South Africa

Tanya van Lill joined the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) in March 2017 as CEO, after a rewarding 10-year career at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). There, she fulfilled the roles of Director of Academic Programmes, and learning and development specialist, focusing on management and leadership development across a… read more »

Michael is an entrepreneur, technologist, investor and finance professional. He spends his time working at the nexus of technology, start-ups and finance. He is the Co-founder and CEO of ONEBIO, an African biotech incubator.

Sheraan Amod is a South African entrepreneur with significant experience in technology startups and venture capital. He founded the personalised publishing company Personera in 2009; raising funding from marquee investors and commercializing the company in the USA before exiting it to the US firm Impression Works in 2013. Returning from New York, Sheraan went on… read more »

Although she has worked for a variety of patrons, there has been a strong passion for developing women in business. Xoliswa served as the National Chairperson for the South African Women Enterprise Network. (SAWEN), an initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry. She was very much instrumental in the formation of Women Empowerment institutions… read more »

Deon du Preez graduated with an Electronics Engineering degree, working in industry for 10 years as an Engineer. His career path then changed as he certified as a Production Planning consultant in SAP. Deon implemented Production Planning and Advanced Planning and Optimisation projects globally. Deon also managed several projects as project manager, and certified as… read more »

unnie Patton Power is the founder of Intelligent Impact, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, an Associate Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics’ Marshall Institute and an advisor to the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation at the UCT’s GSB. A… read more »

Under Wesley Lynch’s leadership, Snapplify has become Africa’s largest ebook aggregator and content distribution platform, and brought digital learning to both connected and unconnected classrooms, offering unique and innovative solutions that are sustainable and accessible in emerging markets. Snapplify has won global awards for its innovation in technology, including the FutureBook Innovation Award and the… read more »

Aaron Fu is an early stage investor, entrepreneur, and strategic advisor to both startups as they scale and corporates as they transform to gain agility for disruptive innovation. Aaron Fu is the managing director for MEST,MEST is a Pan-African entrepreneurial training program, seed fund, tech incubator and hub for African software entrepreneurs. Launched in 2008… read more »

Lecturer, Researcher and Oncodad. Currently in process of PhD study in field of Digital Platforms, Living Labs and Digital Social Innovation. Project manager: WC CoLab for eInclusion and Social Innovation situated at the University of the Western Cape Project Manager: Applied Constitutional Studies Laboratory, Dullah Omar institute for constitutional law and human rights, University of… read more »

Wendy is an Economist at TIPS. She is PhD candidate and has a Masters in Economics from the University of Pretoria. Wendy has worked on projects dealing with value chains in the mining and chemicals sector, Special Economic Zones, R&D and innovation, procurement, and economic multipliers. She is also a Teaching Assistant for the TIPS… read more »

Juan de Lascurain is a social entrepeneur – designer who started Dream Big in 2008 with the purpose of inspiring people to follow their dreams. His background had ben as a tennis player and former triathlete and one day while doodling on a napkin a lady saw him and told him he needed to paint…. read more »

Brennan Wright has a keen interest in the role of identity in the digital economy, blockchain technology and the application of AI in finance. He’s completed a course on AI in finance, a Business Science, Honours in Finance and is an MBA candidate at the University of Cape Town. Brennan Wright currently heads up the… read more »

Tshilidzi Marwala is the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg (South Africa) . He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (magna cum laude) from Case Western Reserve University (USA) in 1995, a Master of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pretoria in 1997 and a PhD specializing in Artificial Intelligence and… read more »

Pioneering medical researcher, scientist and HIV activist, professor Glenda Gray is the only South African to feature in TIME Magazine’s prestigious list of 100 most influential people in 2017. Professor Glenda Gray has dedicated her life’s work in the search for a HIV/AIDS vaccine. An NRF A-rated scientist, CEO and President of the South African… read more »

Aisha R Pandor is co-founder and CEO of SweepSouth, Africa’s first online end to-end platform for booking, managing and paying for home cleaning services. Aisha R Pandor is one of very few black female tech startup CEOs both in South Africa and internationally, and has led SweepSouth to become one of the fastest-growing startups in… read more »