About Afai Consulting

We work across the globe with clients in need of reliable data and knowledge for decision making on their mineral supply chains or specific topics within the mining sector, such as artisanal and small-scale mining. We bring clarity to mineral supply chains both in and out of the limelight and have experience working with a diversity of minerals across the spectrum from construction, battery, and industrial minerals to precious metals and (semi)precious stones.

We also develop projects to assure and/or enhance responsibility at any step of the mineral supply chains our clients already work with or want to. To do so we operationalise international best practices and standards to tailor their implementation to complex environments.

Our clients include both upstream and downstream stakeholders, as well as public and private sector actors such as: jewellers and watchmakers, banks, industrial metal users, miners, traders, policy makers and development agencies, as well as local and global civil society.

Always bespoke and tailored to the needs of our clients our work can be broadly characterised as falling under four general categories:

Integration of ASM in global supply chains

Supply chain and sector evaluations

Capacity building

Supplier evaluation

Integration of ASM in global supply chains


Supply chain and sector evaluations

Capacity building

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Supplier evaluation

As support for our work under the categories mentioned above, we have developed assessment criteria, tools, and analysis framework based on relevant standards and certifications (OECD, IFC, CRAFT, etc…) as well as expertise in the development and onshoring of ASM standards.

Our field-based mineral experience

To complement our in-house expertise, we count on a network of around a hundred subject-matter experts and local experts in different territories. Together we respond to the needs of each project, by bringing to the fore key contextual information that can only be produced with such a combination of know-how.

Team

Nicolas Andres Eslava

Biography

Luciana Foresti Lanzoni

Biography

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Afai Consulting BV Keurenplein 4, unit A2829 te, 1069CD Amsterdam KvK 67815332

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Nicolas Andres Eslava

Nicolas Andres Eslava is the founder and Director of Afai Consulting BV, a company founded in 2017 based on his years of experience in the sector. An experience focused on Human Rights, mineral supply chains, and the management of the upstream natural resources sector across Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well as the integration of these concerns in the decision-making of downstream stakeholders across the world.

He has worked intensively across the globe covering the different and interconnected aspects of the natural resources sector.

Nicolas has worked for a variety of international donors as well as mining and trading companies, jewelers and watchmakers, banks, and insurers. This work has included mineral supply chain mappings and characterisations, in particular for
artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) production; OECD Guidance and IFC Performance Standards value chains and mine sites evaluations; evaluations of mineral sourcing strategies for downstream companies; design of ASM
formalisation and integration strategies; Mining Code and Policy evaluations and revisions; training of stakeholders in human rights due diligence.

Nicolas holds an MSc in Security Studies from University College London and brings with him his knowledge of quantitative, qualitative and GIS-based approaches to data collection and analysis. He speaks fluent English, French and Spanish.

Luciana Foresti Lanzoni

Luciana Foresti Lanzoni is the Head of Research, Learning and Development at Afai Consulting. She has worked with teams in Latin America, Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia across sectors, to mitigate social and environmental impacts and drive positive outcomes.

With a professional trajectory spanning more than 20 years, she brings deep expertise in appreciative inquiry, scenario analysis, stakeholder engagement, management and development. Her work over the past 5 years has been centred on responsible mineral supply chains, existing standards, tools and practices, and the expectations of downstream mineral users, all grounded in field realities. At present, Luciana’s focus includes:

  • designing and implementing context-grounded capacity-building programs that strengthen technical capabilities while fostering generative learning and agency.
  • leading collaborative multistakeholder processes to adapt international standards and codes to local realities enabling continuous improvement.
  • conducting desk research processes with local experts for site, supply chain or sector-level risk-based assessments.
  • leading field data collection processes with local experts to inform site, supply chain or sector-level risk-based assessments.


Luciana holds an MBA in Human Resources and Sustainable Organizations from Fundace FEARP USP and a BA in Administration from EAESP-FGV, with a major in Government and Public Administration. Additionally, she has training and applied experience in learning and development methodologies such as design thinking, Theory U (MIT), reflective action, gaming, project-based learning, and learning journeys. Having lived in Brazil, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and the U.S., and currently residing in Colombia with her family, Luciana is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.