Supporting access to clean and efficient cooking

Meggan believes that African cities are places of innovation and potential, where globally relevant solutions are found. She leads the Climate Change, Energy and Resilience workstream at ICLEI Africa, where a diverse team works with African city stakeholders to build resilience, enable low emission development, and improve access to finance and energy. Meggan holds a PhD in Environmental Science and before joining ICLEI Africa worked as a municipal official.

David has over a decade of experience contributing to solutions driving the sustainable energy transition. With a focus on urban informality, he has worked with a wide range of development partners and subnational governments across Africa. He has a particular interest in the role of human-centred design as an enabler of sustainable innovation. He holds an Honours Degree in Environmental and Geographical Studies, and qualifications in sustainable energy, public policy and project management. David joins our climate change and energy team, to provide strategic advice, drive business development, develop plans, and deliver action on climate change mitigation, sustainable energy, and clean cooking.

Jarita Kassen spent the last two years working at Eyewitness News producing radio news stories and articles on a variety of topics. She is passionate about climate change and sustainability and excited to work in a communications position that addresses these issues. She has experience liaising with local government officials and gained a good understanding of government structures and communicating about political issues during her studies at the University of Cape Town. She has a BA degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and an Honours degree in Political Communications, focusing on media. She also has a diploma in Business French and has dabbled in design and layout, and podcast production. Jarita will be joining the ICLEI Africa team as a Communications Officer for Energy and Climate Change, specifically to support communications for the CoM SSA Secretariat as well as our LoCS4Africa Virtual Congress, and other related campaigns.

Rabia is part of ICLEI Africa's Sustainable Finance Centre, and is committed to advancing finance solutions that drive sustainable development across South Africa and Africa to make finance accessible and impactful for communities. With a strong background in finance and economic development, she focuses on integrating policy, finance, and local impact to address the region’s unique challenges. 

Susan is a dedicated professional with over eight years of experience in driving sustainable development and environmental stewardship. She has led impactful projects, including Uganda's National Biogas Strategy, and initiatives promoting energy-efficient solutions. A recipient of the prestigious AfDB scholarship, Susan holds a Master’s degree in Climate Change and Disaster Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Management. With expertise in stakeholder engagement, project coordination and strategy execution, she is passionate about advancing sustainable practices and addressing pressing environmental challenges.

She has completed a National Diploma in Mathematical Technology at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Though her work experience has been gained over various business sectors, Labeeqah has developed a strong passion for NGO’s. It is because of her passion, that she opted to perform her mandatory in-service training at an NGO for whom she volunteered for a short period of time before being permanently appointed.