Michael is the founder and Co-director of cewas. Throughout his +18 years of work experience, Michael has been an innovator, knowledge producer, trainer, facilitator and specialized water/food business development coach. Michael is a Geographer with minors in Business Administration and Transdisciplinary Environmental Sciences. As cewas’s Co-director, Michael has planned and conducted 100+ capacity development programmes for practitioners, decision makers and innovators, including 19 year-long specialized capacity building programmes and coaching of 200+ water, sanitation & waste entrepreneurs worldwide. He has co-designed and developed the largest knowledge platform in sustainable water and sanitation management worldwide (www.sswm.info). Michael lives with his family in Switzerland but frequently travels to train, coach and mentor entrepreneurs during incubation, acceleration and scaling

Aline is the Co-Director of cewas. She has more than 12 years experience as a resource management expert and business development trainer and her regional expertise lies in the Middle East, North and Eastern Africa, where she is based for many years. Aline coordinates and manages all cewas activities in the Middle East, with a strong focus on environmental business development & ecosystem support programs in the region. Based on her experience in entrepreneurial support, she has developed comprehensive sector-specific ecosystem strategies in several MENA countries and initiated partnerships and coordination platforms to enhance innovative finance mechanisms, talent growth and specialized business support. Aline is providing tailored technical and business support to high-potential start-ups at the incubation and acceleration stage. In the context of long-term support programmes, Aline has been the lead trainer and coach for more than 50 start-ups/companies in Jordan, Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon over the past four years. She has an extensive water, environment and business -related network and knowledge she can draw upon to scale sector-specific businesses and support developing respective markets.

Janek is one of cewas’ senior project managers and trainers with a geographical focus on the Middle East and East Africa. As a business coach and entrepreneur, Janek is keenly interested in the question how social and ecological challenges can be overcome through economically sustainable initiatives. He supports innovation processes and helps enterprises to become investment ready. In our training programmes, Janek strives for the right balance between group exercises, active participation, introducing practical examples and different perspectives and ensuring technically sound solutions. Janek is an environmental engineer with a post-graduate degree in international development cooperation. He has more than 15 years of work experience in business development, water governance, private sector engagement and sustainable resources management practices. Prior to joining the cewas team in 2016, Janek founded an online start-up focusing on making high quality professional trainings affordable and accessible for everybody. Before that he worked on water and resources management projects both as independent consultant and for GIZ, GFA Consulting Group and the Water Integrity Network. Since 2014 Janek is a guest lecturer at the Centre for Rural Development (Humboldt Universität Berlin) with a focus on strategies and instruments for sustainable economic development and good governance.

Johannes Heeb is cewas' co-founder. He has over 25 years of professional experience in the areas of regional development, sustainable resource management and ecological engineering. As developer of the “tropical greenhouse idea”, Johannes Heeb brought the sustainable production of tropical fruits and spices to Switzerland and is a member of the board of directors of the Tropenhaus Wolhusen and Tropenhaus Frutigen until today. He is assistant director of regiosuisse and co-founder of the Centre for Applied Ecology, the International Ecological Engineering Society (IEES), the Centre for Ecological Engineering Tartu (CEET). In his spare time, he embarks on cultural journeys and nature tours, goes diving or hiking and applies himself to the oenology and culinary arts.

Leonellha has been a cewas trainer, facilitator, coach and project manager since the foundation of cewas in 2010. With her 18 years of experience and a Chemical Engineering Degree, a Master Degree in Environmental Engineer, a Certificate of Cooperation for Development and a MBA in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, Leonellha has been fundamental in the development of training packages and workshops in sustainable sanitation and water management (SSWM), business development in water and sanitation, resource recovery and safe reuse (RRR), governance and sanitation safety planning, this last in alliance with the WHO. Leonellha collaborates as trainer and coach in the cewas Start-Programs editions in Willisau, Switzerland, as well as incubation programs in Zambia, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, India and Peru. She is also in charge of the Latin American programs for business development and integrity management. In cewas Middle East, she acts as trainer in Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management, designing and delivering tailor-made workshops in the region. Leonellha also supports the implementation of activities in Iraq, particularly the Innovation in Sanitation Hands-on Program with key stakeholders of the Erbil Directorate.

Hannah has dedicated her career to fostering innovation and the transfer of knowledge and skills to benefit people and the planet. She speaks 6 different languages and holds a MSc degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science as well as a BA in International Liberal Studies with a focus on International Relations and Political Science from Waseda University, Japan. In addition to several years of experience working in sustainable innovation and social entrepreneurship, Hannah’s core expertise is in communications and business development. For the past years, she has been contributing to coaching regional entrepreneurs and leading cewas’ activities in Lebanon, including the successful execution of two one-year long business training programmes with over 30 environmental entrepreneurs from early stage to scale-up.

With over 12 years of dedicated experience in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector, Antonella stands as a seasoned project manager at Cewas, specialising in WASH entrepreneurship for the past 6 years. Her impactful journey includes co-founding and directing international programs and NGOs like SedCero in the Gran Chaco region of South America and, more recently, leading Young Water Solutions with an impressive impact on over 1.2 million people. Antonella brings a wealth of expertise to Cewas, having successfully managed teams, supervised projects, and played a pivotal role in training and coaching over 70 start-ups, primarily across Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. At Cewas, she passionately oversees programs in these regions, aligning her focus with WASH, sustainability, gender equity, multi-stakeholder processes, and local empowerment. In terms of education, Antonella holds a Licentiate's degree in Local and Regional Development studies from UNVM, a Master's in Integrated Water Management from the University of Queensland, and is currently pursuing an Executive MBA with a focus on Strategic Leadership at Valar Institute. While originally from Argentina, she has called Brussels home since 2017. Antonella's dedication and expertise make her an invaluable asset to the Cewas team.

Johanna is cewas’ country manager in Lebanon and project manager with a focus on the Middle East and Africa.With over 10 years of professional experience, Johanna contributes a combination of water and sanitation sector knowledge, experience in participatory process design, and a passion for training and coaching entrepreneurs. Previously, Johanna was programme coordinator for the international NGO WeWorld-GVC where she managed projects to reduce non-revenue water through infrastructure improvements, capacity building for water service providers, and behavioural change in Lebanon and developed projects on agriculture and local economic development. Before that, she collaboratively managed networks of scientists and practitioners, conducted research on innovations in water and waste management, and advised decision-takers, while working at the United National Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Oxfam and the think tank Ecologic Institute. She believes, that bridging the gap between stakeholders from the business, academic, public sector and development fields is key to evidence-based and impact-driven solutions. Johanna studied development studies, holds post-graduate degrees in water management and economics and and fluently speaks German, Polish, English, French, Spanish and some Arabic

Maisam is the Jordan country manager for cewas Middle East and has a diverse experience in Water, Energy, and Climate Change programs with national and international NGOs. He is responsible for managing cewas activities in Jordan with focus on green entrepreneurship, innovation in water and sanitation, and ecosystem development through partnerships and institutional collaboration. He is a passionate trainer and mentor for emerging entrepreneurs. Maisam holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering (Jordan University of Science and Technology) and MSc in geophysics (University of Houston).

Marlies is a seasoned programme manager with over 20 years of experience in water, sanitation, and international development, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. She has worked across government, technical consultancy, and non-profit sectors, honing her skills in international partnership creation and project management. With a passion for entrepreneurship in the Global South, she specialises in driving impactful WASH initiatives. At Aqua for All, Marlies led the East Africa WASH portfolio, where she contributed to developing innovative finance mechanisms. Known for her strategic mindset and hands-on approach, Marlies pushes boundaries while ensuring actionable outcomes.

Mounes is a project manager at cewas in Iraq, focusing on the implementation of the national Water & Energy for Food programme and providing technical assistance to local green innovators in the country. Mounes holds a BSc. in electrical engineering and is Microsoft certified database and data analyst and has further certification in risk management. He contributes 11 years of experience in various industries (FMCG, Banking, Economic growth, Humanitarian and USAID projects experience) and has broad expertise in adapting to changing market needs, engaging with entrepreneurs and SMEs for technical and financial services and advisory services, including supply chain, marketing, and product development.

Our dynamic marketing strategist, a professional blending energy and intuition to drive marketing initiatives. Flourishing in the fast-paced and ever-evolving industry, Firas brings a wealth of experience, boasting a decade of expertise. Hailing from a diverse international background, he has navigated corporate landscapes and contributed to the success of startups across various countries and regions.

Nashwan is the Project Manager for cewas ME in Iraq. As a water resources engineer and sustainable sanitation and water management professional, Nashwan took the lead in WASH projects and a main role in institutional reform and development in the water sector with a focus on Iraqi context. He is responsible for developing and running cewas Middle East programs, strategic partnership development and further building and supporting the community of environmental innovators in Iraq. Utilizing his background and experience, he takes the lead and facilitates trainings and capacity building workshops for the members of Erbil sanitation service providing authority and the relevant stakeholders to promote sustainability in sanitation management, especially in faecal sludge management.

Owice supports on-ground activities in Jordan in addition to the one-on-one coaching and mentoring he provides to cewas’s start-ups. He also gives training in team development and formation. What he offers stem from the collective experience of practicing engineering, research, writing, human-human connections, and master studies. Owice is the founder of Turjumaa: a company that provides water and sanitation translation services, which is his side job. Owice holds a bachelor degree in Civil Engineering and a master’s degree in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

Simon Joncourt holds a Master Degree in Social Anthropology and is specialized on designing, coordinating and coaching business development processes in the fields of sustainable water, sanitation and waste management. He has a research background on socially inclusive innovation and sustainable service delivery to Base-of-the-Pyramid Markets. Over the course of his professional career, he assisted worker’s cooperatives in Argentina, accompanied low-income housing entrepreneurs in Mexico, supported innovators in the middle-eastern water sector and coached circular economy start-ups in Peru. He has worked with and for organizations such as the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, (Eawag, Switzerland), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC, Switzerland), the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM, México), the European Union (EU) as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, Colombia).

Talar is a business administration graduate with over 5 years of experience in marketing, communication, and fundraising. After taking courses in municipal solid waste management and greening the economy courses, she's taken the initiative to apply the knowledge learned in two projects that graduated from incubation programs tackling solid waste management challenges with a focus on working with municipalities in Lebanon, Jordan, and Algeria based on circular economy principles. Talar is passionate about the sustainability sector and believes greatly in building partnerships with green entrepreneurs and is keen to pursue her interest in innovation in water and sanitation, and ecosystem development. She is currently handling communication and project coordination at cewas in Lebanon.

With a firm belief in the importance of sustainability and water conservation, Ahmad currently plays a role as part of the cewas team. He actively supports on-ground activities in Jordan, providing valuable assistance and mentoring to the industrial sector and cewas's start-ups. Ahmad's engineering background, combined with his passion for research and sustainability, enables him to approach his work from a well-rounded perspective

Thomas is a former senior water policy advisor of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and has 20 years of experience in development cooperation in the water sector in Africa and Latin America, with a strong focus on irrigation and integrated water resources management. Thomas is president of cewas since June 2015.

Amanda Ammann is a management consultant at PwC Switzerland in the area of sustainability and climate change. Previously, she worked as a project manager at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and at a Swiss SME firm and implemented various local, regional and global projects to promote business and innovation in the water sector.

Roland works as a water and sanitation consultant and is a former member of the directory board of EAWAG. He is honorary president of cewas and dedicates himself to supporting and initiating progress in water and sanitation management.

Sareen Malik is at the helm of the African Civil Society Network on Water (ANEW), the umbrella organisation encompassing water and sanitation NGOs across 50+ African countries. As Vice Chair on the SWA Steering Committee, she wields over 15 years of expertise in water governance and the revitalisation of WASH NGOs. Sareen, a legal professional, is dedicated to empowering NGOs for impactful participation in water and anti-corruption initiatives. Her advocacy emphasises the critical role of good water governance in enhancing sector performance. Beyond her legal contributions, Sareen has published widely and played a key role in developing governance tools for both governmental and non-governmental entities in the sector.

Reto Wey, our dynamic Board Member, is a visionary in the sanitation sector, devoted to reshaping the landscape of global water and sanitation challenges. His background in finance, impact investing, and social entrepreneurship makes him a valuable addition. Reto co-founded the Swiss foundation toilets4all.com, emphasising local entrepreneurship for impactful change. As the founder of Consulting4Impact, an advisory boutique, Reto utilises his expertise to connect entities like Foundations, Development Agencies, Family Offices, High-Net Worth Individuals, and Private Banks with local enterprises, creating impactful change and contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.