Welcome to EvTalks: Shaping Conversations for a Certified Clean Economy

Enam leads the growth and adoption of I-RECs and associated product codes of the I-TRACK Foundation in Africa. She has worked in environment and sustainability since 1998, initially within international development and then as a carbon asset developer.

She has advised and guided companies on the continent and in the UK to meet GHG emission compliance and voluntary reporting since 2016. She’s a member of the UNFCCC Article 6.4 methodological experts panel and the GHGP Scope 2 technical working group.

Enam has an MSc in Development Studies and an MBA and is studying for an LLM in Energy and Environment. Enam has experience reporting for PPN/0621, SECR, TCFD, and ISO14001. She has professional qualifications in GHG Accounting (Basic and Corporate), REDD+, and PRINCE2.

Travis is an expert in climate change finance, carbon removal and clean energy, driven by the urgency of change and action for the planet. In his role as Business Development Director, he works alongside the Executive team to grow Evident’s global footprint and product expansion. He supports cross-functional projects, informs strategy, leads stakeholder engagement and interfaces with ecosystem partners.

Working with partners in industry, government, and NGOs, Travis advises on the creation of robust, credible certification standards that encourage transition to a global clean economy. He supports market design, implementation and growth for I-REC and other emerging asset classes, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and hydrogen. Travis holds a bachelor's degree in Geography from University College London.

Justin Colley has worked at Argus for 14 years with a focus on European electricity, renewable energy certificates, and compliance carbon wholesale markets. He drove the launch of Argus’ coverage of European power guarantee of origin and global I-REC markets in 2018, helping to bring transparency to opaque markets. Justin gives regular presentations at industry events, sharing insight on electricity and renewable energy certificate market trends and developments, with a particular focus on pricing and fundamentals.

Tinashe is a Policy Associate who joined Evident in 2022. Prior to this, he served as a Senior Energy Development Officer in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development (Zimbabwe), specifically within the scope of renewable energy and energy conservation. It is in this role where he contributed extensively through leading and extending key support functions in the development of the National Energy Efficiency Policy, National Climate Change Learning Strategy, Green Hydrogen Atlas Africa, among other strategic policy documents.

Tinashe holds a BSc (Hons) in Applied Environmental Science from the University of Zimbabwe and an MSc from the University of Reading in Climate Change and Development. He is also a selectee of the Future Energy Leaders-100 (FEL-100) fellowship under the World Energy Council.

Benjamin is an experienced sustainability and management director, with nearly 20 years’ experience in a wide range of sustainability and resource efficiency areas (climate change, water, waste, energy efficiency, and renewables), with project delivery experience ranging from policy development to large scale programmatic interventions. Having joined SEFA 3 years ago as the GMG lead, Benjamin is responsible for the development and delivery of SEFA’s GMG portfolio of investments, including SEFA’s flagship TA programme to support countries develop their GMG markets, the Africa Mini-grid Accelerator Programme.

Benjamin is leading on financing solutions for GMG projects at both a country level, with recent projects in Mauritania, Ethiopia and Guinea, and also on the private sector, with SEFA’s recent investment into the CrossBoundary Energy Access Platform. Benjamin was previously with Carbon Trust for 11 years, establishing the African office. Benjamin commenced his career at PwC, providing commercial due diligence and strategic advisory services. Benjamin holds a Master's of Aerospace Engineering with French from the University of Bath in the UK.

Stuti Dubey is the Executive Director of the D-REC Organisation, the non-profit foundation behind D-RECs, facilitating small-scale Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) projects in the Global South through participation in the I-REC economy.

In her current role, Stuti leads the D-REC Organisation’s mission for a clean, just, and equitable energy transition through D-RECs, which serves as a high-impact verification label for EACs issued as I-REC(e) under the I-TRACK Standard. The Organisation attests to the socio-economic and environmental benefits of the underlying DRE projects of the D-RECs, playing a vital role in channeling critical climate finance. This strategic resource mobilisation facilitates broader access to energy, advancing the Global South's transition towards sustainable development and equitable energy solutions.

With 20 years of leadership experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors, Stuti’s career began in banking, notably at Deutsche Bank. She later founded a consulting firm, leading international expansions and transformation projects across 15 countries. Stuti was also the co-founder of an Indian non-profit for violence prevention among underprivileged adolescent girls. She holds an Executive MBA from HEC Paris with specialisations in Energy Transition and Climate & Business, alongside executive certificates from Babson College, ESMT Berlin, and FDC Brazil.

Gugulethu Dumakude is the General Manager of Eskom Distribution (acting), with over 2 decades of experience focusing on managing the customer relationship, in a thoughtful and empathetic manner, as well as providing ongoing advice and technical support for customers. Gugulethu has created and delivered a variety of customised and dedicated value-added products as part of the critical strategic partnership with Eskom’s key industrial customers. Gugulethu has a proven track record of success in managing complex projects and overseeing stakeholder and contractor engagement. Gugulethu holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSc), Master of Business Administration (MBA), and is currently studying towards PhD Electrical Engineering with UKZN.

Ed Everson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Evident, with a distinguished career since the 1990s in global certification and verification for renewable energy and low-carbon projects. Instrumental in shaping renewable energy certification, Ed co-founded the market over 25 years ago and was key in establishing the I-REC Foundation. Ed’s prior work and leadership included long-term advisor roles within the energy sector, providing expertise on market design, operational costs, settlement systems, market governance, equitable cost apportionment, and financial reconciliation. Ed has also held directorships in sustainable technology firms. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Durham.

Teresa Everson-Smith is the Chief Strategy Officer at Evident, where she leads strategic initiatives to navigate complex markets, leverage emerging opportunities, and enhance organisational performance. With extensive experience across the financial services, higher education, and sustainability sectors, Teresa brings deep expertise in market analysis, competitive positioning, and business development, playing a key role in Evident’s growth. She holds a BA (Hons) in Business and Management and three Master’s degrees in Organisation Development and Consultancy, Organisational Culture, and Sustainable Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

Robert has worked for Cresco Group for the past 18 years across industries with a strong focus on energy, mining and infrastructure. He focuses particularly on project finance advisory and finance structuring for cross border opportunities. Over the past five years, he has increasingly focused on Decarbonisation Solutions for energy users of all sizes, including energy strategy development, procurement, project development, and implementation support.

He is a qualified Chartered Accountant who has focused on project finance in Sub Saharan Africa for the past 18 years, with an additional 4 years’ experience in the UK/European market in similar areas. He has extensive financial modelling experience across various industries and strategic business development services for start-up and technology entities. He is experienced as a project and company turnaround specialist.

Luke Greicius is Evident's Head of Policy. He and his team monitor global regulatory frameworks and industry standards to identify growth opportunities and mitigate risk to existing products. Their analysis feeds into the broader functions of the Insight and Markets department. Before joining Evident in August 2023, Luke served as a U.S. diplomat for more than a decade, covering political and economic policy for the Department of State at postings in Brazil, France, Libya, and Washington, D.C. In his most recent tours, his work focused on climate and clean energy policy, specifically the development of public-private partnerships to accelerate decarbonisation efforts globally.

Earlier in his career, Luke worked in finance for the D. E. Shaw Group in New York and spent a year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia at an education/technology-focused social enterprise. He holds an M.A. in Middle East studies from Georgetown University, and a B.A. in Mathematics from Columbia University.

Russell Karas is the SVP, Head of Commodities at Xpansiv, the world’s largest infrastructure provider for environmental commodities. He leads commercial efforts for Xpansiv’s exchange and portfolio-management services, which involves developing and scaling carbon and renewable energy markets, managing strategic customers and partnerships, and enhancing front-end trading technologies.

Prior to Xpansiv, Russell spent a decade at CME Group overseeing the Environmental and North American Crude and Refined businesses. At CME he launched more than 100 derivative contracts, including the Global Emissions Offset (GEO) and Nature-based Global Emissions Offset (N-GEO) futures contracts developed with Xpansiv.

He has a B.A. from Hofstra University’s Honor College in Political Science and Economics, an M.S. in International Affairs and an M.B.A. in Finance, Strategy, and Marketing from New York University.

Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa joined Naspers as South Africa CEO in July 2019. Before joining Naspers, she was the Co-Founder and Executive Chairperson of Sigma Capital. Prior, she was the Head of the Project Finance South Africa business unit at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Early in her career, Phuthi worked in New York at Fieldstone, an international firm specialising in the financing of infrastructure assets. She later transferred to the South African office, where she served as a Vice President. She has been awarded several accolades such as CNBC Africa’s All Africa Business Leaders “Woman of the Year Award” in 2019 and the Forbes Woman Africa “Businesswoman of the Year” Award in 2014.

In 2013, she was awarded a “Distinguished Achievement” Award by The Douglass Society, and the Africa Investors recognised her as a “Leading Africa Woman in Business of the Year” in 2012. In 2009, she was awarded the “Most Influential Woman in Government and Business” by Financial Services. The Wall Street Journal counted her among the “Top 50 women in the world to watch”. Phuthi also serves on the board of the United Nation’s Global Compact Network SA. She is also a council member of the BRICS Business Council in South Africa.

Mutuma Marangu is an active energy investor and advisor located in Nairobi, Kenya. He is the co-founder of C:Pesa®, a startup incorporated in the UK that operates globally.

C:Pesa® builds digital-based solutions to help green electricity producers and consumers comply with their local and global compliance regulations. Mutuma has had historic engagement in New York and London-based energy capital markets and was a founding member of the London Stock Exchange Group’s Africa Advisory Group.

He spent over 10 years as a market analyst/physical oil trader at Glencore in London and, for over a decade, was also a shareholder and board director with Green Resources AS, Africa’s largest afforestation company.

Kevin Pillay is the General Manager within the Eskom Distribution Business. Kevin joined Eskom in January of 2002 as an experienced Electricity Utility Manager with expertise in various aspects of utility management, including strategy formulation, execution, reliability engineering, asset management, and project management.

Kevin holds a Master's in Electrical Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Bachelor of Science in Engineering Electrical and complemented by various short courses on Utility Management and advanced courses on Decarbonisation and Energy Transition at SDA Bocconi University.

Bongani Sithole is the CEO of Rand Capital, which is an Africa-focused holding group, involved primarily in investing in infrastructure, mining, power & renewable energy sector. He is passionate about creating sustainable solutions for a greener tomorrow, harnessing clean energy sources.

Bongani is a philanthropist with an ardent passion for Africa’s growth and progress.

Rentia joined Standard Bank in 2014, with a focus on developing and implementing opportunities for Standard Bank to be the leading funder of renewable and power projects in South Africa and the rest of Africa.

Rentia’s experience ranges across various sectors where she previously worked in the Economic Research department and Mining Business Unit at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and was seconded to the office of the Minister of Minerals and Energy as advisor. She also has extensive experience in the wood and paper sector, and green industries, where she led a team focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, fuel-based energy, and other green related initiatives. She has been focusing on the power sector since 2010, driving towards funding and growing the sector across the continent.

Linda Wamune is the Program Director at Energy Peace Partners, a non-profit organisation that leverages climate and finance solutions to promote peace in the world's most fragile regions, through the deployment of a new finance solution, the Peace REC, that accelerates the transition to renewables in conflict-affected settings. A civil engineer by training, she has previously worked for various leading organisations that have played an instrumental role in the growth of decentralised energy solutions for communities in several African countries.