Basilia is a dynamic and goal-oriented woman with a diverse background. She holds a master’s degree in Biodiversity Management and Research from the University of Namibia and Humboldt University in Berlin, and an MBA from the African Leadership University (ALU) School of Business in association with the ALU School of Wildlife and Conservation.
With over 20 years of experience, Basilia has worked in various fields, including community-based conservation, sustainable tourism, and local economic development. She has also excelled in project design, monitoring, and evaluation. In her current role as Senior Operations Manager for a community-based NGO in Namibia, she oversees a team that supports around 30 rural community conservation organisations across approximately 4.3 million hectares of land.
Basilia is also part of the Women for Environment Africa (WE Africa) movement, which aims to put women at the heart of transforming Africa’s environmental movement. Her passion lies in driving change and reshaping the narrative for effective African conservation leadership, especially within patriarchal systems. As a committed African woman leader, she is dedicated to making a difference.
Basilia has been part of AWEI since 2023, first as a research fellow and now as a research associate. She contributed to the inaugural African Wildlife Economy Colloquium, organised by AWEI, where she examined how rural communities in Namibia drive the rural economy. In the future, she aims to explore various frameworks and concepts to maximise the potential of wildlife-based economies in rural areas.