African Resources Watch (AFREWATCH)

What African Resources Watch (AFREWATCH) does

African Resources Watch (AFREWATCH) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 2013 and headquartered in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a secondary office in Kinshasa. Its mission is to promote and protect human rights in the natural resources sector across Africa, with operational focus on the mining-intensive provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba. AFREWATCH serves mining-affected communities through capacity building, legal accompaniment, and documentation of human rights violations, and serves international civil-society partners, government institutions, and downstream supply-chain actors through research and policy advocacy.

AFREWATCH's core products are research-driven and advocacy-oriented rather than commercial software. They include investigative research reports on mining governance and human rights (e.g., reports on SICOMINES, KCC/Glencore, and private security firms), the UKWELI newsletter on mining royalties and provincial governance, press releases and communiqués, educational guides (e.g., on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and on community cahier des charges), the annual Prix Tshizena-Mukena-Kabulo (TMK) human rights defender award, and the Ecole du Fleuve Congo community-organization program. Underlying technology consists of a digital advocacy platform, video-documentation and training tools for community-based human rights monitoring, and research and monitoring systems used to track mining-company compliance. The Video for Human Rights Protection Training Program, co-developed with the New Media Advocacy Project (NMAP), and the Mining Impact Monitoring Framework are the two documented proprietary capability components.

AFREWATCH does not generate commercial revenue. It is funded through grants, donations, and institutional support from international human-rights funders and foundations (the Fonds pour les Droits Humains is the only named funder in the input). Distribution is via direct, freely accessible outputs on afrewatch.org, social media, press engagement, and direct community training in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba, with strategic amplification through partnerships with Amnesty International, SOMO, IIED, ACCA, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, CNDH/BCNUDH, and Pain pour le Prochain. The organization operates with a small team of seven employees and is led by Executive Director Emmanuel Umpula Nkumba.

Name

African Resources Watch (AFREWATCH)

Legal name

African Resources Watch (AFREWATCH)

Website

https://afrewatch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AFREWATCH is a DRC-based non-profit founded in 2013 that monitors mining governance and defends the human rights of communities affected by extractive industry in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba, producing research, training programs, and policy advocacy with international NGO partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lubumbashi

HQ country

Congo - Kinshasa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AFREWATCH is a non-governmental research and advocacy organization that monitors mining operations and human rights conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It produces investigative research reports on mining governance and human rights violations, delivers capacity-building workshops for affected communities (including video documentation training), issues informational bulletins and press releases, develops educational guides on security and human rights principles, and operates programs such as the Ecole du Fleuve Congo to strengthen community organizations.

Product overview

African Resources Watch (AFREWATCH) is a non-governmental organization specializing in natural resource monitoring and human rights advocacy in Africa's extractive sector. Rather than a unified technology platform, AFREWATCH operates as a research and advocacy organization offering multiple interconnected products and programs: research reports on mining governance and human rights violations, capacity building workshops for local communities on video documentation and legal advocacy, informational bulletins (UKWELI), press releases and official communiqués, educational guides on security and human rights principles, and the annual Prix Tshizena-Mukena-Kabulo (TMK) award honoring human rights defenders. The organization also runs the Ecole du Fleuve Congo program for community organization development. These offerings work together to support transparency, accountability, and community empowerment in natural resource governance across the DRC and Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Reports on Natural Resource Governance Investigative research reports on mining operations, human rights violations, and natural resource management in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and across Africa, intended for civil society, government bodies, media, and international stakeholders.
• Community Capacity Building Programs Training workshops for local communities on video documentation, human rights monitoring, and legal advocacy related to extractive industry impacts in mining provinces of DRC.
• UKWELI Newsletter/Bulletin

Quantifiable outcome

• Published joint research with Amnesty International on cobalt mining that influenced international supply chain policies
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Commission Africaine des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples / African Commission on Human and Peoples' RightscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2021Co-organized sub-regional consultation for Central Africa on extractive industries, environment, and human rights violations, in partnership with the University of Pretoria Human Rights Centre.
• CNDH (Commission Nationale des Droits de l'Homme, DRC) and BCNUDHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2021Joint organization of workshops on human rights and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, held June 16-17, 2021 in Kinshasa.
• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2021Co-organized stakeholder workshop on artisanal cobalt mining landscape in DRC, held at Hotel BETAJO in Kolwezi on March 30, 2021. The partnership focused on research and stakeholder dialogue regarding artisanal mining sector.
• New Media Advocacy Project (NMAP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2021Partnership for video-based human rights documentation training program. AFREWATCH and NMAP co-organized capacity building workshops for local communities on using video for protection of human rights in mining areas. The program trained community members in Lualaba province from February 2021, with sessions held in Kolwezi.
• Pain pour le Prochain and Action de Carême (Pain pour le prochain)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2020Joint press release and advocacy on artisanal mining issues, particularly regarding conflicts between mining companies and artisanal miners in Lualaba province.
• Amnesty InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Joint research partnership producing the landmark 'This Is What We Die For' report on human rights abuses in the DRC cobalt trade. The collaborative research examined conditions for artisanal miners and traced cobalt through global supply chains.
• African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA)coreOthers · 1 January 2016AFREWATCH is a member of ACCA, a coalition of 89 organizations from 28 African countries supporting communities and individuals affected by corporate activities. ACCA provides a platform for joint advocacy and solidarity on business and human rights issues.
• SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Ongoing partnership for research on corporate accountability in the mining sector. Jointly published reports on corporate strategies to avoid responsibility for human rights abuses. SOMO and AFREWATCH have collaborated on multiple research initiatives regarding DRC mining.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Amnesty International: Global human rights organization that has co-published landmark research with AFREWATCH on cobalt supply chains. Operates much more broadly, but its business-and-human-rights program is a directly comparable function.
• Human Rights Watch: Global human rights organization producing country-level and thematic reporting, including on DRC mining and supply chains. Comparable in evidence-based advocacy methodology, though far broader in scope.
• Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI): International NGO that works on natural resource governance, transparency, and accountability with a policy/research orientation. Comparable to AFREWATCH in extractives-governance focus but with broader geographic and policy remit.

Direct peers

• Global Witness: Investigative NGO that exposes corporate and government accountability failures in the extractives sector globally. Highly comparable to AFREWATCH in mission and methodology, including named-operator reports and supply-chain due-diligence advocacy.
• Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG): Zimbabwe-based NGO promoting transparency and accountability in the extractives sector. Operates with a similar small-team, regionally focused NGO model as AFREWATCH, addressing mining governance and community rights in Southern Africa.
• Publish What You Pay: Global coalition of civil society organizations promoting extractive industry revenue transparency and accountability. Strong methodological and thematic overlap with AFREWATCH's mining-revenue transparency work in DRC.
• Resource Matters: Independent research organization focused on accountability in the extractive industries, with a strong DRC focus. Direct peer in scope and target operators (e.g., Glencore, Trafigura-related entities).
• SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations): Dutch research NGO investigating multinational corporations' social and environmental impacts. AFREWATCH has an active partnership with SOMO and they co-publish research on DRC mining—functionally the same operating model.
• RAID (Rights and Accountability in Development): UK-based NGO that investigates the impact of multinational corporations on human rights, particularly in the extractives sector. Highly comparable operating model—named-operator accountability reports with African fieldwork.

Others

• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): International policy research organization working on sustainable development, including artisanal and small-scale mining in DRC. AFREWATCH has an active research partnership with IIED and they co-convene stakeholder dialogues on artisanal cobalt.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/afrewatch
• Facebookfacebook.com/AfreWatch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/afrewatch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about African Resources Watch (AFREWATCH)