MSc in Political Science from Uppsala University, Sweden
BSc in Political Science from Uppsala University, Sweden
Environmental policy studies at the University of Maryland, USA.
Amanda Jerneck Sumbana joined WMU in 2025 as Development Officer, where she helps shape and execute donor-engagement and resource-mobilization strategies. She works with senior leadership to build a fundraising platform that broadens collaboration with strategic partners across government, industry, philanthropy, alumni, and multilateral organizations.
Prior to joining WMU, Amanda served as a Technical Specialist at the International Labour Organization, advancing productive employment, market systems development (MSD), and green jobs, including private-sector engagement to scale impact. At the World Bank, based in Washington, DC and working across Africa, including nearly a decade in Mozambique, she led natural-resource and rural value-chain projects, aligning development finance with national priorities and piloting community-driven, gender-responsive approaches to sustainable resource management, fisheries, and biodiversity conservation. She also has experience with Germany’s international cooperation (GIZ), where she led the development of multi-stakeholder partnerships for the Blue Economy in the Western Indian Ocean region.
A coalition-builder, Amanda engages governments, industry, finance, academia, and communities to mobilize capital, strengthen institutional capacities, and deliver results. In her fundraising practice, she draws on deep experience in sustainable resource management, the Blue Economy, biodiversity conservation, and climate solutions to shape cases for support and partnerships aligned with WMU’s mission.
She holds a BSc and an MSc in Political Science from Uppsala University, Sweden, including environmental policy studies at the University of Maryland, USA.
Amanda Jerneck Sumbana joined WMU in 2025 as Development Officer, where she helps shape and execute donor-engagement and resource-mobilization strategies. She works with senior leadership to build a fundraising platform that broadens collaboration with strategic partners across government, industry, philanthropy, alumni, and multilateral organizations.
Prior to joining WMU, Amanda served as a Technical Specialist at the International Labour Organization, advancing productive employment, market systems development (MSD), and green jobs, including private-sector engagement to scale impact. At the World Bank, based in Washington, DC and working across Africa, including nearly a decade in Mozambique, she led natural-resource and rural value-chain projects, aligning development finance with national priorities and piloting community-driven, gender-responsive approaches to sustainable resource management, fisheries, and biodiversity conservation. She also has experience with Germany’s international cooperation (GIZ), where she led the development of multi-stakeholder partnerships for the Blue Economy in the Western Indian Ocean region.
A coalition-builder, Amanda engages governments, industry, finance, academia, and communities to mobilize capital, strengthen institutional capacities, and deliver results. In her fundraising practice, she draws on deep experience in sustainable resource management, the Blue Economy, biodiversity conservation, and climate solutions to shape cases for support and partnerships aligned with WMU’s mission.
She holds a BSc and an MSc in Political Science from Uppsala University, Sweden, including environmental policy studies at the University of Maryland, USA.
