Ntobeko Ntusi
South Africa
Dr Ntobeko Ntusi is the President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). He joins the SAMRC from the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, where he was the Chair and Head of the Department of Medicine. He is a distinguished and respected figure in the medical community, recognised as a global opinion leader. His […]
Tulio de Oliveira
South Africa
Dr Tulio de Oliveira, the director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), played a leading role in the response to COVID-19 in South Africa through his visionary application of genomics and bioinformatics.
Novel Njweipi Chegou
South Africa
Novel Njweipi Chegou is an immunologist and a full professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. His academic journey began with training as a medical laboratory scientist in Cameroon, followed by postgraduate education at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Dr Chegou leads the Tuberculosis Diagnostic Biomarker Research Group (ChegouLab) and currently […]
Stephen King
United Kingdom
Stephen is an Independent Advisor on philanthropy and social change. He is currently a Senior Advisor at the Omidyar Group – the network of philanthropies supported by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay. He brings over 25 years of executive leadership experience with a focus on using media and technology to create positive social impact and hold power to account. […]
Mohamed Ali Diini
Somalia & United States of America
At nine years old, Mohamed Ali Diini fled Somalia’s civil war. Years later, he returned to help young Somalis navigate the challenges of conflict and poverty. Hoping to run entrepreneurship training programmes, he soon realised that many of the participants struggled to focus, retain new skills, or keep jobs. Here, he saw firsthand how trauma can rewire the human brain for […]
Dominique Botha
South Africa
Dominique Botha is a writer with an award‑winning body of work published locally and internationally. She combines creative practice with active cultural leadership and arts advocacy. She is a regular contributor of essays, reviews and creative work to South African and international publications. She is a speaker and panellist at literary festivals and conferences; she conducts workshops in creative writing […]
Simon Freemantle
South Africa
Simon Freemantle is Standard Bank’s Senior Political Economist. He joined the bank in 2008, spending his first two years in the Nairobi office as an East African Analyst. In his current role, Simon is the dedicated South Africa political economist within the bank’s research team, primarily serving both the local and international corporate and institutional investor communities. Over the past […]
Carlos Ibáñez
China & Sweden
Carlos Ibáñez is Professor in Neuroscience at the School of Life Sciences of Peking University, the Chinese Institute for Brain Research in Beijing, China, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Dr Ibáñez is a member of the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute, the body that awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He is a Permanent Fellow at […]
Siphokazi Jonas
South Africa
Siphokazi Jonas is a multi-award-winning poet, playwright, actor, and producer based in Cape Town, South Africa. She holds an MA in English Literature and an undergraduate degree in Drama and English from the University of Cape Town. She has been a featured act at numerous festivals globally. Her awards include a South African Film and Television Award for Best Short […]
Charlot Magayi
Kenya
Orphaned at the age of 10, Charlot Magayi grew up in Mukuru, one of the biggest slums in Nairobi, and became a mother at 16. Magayi was moved to provide safer cooking technologies for her community after her daughter was burned by a traditional stove. She has dedicated her time, skills, and experience to combating household air pollution, energy poverty, […]