Geralda Wildschutt is committed to leveraging her influential role as CEO of Maisha Social Solutions to guide companies across Africa, particularly in the mining industry, toward achieving sustained outcomes through effective Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies. She has over two decades of experience in stakeholder engagement, corporate social responsibility, ESG, and social performance in sectors such as mining, renewable energy, social, and banking. She has worked in Africa, Latin America, Asia, North America, and Australia.
Currently, Geralda also serves as an Independent Director on the boards of Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc and Northam Platinum Holdings and is an advisory panelist for Sasol Limited.
Inspired by Nelson Mandela’s quote, “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead,” Geralda is determined to make a lasting, positive impact on both people and the planet.
Influencing Sustainability and ESG’s Strategies
Geralda is “very passionate” about her role as the Independent Director on the boards of two listed mining companies. It affords her the opportunity to influence the companies’ ESG strategies – particularly when it comes to their footprint on the natural environment, showing care and respect for human rights, and making a net positive impact on the communities and countries where they mine.
“This is not just a personal ambition of mine but also a strong belief that leaders today cannot ignore the crucial role companies have to play in sustainability, including Climate Action,” Geralda says.
She points out that it is critical for companies working in or considering entering Africa to be knowledgeable about the ‘Social’ element of ESG. She explains that when crafting an ESG strategy, the high levels of poverty, unemployment, and expectations on companies from the local communities cannot be ignored.
Geralda also serves on the Climate Change Advisory Panel for Sasol Limited. In this role, she contributes to the company’s climate targets and strategic decisions. As CEO of Maisha Social Solutions, she works on ESG in an advisory and consultancy capacity. Working with her team, she supports the mining and renewable energy industries, as well as civil society organizations. “This enables me to work from the boardroom to the local community level, helping solve sustainability matters,” she says.
Geralda believes that it is imperative for boards and executives to engage with the communities where their workers live and where their operations may have negative impacts on lives and livelihoods.
Achievements as CEO of Maisha
Under Geralda’s leadership, Maisha Social Solutions has won several accolades and recognition. The company’s remarkable gender policies and recruitment systems led to its winning the Standard Bank Top Gender Empowered Company 2022 award.
One of Maisha’s significant achievements is its numerous repeat and loyal clients. Geralda says that she is proud to be associated with these clients. Additionally, she is proud that the Maisha team has worked in several countries in 2024, including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “The company has also made it possible for several women to travel and work outside of South Africa,” Geralda says.
She herself has several personal achievements to her credit. She was the winner in the Mail & Guardian’s Top 50 Power Women 2021 (Mining Woman Category) and a winner in the World Women Leadership Congress Awards, 2024.
Geralda also considers it an achievement to be invited as a panelist and speaker at the inaugural CSR conference in Botswana in May 2024.
Brief Introduction to Maisha Social Solutions
Maisha Social Solutions is an advisory and consultancy business. Its mission is to “achieve sustainability of our planet, our business, and the businesses of our clients.”
Geralda says that they believe in staying small and agile to provide tailor-made solutions to clients in all topics of ESG. For example, Maisha assists mining and renewable energy companies to deliver their ESG responsibilities and country-level requirements successfully. Geralda highlights that mining is critical to extract the minerals people need for the green economy, but it is essential to do so responsibly to protect the environment and people.
Maisha is known for effectively doing social research, stakeholder engagement planning, land use management, physical and economic displacement planning, corporate social responsibility strategies, public participation processes, human rights due diligence, socio-economic impact studies, and more.
Geralda finds it enormously satisfying to work with clients in a very hands-on way, discussing their challenges, doing social research in communities across Southern Africa, and providing solutions to executives.
Sustainability is the Business
“Sustainability is our business,” Geralda says. Maisha Social Solutions assists companies in achieving sustainability, with a focus on the planet and people. She points out that the business case has been made clear: companies cannot be sustainable if they solely drive a profit agenda while ignoring their negative impacts on the environment and people.
“We advise and support companies to achieve their triple bottom-line goals,” Geralda says. “As a business, Maisha integrates sustainability goals into our operations across the value chain.”
Maintaining a Strong Global Network
Building and maintaining partnerships with various local and international stakeholders are part of Geralda’s responsibilities as CEO at Maisha Social Solutions.
She points out that she maintains a strong global network by staying in touch with people and sharing lessons and business strategies, particularly with fellow women leaders. According to her, these are partners and peers who stimulate and support her at a professional and personal level.
As CEO of Maisha, Geralda also seeks targeted marketing and networking opportunities to build the business and find new clients. “This is difficult since time is a scarce commodity, so I am very selective,” she says. “I also seek out selected Conferences and Learning events since I treasure life-long learning.”
Tremendous Potential in Africa
The vision of visionary leaders also involves the contribution their businesses can make for good – good for society and good for the planet, according to Geralda. She believes that leaders doing business in Africa must have a deep understanding of this role, as well as recognize the importance of partnering with governments to address social challenges.
Africa has tremendous potential, with its large youth population constituting the consumers of the present and the future. Geralda points out that a business has to be a partnership with the people, both inside and outside of the company; without this vision, companies will not succeed in Africa.
She is proud to work on a continent that drives the future. Africa, she says, is rich in critical minerals, has a young population to meet employment needs, and boasts abundant natural resources.
“We strongly believe companies cannot avoid thinking about working in Africa for any product or service offering, as doing so would eliminate a large number of future employees and customers/ consumers,” Geralda says.
Maisha currently works in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Future of Leadership Skills
Geralda is an experienced and accomplished leader. Prior to stepping into the CEO role at Maisha Social Solutions, she held leadership positions at multiple organizations. As someone known for exemplary leadership skills, Geralda believes that critical and futuristic thinking will be key leadership skills of the future.
She explains that this involves actively seeking practices for thinking about the future, including scenario planning and systems thinking, rather than problem-solving in a compartmentalized manner. It is also about understanding the interconnectedness of things – leaders recognizing that they cannot sustain a business while destroying the planet and its people. However, Geralda acknowledges that they need financially strong enterprises to create employment and livelihoods.
“Business leaders also require knowledge and skills outside of, and in addition to the industries they work in, if they are going to anticipate future risks and opportunities,” she says.
Goals for Maisha Social Solutions
The vision of Maisha Social Solutions is to be the ESG consultancy partner of choice for its clients. It has no plans to expand its footprint across the world. It intends to stay small.
Geralda says that she doesn’t have plans to scale up Maisha. Instead, she intends to continue seeking challenging, wicked problems that the company can help solve. “We will focus on innovation in ESG and exciting opportunities for professional growth,” she says.
Role of Companies to Protect Planet
Geralda firmly believes that all companies must play a role in the protection of the planet. They must focus on crafting strategies for climate action, biodiversity, water management, and land management. In addition to that, they have to understand the interconnectedness of the critical risks in each jurisdiction where they want to do business, according to her.
She shares that she attended workshops arranged by the Climate Governance Initiative (CGI) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), in June 2024. These workshops brought a number of Board Directors together on the topic of “Mobilizing Directors for Climate Action.” By attending them, Geralda learned about the strategies of various companies.
She thinks it is vital for all independent directors and executives on Boards to continue to learn and stay in touch with a fast-changing world. It is because issues of AI, cyber-security, extreme weather conditions as well as social challenges of extreme poverty and food insecurity will require interventions from businesses.
Also, topics such as human rights, diversity, inclusion, equity, and others require boards to constantly assess the future of the business and how it deals with a diverse range of issues while staying in business and returning value to shareholders, according to Geralda.
Leveraging Technology to Attract Women and Young Professionals
Mining is one of the most male-dominated industries. Geralda notes that it struggles to attract and retain not only women but also young professionals. However, she believes that technology can help increase their participation in the mining industry.
“Technology is the game-changer,” she points out. Geralda explains that the mining industry has become more mechanized, with technology playing a pivotal role across all business areas – from extracting ore from the Earth’s surface and designing plans of mines to human resources and ESG.
“The same is true for the renewable energy industry, where technology plays an increasing role in attracting women and youth,” Geralda says.
Young Professionals in Sustainability
Sustainability, Geralda says, is a rewarding field in need of young professionals who can bring innovative solutions to the table. “This is vital across all industries and sectors,” she points out.
Geralda believes young professionals are more in touch with the field of sustainability than perhaps her generation was. She always encourages them to invest their time in continued learning, networking, and finding sponsors and mentors. In her message to them, she stresses the importance of having a positive outlook that is solution-oriented and the willingness to both learn and teach (mentor). She advises them to be proactive in seeking spaces to contribute and making their voices heard.
“I think the world is in good hands, as I see many young professionals stepping up and demanding their solutions be heard,” Geralda says. “They are strong advocates for all topics related to ESG – from environmental protection, social solutions, and issues of governance and ethics.”
