Simi Siwisa currently serves as the General Manager for Strategy and Public Policy at MTN since November 2022 and holds the position of Acting Executive. Simi has a background on the Board of Directors at Business Partners Limited from September 2022 to May 2023 and contributed as a member of the Global Future Council on responsive financial systems at the World Economic Forum from October 2020 to April 2023. Prior experience includes roles as Head of Group Public Policy at Absa Group (October 2019 - November 2022), Executive Director at Stratvest Capital (January 2017 - October 2019), Senior Advisor for the OECD at the National Treasury of South Africa (January 2013 - December 2016), and Consultant at The World Bank (January 2011 - December 2012). Simi was also the Director of Economic Policy at Business Unity South Africa from January 2006 to December 2010. Educational qualifications include a Masters in International Economics from the University of Birmingham and an MBA from the University of Cape Town.

Dr Mundia Kabinga is a senior lecturer in infrastructure finance and strategy in the UCT GSB, and co-editor for the Oxford University Press (OUP) Handbook on the Zambian Economy. He also serves as a partner in Nephadi and Associates (Pty) Limited, a Johannesburg-based boutique growth, strategy and risk advisory firm, and a senior research fellow with Research ICT Africa, a leading telecommunications policy think-tank in the global south. Prior to his current appointments, Dr Kabinga served as a consultant and adviser to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)'s Office of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), World Bank Group, PwC (UK)'s Infrastructure and Cities for Economic Development (ICED) Facility, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Government of the Republic of Zambia's Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MoFNP), to mention but a few institutional clients.

His academic research focuses on sustainable economic, energy, and technology transitions in resource-constrained environments. He is particularly interested in understanding and modelling these transitions' institutional, financing, organizational capabilities, business model, and interactive dimensions. Further, Dr Kabinga's teaching pedagogy leverages case studies, integrative thinking, and his extensive research and consulting experiences to impart graduate students with critical thinking and problem-solving skills for business, development finance, economics and public policy, and sustainable leadership.

He holds a doctorate in Business Administration specializing in Institutional Economics and Strategic Management (PhD) from the University of Cape Town; a Master of Arts in Economics with specialization in Macroeconomics (MA) from York University in Canada; and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with Development Studies (BA) from the University of Zambia. He is an Advisory Board Member of the UCT Commerce Faculty and Institute for Democracy, Citizenship, and Public Policy in Africa (IDCPPA) Boards and holds professional memberships with the Academy of Management (AOM), American Economic Association (AEA), Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ), Economic Research Southern Africa (ERSA), and Institute of Directors Southern Africa (IoDSA). He is also a regular contributor to the Voice of America (VOA)'s televised Africa programs, the African Union Commission (AUC)'s high-level tax policy dialogues, and business newspapers and magazines on issues of business and private sector development; development and international finance; state-owned enterprise reform management; electricity, technology, and public policy; and sustainability in frontier markets.

Annabel Bishop joined Investec in 2001 and is the Chief Economist. She has worked in the macroeconomic, econometric, risk, financial markets, political risk, public finance and regulatory, among other, fields for around 25 years. Annabel is the holder of the Sake/Beeld Economist of the Year award for 2010 and has won numerous monthly Reuters Econometer awards, and various Focus Economics (Economic Forecasts from the World’s Leading Economists) categories for correctly forecasting a range of economic variables. She has authored a wide range of in-house and external articles, published both abroad and in South Africa. She has also guest lectured at Gibbs, the University of Pretoria, Wits, UJ and other academic institutions, and has presented at various national and international conferences. Author of the “Financial Services sector and its support to the economy“ section in the Better Choices Ensuring SA’s Future.

Dr Rashid Toefy is the Deputy Director-General in the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, with the mandate of creating jobs in the Western Cape economy. Rashid has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) and has worked extensively in the travel and tourism industry, both in South Africa and abroad. He spent three years based in Amsterdam, developing business and marketing strategies for businesses in over 30 countries, working extensively in Central Europe and Latin America. He has a degree in Economics and Environmental Science, as well an MBA, and has recently completed his PhD, focusing on “How leaders make strategic decisions in crisis conditions”. Rashid hates settling for mediocrity and wants to do profound things that impact positively on all those around him.