Paulin Buregeya

Mr. Paulin Buregeya is a founder and the Chief Executive Officer of COPED Ltd. (Compagnie pour l’Environnement et Développement au Rwanda), the largest Rwandan waste management company. He has previously worked in the Rwandan Ministry of Economic Planning, SOGEC (a Rwandan company for finance audit and controls) and BEST (a Rwandan company for human resources, construction project, office and secretarial, and fleet management). Mr. Buregeya designed the operational concept and management structure of COPED Ltd., differentiated its services from its competitors, managed the company’s human resources and finances, and has been expanding COPED’s business for the last 10 years. His expertise not only lies in business administration and waste management, but also in implementing cleaner production and renewable energies.

He holds a Bachelor in Business & Administration (Adventist University of Central Africa – Rwanda).

Toshikazu Mito

Mr. Toshikazu Mito is an environmental expert from Japan in the fields of waste management, climate change, and policy analysis. In this capacity, he has been working in Rwanda for United Nations Development Program for the last years. He has been leading solid waste management project implementation of the Rwanda capital, Kigali, assisting in Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) in the Environment and Natural Resource (ENR) Sector, conducting climate change adaptation projects, drafting Rwandan national asbestos eradication plan, and helping of policy development for air pollution in Rwanda. He formerly worked in various departments of the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan for several years. His expertise is not limited to the policy analysis and development, but cover daily field work for implementation of the policy, e.g. for waste management of Rwanda.

He holds an MAES in Local Economic Development (University of Waterloo, Canada).

Dennis Tessier

Dennis Tessier is a founder and the Programs Director of Appropriate Rural Technology Institute Tanzania (ARTI-TZ), one of the leading social and environmental entrepreneur oriented organizations in Tanzania. He previously served as a HIV/AIDS Youth Empowerment Coordinator for a local non-profit organization in Tanzania through CUSO Canada, one of North America’s largest international non-profits organizations working for civil society development. He is specialized in poverty and resource management, stakeholder engagement and capacity building. Mr. Tessier has undertaken various social and environmental consultancy assignments, i.e. for Rural Livelihoods Development Company (RLDC) and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). His company, ARTI-TZ, has been focusing on capacity building through training on the development of green jobs and green enterprises and especially implementing biogas, biomass and solar projects. Currently, he is overseeing the implementation of several projects financed by the World Banks Biomass Energy Initiative for Africa (BEIA) and Lighting Africa.
He holds Master of Arts (University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania).

Allison Kasozi

Mr. Allison Kasozi is a Ugandan expert in the fields of waste management, renewable energy, and process engineering. His previous work has included the application of system dynamics and analytical tools in integrated solid waste management planning for the City of Nairobi, in cooperation with UNEP and the City Council of Nairobi. He has also undertaken technical and economical evaluations on the feasibility of biogas-to-energy from organic municipal solid waste in Nairobi, and different academic sustainability-oriented research and broader engineering consulting work in East Africa and South Africa. Mr. Kasozi is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (UK). His expertise and professional skills range from integrated solid waste management planning to industrial ecology and systems dynamics analysis, as well as urban sustainable development and design.

He holds a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering (University of Cape Town – South Africa).