Germany's federally owned enterprise for international cooperation, a GmbH that BMW's 2019 release describes as “a federal enterprise with worldwide operations in the field of international cooperation”. It implements Cobalt for Development on behalf of and with funding from the participating companies; a 2023 vacancy placed the project in its International Services department (GIZ InS), and a 2019 BGR report also says the project was to be implemented by GIZ InS. On behalf of Germany's development ministry, BMZ, it ran the project Integrated Economic Development in the Mining Sector (DISM, 2019–2022), which supported mining cooperatives on standards in artisanal cobalt mining. On 15 June 2026 it signed a memorandum of understanding with SAEMAPE in Lubumbashi on formalising artisanal mining, which SAEMAPE's account places within the “projet Cobalt Development”. In September 2025 it also supported SAEMAPE's national workshop on its formalisation strategy through its project supporting the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. Bon Pasteur Kolwezi's 2024–2028 plan names GIZ among the funders of its Kolwezi programme, and a 2021 study of children in artisanal mining zones of Lualaba and South Kivu, published by the DRC's Ministry of Planning, thanks GIZ for its funding.
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.
Named among the programme's international funders in Bon Pasteur Kolwezi's 2024–2028 plan, whose stakeholder table places the collaboration with GIZ on “several possible levels (Funds, Training etc)”. Single source.
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.
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
GIZ implemented DISM, one of whose components supported mining cooperatives in implementing and providing evidence of standards in artisanal cobalt mining.
The project supports mining cooperatives with implementing and providing evidence of standards in artisanal cobalt mining.
Memorandum of understanding signed in Lubumbashi on 15 June 2026 by SAEMAPE's Director General and GIZ, to formalise artisanal mining, train miners and support the development of cooperatives “dans le cadre du projet Cobalt Development”, in SAEMAPE's words. Single source.
accompagner les coopératives minières et soutenir leur développement dans le cadre du projet Cobalt Development