A multi-donor development project on artisanal cobalt in Lualaba, implemented by GIZ on behalf of and with funding from the companies taking part, which the European Union joined as a funder in 2025. Its stated aim is to show that artisanal and small-scale cobalt mining can meet international health, safety and environmental standards, and to help formalise the sector. It was launched in 2019 as a cross-industry initiative: the companies commissioned GIZ in January 2019, and the official launch was held at the Lualaba provincial government building in Kolwezi on 18 September 2019. Its paper states that it pursues no commercial interest and that none of its partners buys artisanal material. Its phases run from a 2018 fact-finding mission through C4D I (2019–2022) and C4D II (2023–2025) to a continuation approved in late 2024, which the paper says lets it sustain technical assistance until early 2028. It works in three components (mining, community and upscaling). From October 2020 it trained and coached cooperatives at artisanal sites with a mobile model, and with SAEMAPE and BGR it developed five training modules now in SAEMAPE's curriculum. Its community component ran in Kisote and neighbouring villages with Good Shepherd International Foundation / Bon Pasteur from September 2019 until early 2023. Its search for a legal pilot site moved from ZEA 078 Kisote, where drilling showed the deposits too deep for artisanal extraction, to Tilwezembe, whose legal due diligence failed, then to an industrial concession (2021–2023), and in 2024 to EGC's Tombolo site under a collaboration agreement with EGC; the paper reports that it brought EGC to a final investment decision on Tombolo, with the decision pending. Its funders changed over the phases: BMW Group, BASF, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI at the start, Volkswagen from 2020, STIHL from 2023, and Renault at the late-2024 continuation on a single source; a 2020 Volkswagen release also named Google. The European Commission listed €2 million for it in an October 2025 announcement. A 2025 US Embassy release calls it GIZ-funded, while its own paper and BASF describe GIZ as implementer and the companies as funders. Its results figures are its own and unaudited.
Read the full profile on the Hub →
Sources support the description and the individual connections below. Publication and checking dates belong to the evidence: when it was published, and when this Hub last read it.
Reported means the cited source describes the relationship at its evidence date. Historical relationships refer to an earlier period. Announced agreements may not have been implemented. None of these labels confirms that trade continues today.
Local NGO named by C4D's paper as the direct implementing partner of the mining component, after IMPACT, until 2024. The period rests on C4D's paper alone; Bon Pasteur Kolwezi's plan also names Artisanact among C4D's local partners.
The BP Kolwezi Programme is funded by various international funding actors, including Misean Cara, ERG, Mercedes Benz, GIZ, Missio Austria, Google, Begeca and Manos Unidas.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Founding funder from January 2019, named in every phase and among the partners that “remained” at the continuation approved in late 2024; C4D's homepage lists BASF among the current co-funders.
In January 2019, the companies BASF, BMW, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI commissioned the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Implemented by GIZ and co-funded by BASF, BMW Group, the European Union, and Stihl, C4D supports the EGC and government partners
Founding funder from January 2019, named in every phase and among the partners that “remained” at the continuation approved in late 2024; C4D's homepage lists BMW Group among the current co-funders.
In January 2019, the companies BASF, BMW, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI commissioned the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
GIZ collaborates with IMPACT, an international non-governmental organization that specializes in improving natural resource governance, and Good Shepherd International Foundation / Bon Pasteur
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Implemented by GIZ and co-funded by BASF, BMW Group, the European Union, and Stihl, C4D supports the EGC and government partners
Since its 2024 collaboration agreement with EGC, C4D has supported EGC's pilot at Tombolo, from the geological work to a mine design finalised in 2025; its paper says the final investment decision was pending. EGC's 2024 exploration of Tombolo and Kanunka was announced as run in collaboration with C4D.
En collaboration avec Cobalt for Development (C4D), financé par BASF, BMW, Samsung SDI, STIHL et Volkswagen Group, EGC a lancé un programme d'exploration
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
ZEA 078 Kisote was C4D's first candidate pilot site from 2019, dropped after drilling showed the deposits too deep for artisanal extraction (December 2019 by the paper's narrative, 2020 by its chronology), and C4D ran its community programme in Kisote village and neighbouring villages with Good Shepherd International Foundation / Bon Pasteur from September 2019 to early 2023.
One of these mining sites currently under evaluation is located next to Kisote.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Together with the relevant authorities in the province of Lualaba, the project has selected a legal artisanal mine site near the town of Kolwezi
carrying out impactful community activities in Kisote and neighboring villages with its partner Bon Pasteur/Good Shepherd International Foundation since September 2019
From 2019, in collaboration with BGR, C4D developed cobalt-specific training material for artisanal cooperatives and miners, and C4D's paper names BGR among the co-developers of its five modules. The same paper's stakeholder annex describes the tie as technical exchange for complementarity and avoiding overlap; both descriptions are given here.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
EGC and C4D signed a collaboration agreement in 2024, and C4D paused its cooperative coaching to support EGC's pilot, which settled on Tombolo; EGC's 2024 exploration of Tombolo and Kanunka was announced as run in collaboration with C4D. C4D's paper says it supported EGC to the point of a final investment decision on Tombolo, with the decision pending.
En collaboration avec Cobalt for Development (C4D), financé par BASF, BMW, Samsung SDI, STIHL et Volkswagen Group, EGC a lancé un programme d'exploration
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
The EU delegation co-organised C4D's 2023 workshop with key Congolese authorities, with USAID and other international partners, and C4D's paper says it kept regular exchanges with the EU Delegation in Kinshasa. The EU's funding of C4D is recorded separately.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
C4D's paper records joint coordination at EGC's pilot sites, with weekly alignment meetings alongside EGC, between 2024 and early 2025, and says C4D supported the Fair Cobalt Alliance's successful funding application to USAID; the US Embassy described the resulting January 2025 activity as conducted with the alliance in collaboration with C4D.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
the GIZ-funded project Cobalt 4 Development (C4D)
From 2020 C4D trained cooperatives in close collaboration with SAEMAPE, and the two co-developed five practical training modules now integrated into SAEMAPE's curriculum; C4D reports training 17 SAEMAPE agents as trainers, and SAEMAPE publishes the modules in French, crediting the training programme prepared by C4D.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Ce module est développé dans le cadre du programme de formation préparé par le projet « Cobalt pour le Développement »
carrying out impactful community activities in Kisote and neighboring villages with its partner Bon Pasteur/Good Shepherd International Foundation since September 2019
In 2023, in collaboration with USAID, the EU delegation and other international partners, C4D organised a workshop with key Congolese authorities on legal pathways for a pilot. USAID's 2025 no-funding decision concerned the Fair Cobalt Alliance's application, which C4D had supported, and C4D's paper says it left a gap in engagement; no source makes USAID a funder of C4D.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
the GIZ-funded project Cobalt 4 Development (C4D)
The EU Delegation announced in June 2025 that the EU-funded work at C4D's pilot sites would be implemented by GIZ on the European side and by EGC on the Congolese side. Single source.
l'annonce du financement européen du projet Cobalt for Development qui sera mis en œuvre, pour les sites pilotes, par la coopération allemande (GIZ), côté européen
C4D's homepage names the European Union among its co-funders, and its paper says the EU formally committed to join the partnership in 2025. The EU announced European funding for C4D's pilot sites at DRC Mining Week in June 2025, and on 9 October 2025 the European Commission listed “€2 million for Cobalt4Development” among the Global Gateway initiatives it would announce; the €2 million is that announced figure.
Cooperation on Critical Raw Materials, including €2 million for Cobalt4Development and €11.8 million to strengthen the Ministry of Mines and promote sustainable value chains.
l'annonce du financement européen du projet Cobalt for Development qui sera mis en œuvre, pour les sites pilotes, par la coopération allemande (GIZ), côté européen
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Implemented by GIZ and co-funded by BASF, BMW Group, the European Union, and Stihl, C4D supports the EGC and government partners
GIZ implements Cobalt for Development on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies, which commissioned it in January 2019; C4D's homepage still names it as implementer, and a 2023 vacancy places the project in GIZ's International Services department. A 2025 US Embassy release calls C4D “the GIZ-funded project”; C4D's paper and BASF describe GIZ as implementer and the companies as funders.
In January 2019, the companies BASF, BMW, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI commissioned the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
GIZ collaborates with IMPACT, an international non-governmental organization that specializes in improving natural resource governance, and Good Shepherd International Foundation / Bon Pasteur
Cobalt for Development (C4D) is one of the projects we currently implement.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
the GIZ-funded project Cobalt 4 Development (C4D)
Implemented by GIZ and co-funded by BASF, BMW Group, the European Union, and Stihl, C4D supports the EGC and government partners
Direct implementation partner of the community component, covering community development and child protection in Kisote and neighbouring villages, from September 2019 until the component ended in early 2023; every source names it as the pair Good Shepherd International Foundation / Bon Pasteur. C4D's paper says Bon Pasteur remained present in the villages after 2023 through a mobile health clinic the project supported.
GIZ collaborates with IMPACT, an international non-governmental organization that specializes in improving natural resource governance, and Good Shepherd International Foundation / Bon Pasteur
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
carrying out impactful community activities in Kisote and neighboring villages with its partner Bon Pasteur/Good Shepherd International Foundation since September 2019
Volkswagen's release of 19 November 2020 lists Google among the project's financers, and MINING.COM repeated it word for word; this is a single source. C4D's paper and BASF's account of the project never name Google.
The project is being implemented by GIZ and financed by BASF, BMW Group, Google, Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI and Volkswagen.
The project is being implemented by GIZ and financed by BASF, BMW Group, Google, Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI and Volkswagen.
IMPACT was GIZ's initial NGO partner on the mining component, named at the 2019 launch; C4D's paper says the local NGO Artisanact took over that component after it.
GIZ collaborates with IMPACT, an international non-governmental organization that specializes in improving natural resource governance, and Good Shepherd International Foundation / Bon Pasteur
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Joined at the continuation approved in late 2024, according to C4D's paper, the single source for this link: C4D's homepage lists BASF, BMW Group, the European Union and Stihl as co-funders, and the paper's acknowledgements name the other funders without Renault.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Founding funder in 2019, named among the partners of the first phase (2019–2022) only; its absence from the second phase rests on C4D's paper alone.
In January 2019, the companies BASF, BMW, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI commissioned the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Together with the relevant authorities in the province of Lualaba, the project has selected a legal artisanal mine site near the town of Kolwezi
Founding funder in 2019, named in the first and second phases, to 2025. C4D's paper leaves it out of the partners that remained at the late-2024 continuation, while the same paper's acknowledgements thank it as a funding partner and a September 2024 report of EGC's exploration still named it among the funders.
In January 2019, the companies BASF, BMW, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI commissioned the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
En collaboration avec Cobalt for Development (C4D), financé par BASF, BMW, Samsung SDI, STIHL et Volkswagen Group, EGC a lancé un programme d'exploration
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Together with the relevant authorities in the province of Lualaba, the project has selected a legal artisanal mine site near the town of Kolwezi
New funding partner for the second phase in 2023, named among the partners that remained at the late-2024 continuation and among the current co-funders on C4D's homepage. Its 2023 entry rests on C4D's paper alone.
En collaboration avec Cobalt for Development (C4D), financé par BASF, BMW, Samsung SDI, STIHL et Volkswagen Group, EGC a lancé un programme d'exploration
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
Implemented by GIZ and co-funded by BASF, BMW Group, the European Union, and Stihl, C4D supports the EGC and government partners
Joined in 2020 and funded the first and second phases, to 2025. It is absent from the partners that remained at the late-2024 continuation; the paper's acknowledgements still thank it, and a September 2024 report of EGC's exploration named it among the funders.
In January 2019, the companies BASF, BMW, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI commissioned the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
En collaboration avec Cobalt for Development (C4D), financé par BASF, BMW, Samsung SDI, STIHL et Volkswagen Group, EGC a lancé un programme d'exploration
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies.
The project is being implemented by GIZ and financed by BASF, BMW Group, Google, Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI and Volkswagen.