The Impact Facility

The FCA, represented by Ir. Antoine Kasongo & Alexandra A. Lukamba, was thrilled to participate in the prestigious DRC Mining Week for the third consecutive time. This important event for the DRC mining sector provided an excellent opportunity to network with industry leaders and establish new partnerships. Our booth was a hub of activity, attracting many enthusiastic young professionals eager to learn about our mission-driven work as well as potential future partners. Furthermore, the insightful side events and invaluable networking opportunities made this an enriching experience. Thank you, DRC Mining Week, for organizing such a productive and enriching conference! #DMW2024 #Networking #FCA #ASMCobalt ---- Le FCA, représenté par Ir. Antoine Kasongo & Alexandra A. Lukamba a été ravi de participer pour la troisième fois consécutive à la prestigieuse DRC Mining Week. Cet événement important pour le secteur minier de la RDC a offert une excellente occasion de réseauter avec les leaders de l'industrie et d'établir de nouveaux partenariats. Notre stand a été un véritable centre d'activité, attirant de nombreux jeunes professionnels enthousiastes, curieux d'en savoir plus sur notre travail axé sur notre mission et de rencontrer de futurs partenaires potentiels. Les événements parallèles enrichissants et les opportunités de réseautage inestimables ont rendu cette expérience inoubliable. Merci à la DRC Mining Week d'avoir organisé une conférence aussi productive et enrichissante ! #DMW2024 #FCA #ASMCobalt

Access to finance is key to ensuring a pivot to safe, dignified and formal ASM, and mercury elimination in the context of the gold sector. While exciting progress is being made across different countries, much more work is needed to ensure that artisanal miners can invest in professionalising their operations, as evidenced by the experience of the planetGOLD Mongolia team shared by Dulguun Mijiddorj during this week’s planetGOLD Global Forum in the Philippines, stating that their team “was the first organisation to even speak about and introduce the ASGM sector to financial institutions in the country - a pioneer in talking about investment into a sector regarded as illegal and informal in the country.” With an estimated 8 million artisanal gold miners across the globe, mostly excluded from formal financial service provision, it is crucial that efforts to bring them into the fold are known, tools and approaches that work are distributed for replication, and lessons learnt are shared to catalyse efforts elsewhere. To ensure planetGold country efforts can be leveraged by others, TIF and Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) were commissioned to support the nine phase 1 planetGOLD countries document their efforts through a standardised case study template. This effort concluded this week through a panel session moderated by our colleagues Candice Jumwa and Marcin Piersiak from ARM,  during which the pG teams from the Philippines, Mongolia, Burkina Faso, Colombia, and Ecuador shared their insights from several years of working on financial inclusion pilots resulting in the roll-out of the first few dozen successful loans, leveraging: - Collateralising supplier agreements with Central Banks - Guarantee mechanisms to de-risk formal lenders - Local savings and credit mechanisms in lieu of formal financial institutions Watch a recording of the full panel discussion accessible through link below, starting at 2:27h. https://lnkd.in/d6QarxsK Allowing participants to dive much deeper into the details of the various approaches, David Sturmes-Verbeek led a technical workshop featuring the approaches taken by CFA, TMB, Mwamba Mining, and TIF, taking advantage of the incredible expertise present at the event. It has been fascinating to learn from the panelists  Meggy Katigbak,  Dulguun Mijiddorj, Saidou KABRE, Juan Fernando C., and Pablo Grijalva. A huge thank you also to David McEvoy and Eduard Cornew for opening up about their approaches to financial inclusion during the workshop. #planetGOLD #ASGM #FinancialInclusion #PGGlobalForum #MercuryElimination

Investing in artisanal mining is a viable investment that transforms lives. This is the motivation that drives The Impact Facility’s day to day work, and it was the clear message from Lawrence Ndago, Executive Director at Multiflow Mines in Western Kenya, who spoke at the partner session organised by the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM) at last week’s OECD - OCDE Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains.    Lawrence is a partner and client of The Impact Facility’s Lake Victoria Gold Programme LV2030.  Through our innovative artisanal mine equipment leasing programme, the Multiflow mine has increased its production, improved health and safety and the professionalism of the business.  Lawrence and his team are building a successful business that will benefit the wider community.    The key workshop takeaways were: ➡ Artisanal and small-scale mines are viable businesses - with the right technical support, access to finance and markets they can make a substantial economic contribution to their communities ➡ Mainstream banks and lenders need to take artisanal mining seriously as businesses and open up lending to these mines  ➡ Formalising and legalising artisanal and small-scale mining is crucial to support social and economic development and enable access to finance for small scale miners    The Impact Facility’s David Sturmes-Verbeek also spoke at this session and at the partner session organised by Solidaridad East and Central Africa focusing on access to finance for artisanal and small scale miners – outlining the work being done through the Lake Victoria 2030 programme to develop scalable and replicable blended finance solutions across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. This work has shown that increasing access to more efficient processing technology is key to unlocking the economic potential of artisanal mining.    A huge thank you to Lawrence and all of our partners for their collaboration and ongoing support – including Fairphone, EPRM and Solidaridad. Our blended finance programmes would not be possible without the financial support of the EPRM, the GenEM Foundation and the private investors who provide lease capital.    Please contact David Sturmes-Verbeek or Lewis Temple for more information – we look forward to continuing to develop and scale our work in this region and beyond in coming years.   More information on The Impact Facility’s Lake Victoria Gold Programme: https://rb.gy/mcj8tt

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Lewis Temple as The Impact Facility’s new CEO.    Lewis takes over from current CEO Assheton Stewart Carter who is stepping into a new role leading TIF’s strategy and advocacy efforts from his position on the board of trustees. Assheton co-founded TIF 6 years ago, and under his leadership the organisation has grown rapidly, enabling our team, partners, and supporters to realise our joint ambition of helping to drive meaningful change for mining communities in Eastern and Central Africa.    Lewis has more than 25 years of leadership experience in global development, and a proven track record of building business and private sector solutions to challenges of poverty and exclusion. His commitment to improving resilience and sustainability aligns perfectly with TIF’s mission to enable the development of sustainable, thriving small-scale mining communities.   We would like to extend our thanks to Assheton for his tireless dedication to TIF over the past six years, and are looking forward to continuing to work with him going forward. We’re excited to welcome Lewis to the helm, and are eager to see what the future holds for TIF under his leadership – building on the team’s continually innovative work to create lasting positive change for artisanal mining communities worldwide.   Read the full press release here> https://rb.gy/eqv78k

This week, TIF participated in the Africa Environmental Health And Pollution Management Program's regional dialogue on mercury and e-waste pollution management, hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana in partnership with The World Bank. Our founder, Assheton Stewart Carter, was invited to reflect on financing options for artisanal miners seeking to adopt mercury free gold processing. During the presentation Assheton was able to draw on the learnings from TIF's work in setting up our ASGM processing and production equipment leasing programme with focus on Kenyan and Tanzania, as well as research our team has conducted over the years. The clear take aways: - financing options needs to be tailored to the realities of ASGM communities on the ground. - In addition to availing financing, technical capacity needs to be build to catalyse and inform the adoption of appropriate mercury-free processing technologies Through access to finance we can drive the professionalisation of a sector, providing a livelihood to an estimated 8 million people, responsible for 30%+ of global mercury emissions. In the coming weeks, we will be publishing a series of case studies on financial inclusion efforts, including an death analyses of our leasing programme and lessons learnt to date. Comment below or get in touch if you'd like to receive the case study upon publication! #ASM #MercuryReduction #FinancialInclusion #ASMProfessioanlisation #MercuryFreeProcessing

Are you driven, organised and energetic with a passion for the extractives sector and impact investment? Become part of our growing team of mining and finance experts who are dedicated to improving the lives of artisanal gold miners in East Africa - ensuring mineral wealth turns into community prosperity! Have a look at our latest job opening as Assistant Mining Investment Officer to be based in Geita, Tanzania, and help us scale our Lake Victoria 2030 mining equipment provision programme designed to catalyse the professionalisation of artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations across Kenya and Tanzania. Exciting? Apply today, as we will be interviewing applicants on a rolling basis, seeking to fill the position as soon as possible!

Are you driven, organised and energetic with a passion for the extractives sector and impact investment? Become part of our growing team of mining and finance experts who are dedicated to improving the lives of artisanal gold miners in East Africa - ensuring mineral wealth turns into community prosperity! Have a look at our latest job opening as Assistant Mining Investment Officer to be based in Geita, Tanzania, and help us scale our Lake Victoria 2030 mining equipment provision programme designed to catalyse the professionalisation of artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations across Kenya and Tanzania. Exciting? Apply today, as we will be interviewing applicants on a rolling basis, seeking to fill the position as soon as possible!

Advocating for Transparent Practices in the Gold Industry: Redefining Recycled Gold In a time when the world faces urgent social and environmental challenges, labeling common practices as "green" is not acceptable. Our hashtag #OpenLetter from 12 civil society organizations: Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), Artisanal Gold Council, ETHICAL METALSMITHS, Fair Luxury, Fairtrade Max Havelaar, IMPACT, Pact, Solidaridad Network, Society for Threatened Peoples, SWISSAID, PeaceGold™ and The Impact Facility, argues the need for clarity in defining "recycled" gold within the gold and jewelry industry to avoid greenwashing. The term "recycled" promises sustainability, and consumers who opt for products with recycled labels expect a genuine commitment from companies to preserve the environment. While people and companies strive to recycle materials like plastic to reduce waste in landfills, no one throws away high-grade gold products such as old jewelry. We ask for a transparent approach that is aligned with the legal definitions of recycled, incentivizing companies to step out of their comfort zone and contribute to real social and environmental sustainability issues related to gold industry, such as safe recycling of e-waste and the improvement of the social and environmental conditions of artisanal and small-scale miners. Companies must give clear information to help consumers make informed choices about social and environmental challenges linked to their gold purchases. What can be done today? The third round of consultations for the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain of Custody Standard is underway, addressing the recycled gold definition issue. This is a defining moment for the industry, and we encourage all stakeholders to actively participate in this consultation and future consultations of ISO and other standards to make a difference. 🔗 Check the link to find the RJC consultation here: https://lnkd.in/eeqYD84G LBMA, ISO - International Organization for Standardization, ISO/TC 174 Jewellery and precious metals, Responsible Business Alliance, Responsible Jewellery Council. 🌍 #Sustainability #GoldRecycling #CorporateResponsibility #ResponsibleGold

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ASM is here to stay, and gold refiners want to find a constructive way to engage; this is the clear takeaway, our Gold Programme Manager, Calvin Laing, and our Executive Director, Assheton Stewart Carter,  have perceived from their attendance at the LBMA Sustainability and Responsible Sourcing Summit in London, organised in partnership with the World Gold Council (WGC). The LBMA published the ASM Mining Toolkit for Accredited Refiners yesterday, a significant milestone that highlights the increased positive acceptance of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining among refiners and supply chain actors.  While the challenges of informality and hazardous working conditions persist, it is great to see increasing acceptance of the need to realistically engage with artisanal mineral producers, acknowledge where they are at the first point of engagement, and work towards providing continuous progressive support that allows them to slowly meet industry-best environmental, social, and governance standards. LBMA ASM Toolkit: https://lnkd.in/d8ttQi8B To achieve this, it's crucial for miners to access formal financing to incentivise the kind of improvements that we need to see. TIF's lease-to-purchase programme demonstrates one way to successfully invest in safe and responsible gold production in East Africa. Read more about our efforts below:  TIF leasing model explained: Successes, Failures and What Next https://lnkd.in/dCngSvPr