Who we are

President & Board Member
Results-driven international business professional with an MBA and extensive experience building partnerships, connecting African businesses to global markets, and navigating government relations in Africa. Passionate about sustainable development, he founded The Institute for Man & Nature – Congo (IFMAN – CONGO) a nonprofit organization to combat climate change, support small farmers, and promote sustainable practices for a healthier planet and brighter future.

He builds partnerships with international organizations, governments, and private sector entities to drive sustainable development in the DRC.

He brings a unique perspective to sustainable development projects.

Senior IT & Digital Marketing Advisor
An experienced ClimateTech CEO, Aidan co-founded MèreMer which is supported by both the Irish Government and the European Space Agency. Following 20+ years with DIAGEO, he co-founded a tech company in 2011 where they delivered bespoke solutions to major organisations such as Capita Symonds (London), Ulster Bank (Dublin), and the Irish education system (various). MèreMer was born in 2021 and is focused entirely on leveraging cutting-edge technology to support positive climate action.

Advisory Board Committee
An Electrical Engineer by profession with more 25 years of experience on electricity markets, with high-level knowledge of the survey and data analysis pertaining to renewable energy and energy access, as well as natural renewable and non-renewables resources and climate change. Dr. SK Matototo developed an integrated energy planning study to make a comprehensive prospective analysis of energy needs and energy supply options based on development scenarios in the DRC.

As a Senior Expert for HELIO International in the Great Lakes countries (DR Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi), he has been conducting market assessments and analyses on electricity opportunities in these countries for nearly a decade. Additionally, he has been involved in assisting with project design and implementation for decentralized renewable energy projects and assessing climate change impacts on ecosystems in the DRC. He led two projects, namely: 'Energy Systems: Vulnerability-Adaptation-Resilience' and 'Strengthening the Resilience of Energy Systems and Ecosystems in the DRC.' These studies demonstrated that The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing significant environmental challenges caused by the following phenomena: coastal erosion, flooding, pollution, silting of the maritime channel, and deforestation of mangroves, which impacts blue carbon. He subsequently led a study on 'Threat Analysis on the Coastal Mangrove Ecosystems of Muanda/DRC and Their Impact on Blue Carbon.' Currently, he is conducting a study on 'Planning and Protection of Blue Carbon Sink Areas: Towards Sustainable Management of Marine and Coastal Ecosystems in the DRC.' He is fluent in both French and English.

Treasurer & Board Member
As an electrical engineer, Thryphon worked for SNEL (the Congo national electricity company) as Head of direct current transmission division in Inga, Western region. He participated in the construction of the high-voltage transmission line, directing current Inga Kolwezi from construction to operation. He then joined the International ABB group in DRC. Worked for two years in Sweden at the ABB office where he participated in the studies projects such as Three Gorges (China) and Outaouais (Canada). Mr. Mungono held the position of Sales Engineer at ABB DRC from 1995-2000. Participated in several technical audit missions organized for the improvement of SNEL networks in DRC. Represented the German Fichtner group in the DRC. Held the position of Deputy Project manager as a consultant for projects financed by international donors (World Bank, AfDB, kfW, etc. (‘04-’08). As the country representative for ABB, he oversaw activities for the entire Central African region, French speaking countries. Tryphon is a professor at IStA (Institut Superieur Destechniques Appliquées) since 2004.

COO
An expert in the Environment, natural resource management and sustainable development with more than 10 years of experience. Holder of a master’s degree in Environment and Natural Resources Management and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Official University of Bukavu. Innocent has been a member of the group of expert assessors of the IUCN green list for protected and conserved areas in the DRC (EAGL/DRC) since 2023. He participated in the revitalization of the scientific and political platform called “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of the DRC” (BioSE-RDC). Innocent has supported several organizations to implement sustainable development projects financed by the World Bank and the European Union. This is the case of the Stabilization of Eastern DRC for Peace (STEP2) project in which he was the Focal Point, then an agroforestry and sustainable agriculture project in the Yangambi landscape (Tshopo Province) as part of the YPS project implemented by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and its partners including the European Union.

Board Member : Sustainable Development
Noel worked for many years with the Irish Government in the areas of environment, climate change and sustainable development. He led the Irish delegation at UN international negotiations on climate change (UNFCCC) between 2010 and 2013. Previously he was Director of Ireland’s National Council for Sustainable Development (Comhar SDC). Noel has also worked as a consultant on Climate Finance to Irish Aid, at the Department of Foreign affairs, and is on the UN roster of national experts for climate change, as nominated by the Irish government. He is the founder of SmartEarth an international consultancy on Climate Action and Sustainability.

Board Member / Coordinator for fundraising and Women Empowerment
Based in California, United States, Gloria is currently a Director of Global Events at MorphL2, bringing experience from previous roles at Gitcoin, Bisalu, Shule and Insight Data Science. Gloria Kimbwala holds a 2013 - 2014: Master of Science (M.S.) in Computer Science -Specialization in Software Engineering @ National University.

With a robust skill set that includes Management, Public Speaking, Start-ups, Team Building, Blockchain technology, public goods funding and more.

Board Member
An environmental engineer, and a researcher at INERA/Yangambi- Kisangani. Researcher on the evaluation of carbon stock in the Yangambi biosphere reserve. She is currently supervising a project on the production of high-yield seeds (improved varieties)at INERA / Yangambi - Kisangani university.

Board member : Sustainability

Engineer in Environmental Meteorology and an Assistant professor at the Technical

Applied Institute (ISTA Kinshasa) in the Environmental Meteorology department; responsible for laboratory practices on the engineering process and thermodynamics.

Independent researcher in the field of energy and the environment (Energy transition and protection of biodiversity);

Responsible for raising awareness of the environment and biotechnologies, waste treatment (production of biochar, biogas and other artistic objects as well as compost and other organic fertilizers) at Green Technologie Space GTS (a non-profit organization)

Senior Advisor

Dr. Laporte is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Forestry at the Northern Arizona University (USA). Her work focuses on applications of satellite imagery for mapping, monitoring, managing and conserving tropical forests. She has spent some 30 years building institutional and human technical capacity for governments and NGOs in Africa, including establishing a research office in central Congo. Dr. Laporte’s research has influenced tropical forest policies and increased transparency in the environmental sector. A central piece of her technical capacity building activities has focused on remote sensing and GIS training of young analysts and scientists in order to reduce national science and technology gaps. She developed an “Integrated Forest Monitoring System for Central Africa”, combining fine scale satellite imagery information with field observations to improve forest management practices in the logging sector, as well as the “Protected Area Watch for the Albertine Rift” to promote forest and wildlife conservation in Eastern Africa.

Advisory Board Member
M.D. degree in Electronic Engineering (control technology & automation) from the University of Bari, Italy, in 1988. Second M.D. degree in Clinical Engineering from University of L’Aquila, Italy, in 2002. M.D. (h.c.) in Environmental Management and Sanitation from IFAD Institute, Kinshasa, DRC in 2020, and a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from the Polytechnic of Bari in 2001. From 1989 up to 2000, served as Technical Top Manager for private and public institutions in construction and maintenance of industrial plants; Environment, Biomedicine, Nuclear for civil and health applications; Robotics, and Instrumentation. He is with the Dept of Innovation Engineering, University of Salento, Italy, since 2000, and is the Director of Instrumentation and Measurement Lab I. Prof. Aimé Lay-Ekuakille is a Senior Member of IEEE. He authored and co-authored more than 370 papers on international conferences and journals.

Program Manager: Women Cooperatives Org. & Training
An agricultural engineer (phytotechnic) (Bac+5) from the Catholic University of Bukavu, Kivu province in the DRC. Grace is experienced in agriculture, livestock and training and supervision of women in farming; research, monitoring and evaluation; research and evaluation using both qualitative and quantitative methods. She has worked several times as a research coordinator, supervisor, and data analyst capacities . Grace has worked with both national and international NGOs as well as companies specializing in project evaluations, notably Research Initiative for Social Development asbl, MARAKUJA asbl, FieldLab DRC, IMC WorldWide, New York University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Inc, Harvard Humanitarian Initiatives, Catholic University of Bukavu, Wageningen University, etc. In addition to her specialization in research and evaluation, Grace is a trainer in entrepreneurship, coaching of AVEC and MUSO, in financial education, and development of the business plan.

Yale University Ambassador
Jae-Hee is an incoming third-year undergraduate student at Yale University, studying molecular biophysics and biochemistry with a certificate in Climate Science and Solutions. In the past, she worked with Celo to deliver an open-source map of 200+ climate tech intiiatives exhibited during EthCC in Paris, the largest annual European Ethereum event focused on technology and community. In 2022, she co-initiated RedemptionDAO to attempt to conserve the Congo Basin from oil and gas exploitation, covered by the Financial Times and recognized by Democratic Republic of Congo Hydrocarbons Minister Didier Budimbu. At Yale, she serves on the board of the Yale Environmentalist, works for the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, volunteers with Students for Carbon Dividends, and loves probing structural biology/biochemistry research as a member of the Paulsen Lab.