Carlijn co-founded Climate Action Platform - Africa (CAP-A) in 2021, Africa’s premier insight-driven system orchestrator, which drives Climate Positive Growth (CPG): inclusive economic growth through climate action. 

Carlijn provides strategic guidance across CAP-A’s programmes, originating new opportunities and partnerships, and running initial due diligence. She led CAP-A’s work on the Nairobi Declaration, which saw the AU adopt CPG as its growth and development paradigm and which drove the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII), which CAP-A helps set up. 

Carlijn advocates for policies that unlock Africa's abundant cost-competitive potential to decarbonize global production and consumption through Green Industrialisation. Her work includes shaping and influencing African and global trade frameworks and instruments such as CBAM. A level playing field in market access will be key to fully harness Africa’s contribution to the global climate solution.  

Carlijn held senior roles at Dalberg Advisors Africa, McKinsey, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.