientists for natural resources management.
A Fulbright Fellow and Research Associate at Yale University, USA, he also serves as a Visiting Professor to the United Nations Institute for Economic Development and Planning, Dakar, Senegal and the Africa Program of the United Nations University for Peace, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Dr. Elizabeth M. Musvoto
Dr. Elizabeth M. Musvoto
Dr. Elizabeth M. Musvoto is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Construction Economics and Management at the University of Cape Town.
She is a Professional Town Planner and holds a Ph.D. in Property and Planning from the University of Cape Town, Master’s in Real Estate and Bachelor`s Degree in Town and Regional Planning both from the University of Pretoria.
Mrs Nancy Rambao Andriamisandratsoa
Mrs Nancy Rambao Andriamisandratsoa
Mrs Nancy Rambao Andriamisandratsoa is an Inspector of Domain and Land Property and an Expert in Public Administration from the National School of Administration of Madagascar (ENAM) and currently pursuing dual doctoral studies in Sociology and Interepistemic Sciences.
Her areas of expertise encompass Public Policy, Land Policy, Land Reform, Land Governance and Public Finance.
Her commitment to the betterment of land governance and land reform is underscored by her participation in workshops and the various capacity building she has provided. She was engaged in the development of the land policy letter and the national land program in 2015.
Currently, she takes part in the evaluation of the first phase of this national land program and in the preparation of its 2nd phase. She has participated to the 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and the preparation of the implementation of the multisectoral platform of land governance in Madagascar. She contributed also to the regional consultation workshop on community land rights.
In addition to her academic pursuits, she got involved to the training of students Inspectors of Domain and Land Property and students Engineers of Topographic Services on Land Policy in Madagascar. She has already trained land actors and professionals on land reform.
She is a trainer in decentralized land management and certification processes to the Mayors, President of Communal Council and the responsible of communal land offices. She took in various sensitizations on land reform and land certification.
Eileen Wakesho Mwagae
Eileen Wakesho Mwagae
Eileen Wakesho Mwagae is a land and property rights practitioner with keen interest on women’s land rights. She currently serves as Namati’s advisor for the Community Land Protection Programme, a programme that seeks to strengthen land tenure rights for indigenous communities. Eileen previously served as Oxfam International women’s land rights Advisor, worked with Kenya Land Alliance, Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF) and Kenya Institute for Public Policy, Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) focusing on women land rights, land governance and land and conflicts.
She has co-authored a peer-reviewed book on informal justice mechanisms and formal courts in Kenya and Engagement with Local Communities: Land and Conflict. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Nairobi. She has published numerous articles on women’s rights to property and community land protection. She is alumni of Political economy on Land Governance in Africa progrmme, Landesa’s Women Land Rights Visiting Professionals Program in Seattle Washington, and Sydney’s Law School Gender and Transitional Justice Fellowship.
Dr. Moha EL-Ayachi
Dr. Moha El-Ayachi
Engineer, Doctor, and Professor, Land Surveying and Geodetic Sciences Moha EL-AYACHI graduated as a Surveying Engineer from the Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (IAV Hassan II) in 1995. Ph.D. on Land and Cadastral Information Management in a Joint Supervision program of the University of Minnesota, USA and Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine Hassan II, Morocco
He is a consultant Educator and Trainer in Land governance enhancement using the GNSS / GIS and Artificial Intelligence.
He is also the Coordinator of the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in North Africa, Head of the Master’s degree in Geospatial Sciences and Land Governance, Editor-in-Chief of the African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences (e.ISSN :2657-2664) and Publisher of the NELGA-Newsletter in North Africa (e.ISSN : 2665-7538).
Mr. Tomoki Fukunaga
Mr. Tomoki Fukunaga
Mr. Tomoki Fukunaga is a Regional Integration Officer at the Regional Integration Coordination Office (RDRI) of the African Development Bank. His work covers various regional integration initiatives, mainstreaming regional integration into the Bank’s strategies and projects, with focus on the three pillars of infrastructure connectivity, trade and investment and financial integration. He is currently working on the Trade and Transport Facilitation Project in the SADC region, as well as the administration of the Bank’s Regional Operations Window which finances regional integration projects.
He joined the African Development Bank’s Infrastructure and Urban Development Department (PICU) in 2022 where he worked on the coordination of the NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility and the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA), concerning the development of regional infrastructure with focus on PIDA projects. Prior to joining the bank, Mr. Fukunaga worked on regional development projects and urban development projects across Asia, Africa and Central America. He holds an MSc in Urban Development Planning from the University College London, United Kingdom.
Prof Milu Muyanga
Prof Milu Muyanga
Dr. Milu Muyanga joined the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University in 2013. He is an emerging thought leader in agriculture and rural transformation in Africa. Over the years Milu has successfully established and managed a well-funded internationally recognized research program. His research focuses on emerging agricultural land constraints and sustainable intensification in Africa, emerging medium-scale farms, changing structure of African farms, and youth livelihoods. Milu conducts research, outreach, and capacity building activities in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia.
Dr. Muyanga’s commitment to research excellence is demonstrated by his record of journal publications in a wide range of increasingly impactful refereed journals, and engagements with high-level policymakers and development partners. Prior to joining MSU, Milu worked as a Research Fellow with Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Egerton University (Kenya) between 2004 and 2007 and as an Economist in the Ministry of Planning and National Development in the Government of Kenya between 1997 and 2003.
He was recognized by the Global Development Network, winning the first prize on Best Research on Household Exposure to Risk theme in 2007. Dr. Muyanga is the immediate past chair, Africa Section of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
Milu C. Muyanga, Ph.D
Associate Professor, International Development
Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics
Michigan State University
Website: https://www.canr.msu.edu/people/muyanga_milu
Dr. Cheikh Oumar
Dr. Cheikh Oumar
Cheikh Oumar BA is PhD Socio-Anthropologist. He is the Executive Director of IPAR (www.ipar.sn), a West-African Think Tank focusing on policy research in agriculture and the rural economy specialized in land tenure and natural resources management, agriculture performance, employment demographics and migration, public policy.
He is also the Scientific coordinator of the Senegal team for the Rural Development Study program financed by the World Bank, the French Cooperation, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on the implications of structural adjustment on agriculture and rural areas in Senegal.
He has coordinated a regional study on 4 countries (Mali, Gambia, Mauritania, and Senegal) on Voluntary Guidelines and organized four national workshops for lawmakers (Members of Parliament) in these countries. He has also coordinated the study on Land Governance Assessment framework (LGAF), World Bank (Participated in World Bank annual meetings in 2012, 2013, 2014)
In 2012, He was a member of National commission of Land Reform in Senegal. He was a member of several networks such as “Gender in Action network, France”, the Euro-African Association for Development Anthropology (APAD)
In the last 5 years, he has coordinated: West Africa studies on Large scale Land-Based Investments in Africa (LSLBI)-LPI West African Economic and Monetary Union Studies on the Rural Land Markets in West Africa: Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Senegal. He is also a Scientific Member of CLPA 2021 and CLPA 2023.
Dr. Richmond Antwi Bediako
Dr. Richmond Antwi Bediako
Dr. Richmond Antwi-Bediako stands at the intersection of social development, environmental research, and interdisciplinary initiatives. With a prime focus on Environment and Social (E&S) Safeguards, his contributions extend to sustainability, land governance, environmental justice, and natural resources management. He has been pivotal in climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Renowned for his aptitude in assessing environment and social impacts and moulding policy strategies for environment and socio-economic development, Dr. Antwi-Bediako’s expertise resonates across various geographies, notably in African regions like Ghana, Ethiopia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia, uganda and Cote d'Ivoire.
His dedication to research and consultancy has earned him grants and consultancy exceeding €1 million from esteemed institutions, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), UNDP-Green Climate Fund, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Care International-DANIDA, and many more.
With 15 publications under his belt on land, investment induced impacts, Social Development and Environment governance, Richmond's passion lies in qualitative research on land and in the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) domains, supplemented with hands-on field surveys, teachings, and training sessions. His profound insights have notably influenced investor ESG readiness and shaped project financing paradigms. He has notably performed E&S due diligence for AfDB's prospective projects and investment strategies.
Dr. Antwi-Bediako's commitment to his field is further highlighted by his active memberships and leadership roles in various boards and committees. These include the Scientific Committee of the Africa Union's Africa Land Policy, the National Steering Committee for Land Administration Programmes (LAP) in Ghana, and the International Development Studies (IDS) Network in the Netherlands. Previously, he chaired the Civil Society Coalition on Land (CICOL) and currently holds board memberships at ESG 360, among others.
Didier Milindi Rugema
Didier Milindi Rugema
Didier Milindi Rugema is an academic in the field of land administration and management for responsive land policy and governance. His field of expertise, both as an academic and a practitioner, includes land policy and governance, cadastre, land information system, land administration and management backed with ge -information science. His work experiences include the design, implementation and evaluation of contextually responsive approaches for equity in land tenure rights for land resources management.
Dr. Stephen Karingi
Dr. Stephen Karingi
Dr. Stephen Karingi is currently the Director, Regional Integration and Trade Division of the Economic Commission for Africa. Before joining the United Nations, Dr. Karingi was a Senior Analyst and the Head of Macroeconomics Division in the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA). Before KIPPRA he served as a Lecturer of Economics at Egerton University.
Dr. Karingi was a recipient of the then Zolt-Gilburne Visiting Fellowship of the International Tax Programme of the Harvard Law School in 2001 and the winner of the 2013 Alan A. Powell Award in recognition of his contribution to Global Economic Analysis issues from an African perspective. Dr. Karingi served as a member of the High-Level Board of Experts on the Future of Global Trade Governance. He is presently serving in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Trade and Industrial Development Advisory Council; and also, a member of the High-Level Group on Trade in the context of EU-Africa relations. He is in the Editorial Board of the Journal of African Trade.
Dr. Joan Kagwanja
Dr. Joan Kagwanja
Dr. Joan Kagwanja is Chief, Agriculture and Business Enabling Environment Section (ABEES) and Coordinator of the African Land Policy Center (ALPC), UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). She has over 25 years experience in African development, having held positions at the ECA, The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), among others.
As the Chief of ABEES, Dr. Kagwanja has led in the development and implementation of programmes that develop evidence based tools, advocacy and capacity to transform african agriculture and food systems, leverage innovative climate smart solutions and digitalisation approaches, while enhancing the role of women, youth, and smallholders.
Dr. Kagwanja has led the ALPC since 2017 and its predecessor Land Policy Initiative (LPI) since 2006 contributions including a common AU agenda on land govenance, and commitment and tools to: strenghten women's land rights; engage in responsible land based investments; address land and ethnicity based conflicts; improve efficacy and transparency in land administration; and build capacity through improved curricula, training and research for land govenance reforms.
Dr. Kagwanja holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri- Columbia, USA.
Mr. Raphaël Kouadio Oura
Mr. Raphaël Kouadio Oura
Mr. Raphaël Kouadio Oura holds a PhD in Rural Geography. Currently in office as a Research Fellow, Assistant Professor, at the Center of Research for Development (CRD) at Alassane Ouattara University of Bouake, he is interested in land issues in both rural and peri-urban areas. He mainly addresses the issue of land conflicts that shake the Ivorian rural environment and at the urban level, the link between urban sprawl and the difficulties of access to land in the peripheral countryside. He wrote a book entitled ‘‘Urban sprawl and youth access to land in Côte d’Ivoire’’. His expertise has extended beyond Côte d’Ivoire’’ to include the Guinean area where he is supervising PhD students on land issues. Besides, he is the Ivorian focal point of Yilaa (Youth Initiative of Land in Africa) and the Director in charge of research at the UNESCO Chair in Anticipation, Prospective and Sustainable Territories.