Professor of Finance & Insurance, School of Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand

Mr. Peter Elias Bagumhe, is a Trade Economist with Practical experience in both private and public sector in the areas of Preferential Trade agreements, International Investment, Competition Policy, and Trade facilitation. Bagumhe has intensely engaged in number of works which involves preparation and negotiation of Tariff and Trade in services offer for Tanzania in the Continental Free Trade agreements. Participated in the Negotiation of Custom Union, and Common Market for the East African Community integration, and the tripartite initiatives.

Currently Bagumhe is writing his PhD thesis with North West University in South Afriac. The key objective of the study is to examine the impact of Regional Integration on Foreign Direct Investment inflows in East African Community, and ascertain the extent to which reduction of economic risk, Financial Risk, and Economic Risk through the EAC integration process, i.e moving from Custom Union, Common Market and Monetary Union have influenced FDI inflows into the EAC . More specifically the study want to acertain why Country like Tanznia has received more FDI relative to other EAC Partners States.

Ismail Fasanya is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He is an alumnus of the African Economic Research Consortium, Kenya and a Principal Consultant at the African Review of Economics and Finance (AREF) Consult, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Dr Fasanya’s research interests lie at the intersection of macroeconomics and finance, with a special interest in energy economics, financial spillovers and interconnectedness, commodity economics and macroeconomic modelling and forecasting.

A PhD and Masters Economics graduate of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Bcom-Honours Economics, University of Limpopo and Bachelor of Science Economics, University of Ilorin-Nigeria. He is an ESSA, MRU and UKZN award winner. He is also named among the Top 10 student researchers at UKZN in 2016 and 2017. He has presented several papers at local and international conferences including the IJAS conference at Harvard University, USA and the AICAEF conference at Cambridge University, United Kingdom. He has taught economics at the Universities of Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. Currently, he is working with MRU as a research director and an external examiner to University of Cape Town, University of South Africa and University of Zululand.

Wendy McCallum is a Development Economist with 16 years’ experience as a practitioner in economic development and 4 years’ experience in teaching and training. Wendy has worked both in the public and private sectors and her career includes working for the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Wendy currently works as an independent Development Economist.
Wendy holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) degree from the University of Port Elizabeth, a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Systems Analysis from the University of Cape Town and a Postgraduate Diploma in Future Studies (Cum Laude) from Stellenbosch University Business School. She currently is registered and working towards a MPhil Development Finance at Stellenbosch University Business School. Wendy is a Certified Director (Cert.Dir.) and serves as a Non-Executive Director for an agro-processing business and a renewable energy business, both of which she was extensively involved in the establishment of.
Wendy previously has been recognised as one of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber’s Top 40 Under 40; a showcase of the dynamic young business talent in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Waldo Krugell is at the School of Economic Sciences at the NWU’s Potchefstroom campus. He is
interested in macro and micro issues and what they mean for households and businesses. Listen to his ideas at The Economics Minute podcast.

Economist based in Stellenbosch and working as an economic consultant at Nova Economics.

Joseph is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Walter Sisulu University, and a member of
Macroeconomics Research Unit (MRU) of UKZN. His research interest is in the broad area of finance and accounting; has data analysis skills and expertise.

Denis Nfor Yuni holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Yaounde II, Soa; an MSc in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Development Economics from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. He has a rich blend of research and teaching experience that spans 11 years. He currently lectures in the Department of Economics and Development Studies, National University of Lesotho.

He has over twenty conference papers and has published over twenty five peer reviewed journals articles. Some of his journal articles are indexed in prestigious Thompson Reuters and Scopus indexing bodies such as: International Migration, Economics Bulletin, Environmental Hazards and International Journal of Sustainable Economy, Journal of Studies in Economics and Econometrics, just to name a few. He equally has over ten working papers and technical reports to his credit.

He has consulted for local and international organisations such as: TetFund, Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre; Nigerian Communications Commission; Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa (CEEPA); African Economic Research Consortium; Climate analytics GMBH Berlin Germany; the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) and the World Bank Sub National Doing Business. He is well trained and skilled in the use of STATA, E-views, SPSS and R econometric softwares. He has the ability to estimate panel, time series and cross-sectional data for economic analysis in particular and the social sciences in general.

Prof Roula Inglesi-Lotz is an academic in the field of energy economics and currently a Professor in the Department of Economics. She completed her undergraduate studies in Greece at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki before she came to University of Pretoria, where she completed her MCom in Economics, cum laude. Her doctorate degree was awarded in 2011 from the Department of Economics, in which she proposed a benchmark-and-trade approach to improve electricity intensity in South Africa.
She is among the most prominent researchers in the field of economics featuring in the top 10 Economics authors of the African continent (https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.africa.html#authors) and consistently in the top 3 of South Africa (https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.southafrica.html#authors) based on the research of the last 10 years. She has published more than 70 academic papers in top international high ranked journals within the last 10 years.
Prof Inglesi-Lotz has demonstrated her leadership skills by founding with other energy experts the South African Association for Energy Economics (SAAEE), the only recognized affiliate of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) for South Africa, of which she is presiding for a second term. She is also elected the Vice President of the international body for Membership and Affiliate relations for 2021/22.
She has been a member of the South African Young Academy of Sciences (SAYAS) since 2017 where she served as a co-chair in 2019/20 and was the editor of the SAYAS PhD blog giving a platform to the South African science youth to express their voice; and a member of the Global Young Academy (GYA) since 2018 and elected co-chair representing low – and middle – income countries for 2021/22. Recently, she was selected to serve at the Ministerial Advisory Committee of the Department of Minerals and Energy (DMRE) for Women Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE).

Gavin is an Associate Professor at Rhodes University and former President of the Economic Society of South Africa. Until recently he wrote a fortnightly column in Business Day. His areas of interest are South African economic policy, financial markets, and mining and commodity markets.
Prior to joining academia in 2009, Gavin was the Group Economist of Anglo American plc.

Helanya Fourie is a senior economist at the BER, where last year she led a project about South Africa’s progress towards the goals of the National Development Plan (NDP). She holds a MSc(Competition and Regulation) from the University of Utrecht and a MCom(Economics) from Stellenbosch University.

Leila Patel is Professor of Social Development Studies and the DST/NRF Research Chair in Welfare and Social Development, Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg.

Servaas van der Berg is professor of Economics at the University of Stellenbosch, and holds the National Research Foundation’s South African National Research Chair in the Economics of Social Policy. His research covers economic development, poverty and income distribution, the economics of education, health and welfare, and fiscal incidence.

Ronelle Burger is a professor in the Economics Department of Stellenbosch University. Her interest is in poverty and exclusion in African countries, with a focus on the role of health inequalities. She holds a PhD in Economics from Nottingham University and a Masters degree in Economics from Cambridge University.

Fiona Tregenna heads the DSI/NRF South African Research Chair in Industrial Development, and is a Professor of Economics at the University of Johannesburg. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on structural change, deindustrialisation, industrial development, and innovation and technological upgrading.

Mia Slabber is an economist at the BER. She holds a Master’s in Economics from Stellenbosch University. Prior to joining the BER she worked as a development economist at the Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (Cenfri). Some of her most recent work includes an assessment of COVID-19 on the South African tourism industry.

Tshepo Moloi is an economist at the BER. He holds a Master’s of Economics degree from the University of the Free State and a Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) – International Development degree from the University of York (United Kingdom).

Jannie Rossouw was born in Stellenbosch and matriculated at the Menlopark High School in Pretoria. He completed the B.Com, B.Com (Hons) and M.Com (all with specialisation in economics) and MBA degrees at the University of Pretoria and a PhD degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

He is a professor at Wits Business School (WBS) at the University of the Witwatersrand after a period of service as its Interim Head. He retired as a Senior Deputy General Manager of the South African Reserve Bank (Head: Currency Management) in 2012.

He is President of the Economic Society of South Africa. The SA Academy awarded the Stals Prize for Economics to Jannie Rossouw in 2019.

Tommie van Zyl, Chief Executive Officer of the ZZ2 farming group, is not only a farmer at heart, but his inspirational leadership has led to extensive growth of the group in the last twenty years. Under his guidance ZZ2 has developed from primarily tomato production to investing extensively in avocado production and export; as well as production of mangoes, deciduous fruit, cherries, almonds, blueberries, Medjool dates and cattle.

Tommie is a big believer in the open system management model. It has allowed
stakeholders involved with ZZ2 to horizontally connect with each other with the freedom to creatively contribute, innovate and work within the bigger “ZZ2 hive of activity”.

This visionary thinking has contributed to the group becoming an international player in agriculture and to its reputation as a sustainable producer of quality ethical produce. He has served as director and vice chairman of the USA based Produce Market Association (PMA) and was the chairman of the Agricultural Produce Agents Council (APAC) for 7 years.

He is an alumnus of the University of Stellenbosch and University of Florida in the USA. He serves as director on various boards and was recently bestowed an honorary medal from the South African Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Izak Smit is the CEO of PPS, having taken over the role in July 2016. His experience in the financial services sector include actuarial, wealth management, life insurance and distribution positions at Absa, Citadel and Sanlam. He is a qualified actuary with honors degrees in statistics and economics. Current hobbies and future aspirations include being an author, teacher, adventurer and athlete.

Mr Nene, a renowned economist, has more than 20 years’ experience as a board member and executive officer of public and private companies in a wide variety of industries with a strong track record of building and maintaining stakeholder value. His active role and contribution to a nation building agenda and serving in government positions sees him being held in high regard by captains of industry in private sector and government alike. His rational approach to economic matters and his sharp focus on good governance are among the attributes.

Dr Sevias Guvuriro is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of the Free State. He also lectures at the University of Bremen summer school and is an incoming University of Michigan African Presidential Scholar (Jan – May, 2022). His research interests are in development economics, behavioural economics and experimental economics.

Le Roux Burrows holds a Masters degree in Economics (cum laude) from the
Free State University, Bloemfontein, South Africa. His PhD study focuses on
tourism impact analysis using general economic modelling techniques. He is
currently a lecturer in Economics at the Stellenbosch University with
teaching focus econometrics and quantitative techniques. He previously
held positions as researcher in economics at SANLAM and lecturer in
economics at the Free State University.

He served for six years as member of the Council of the Stellenbosch University and plays an active role in the institutional management of Stellenbosch University. He also serves as secretary and member of the Council of the Economic Society of South Africa for the last 13 years and member of the Society since 1980. Currently he is the as acting Exceutive Secretary of the Society. His research culminated in presenting papers at various national and international conferences as well as
publishing various working papers.

Key areas of expertise: Economic policy impact modelling and analysis using partial modelling techniques (econometric techniques); General data analysis using descriptive and simple non-modelling techniques in Excel; Tourism impact analysis; Computable General Economic modelling.

Teaching focus: Introductory econometrics; Macro- and microeconomics; Quantitative economics; Data analysis techniques using spreadsheets (Excel focus).

I am a 24 years old currently studying towards my masters in Economics at Stellenbosch University, and I aspire to attain my PhD in Behavioral Economics within the next few years. I am also somewhat of an outdoor enthusiast who loves trail running and mountain biking.

Ms Friderichs is a Lecturer at Rhodes University. Her research interests are development economics, labour economics and applied microeconomics. Her PhD is titled "Human capital in the context of high levels of inequality in South Africa". The article presented at the Essa 2021 conference is an extract from her PhD thesis.

Nicky is a behavioural economist experienced in experiment and survey design, in both corporate and academic contexts. She obtained her PhD from the University of Pretoria, where she now teaches. Nicky’s research focuses on rationality violations in decision making. Nicky is particularly interested in questions of social justice, including race and gender bias in decision making and issues around distributive fairness. Her research has been published in highly regarded peer-reviewed publications including Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Journal of Public Economic Theory, Economics Letters and Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics.

Dorrit (Dori) Posel specialises in applied micro-economic research, exploring the interface between households and labour markets. From 2007 to 2015, Dori held an NRF/DST Research Chair in economic development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). In 2016, she moved to the University of the Witwatersrand as a distinguished professor and to take up the Helen Suzman chair. Dori has published widely on issues related to marriage and family formation, labour migration, labour force participation and the gender division of labour, the economics and demographics of language use, and measures of well-being.

Ralitza is a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a PhD candidate in health economics at Wits University. While her main interests are in health economics and industrial organisation, she enjoys the overlaps of the Economics realm with other disciplines.

Angelien, currently living in China and teaching Cambridge Economics for a living. She has worked in the corporate banking sector (Rand Merchant Bank) for a short while before exploring her real passion for learning. Being an educator equips her to commit to being a lifelong learner and sharing this skill with future leaders. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Statistics), a Bachelor of Commerce Honours (Applied Econometrics) and Master of Commerce (Economics) degrees from the University of the Free State. In addition, she has a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of South Africa. Angelien hopes to use her newly acquired knowledge and skills to give back to South Africa. Being an educator and an expat, she is able to discuss, explore and brainstorm real-life challenges with different like-minded individuals.

Jen Snowball is a professor of Economics at Rhodes University. She is also the Chief Research Strategist at the South African Cultural Observatory, which is a multi-university, national research organisation funded by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.Her research interests are in the fields of cultural and creative economy and environmental and natural resource economics.
Her research work in cultural economics has included mapping the cultural and creative industries in South Africa, a study of cultural occupations, and a study on the value of the repatriation of African museum artefacts. She has published widely in the economics of arts and culture and is member of the editorial board of the Journal of Cultural Economics, the journal managed by the Association for Cultural Economics International.

Daniela Casale is Professor in the School of Economics and Finance at WITS University. Her
main areas of research include gender, labour, well-being, health, and education economics. Her most recent work has highlighted the uneven effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on women and men in South Africa.

MCom (Financial markets) from Rhodes University, International Bulk Ores & Alloys Trader specializing in the sourcing of raw materials and intermediary products for the Ferrochrome and Stainless steel industry.

Carolyn Chisadza is a senior lecturer in Economics at the University of Pretoria. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pretoria. Her research interests include economic growth and development with a focus on institutions and conflict within Africa.

Dr Mostert is CEO of Prometheus Polokwane and presented various papers at national and international conferences of topics like distance learning, ICT and economics. He is the co-author of three textbooks and published various accredited articles. He obtained a PhD in Economics from the University of the Free State in 2004.

Peter Baur is an Associate Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Johannesburg. He holds a Doctoral Degree in Economics from the same University. He has lectured internationally and across South Africa for many institutions, universities and business schools. Some of these include, (amongst others) the University of Pretoria, Stellenbosch University, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, University of the Western Cape, University of Limpopo, Rhodes University, the University of Zululand, Gordon Institute of Business Science, Milpark Business School and Wits Business School. His community engagement has spanned both the private and public sector. His fields of research include cultural, financial, behavioural and development economics. He sat on an advisory board for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. He sits on the research board for the Gauteng Department of Economic Development and is a member of the member of the Community of Practice for Entrepreneurship Research. He has acted as an economic advisor for city council on local economic development, and is a research fellow for PASCAL International Observatory. He has published in a number of international journals, and has often featured in both the local and international media where he is often called upon for commentary and economic analysis. He currently heads the Arts and Cultural Unit of the School of Economics focusing predominantly on research into cultural economics and entrepreneurship in South Africa.

Prof Uma Kollamparambil is an Associate Professor of Economics and the current Head of the School of Economics and Finance (SEF), University of the Witwatersrand. She obtained her doctoral degree in Economics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi in 2004. She is a Development Economist with research interests in Economics of wellbeing, Subjective Wellbeing, Mental health, Migration and Inequality in the South African context. She has published over 35 DHET accredited journal articles in international journals like the Journal of Development Studies, Journal of Happiness Studies, Development Policy Review, International Migration, Development Southern Africa, Journal of Public Health, African Development Review, South African Journal of Economics etc. She has supervised to completion 5 PhD theses and over 25 Masters research reports. She is an Associate Editor of the African Review of Economics and Finance. She holds membership of the Economics Society of South Africa (ESSA), The Society for the Study of Economic Inequality (ECINEQ), International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) and, Australian Centre on Quality of Life (ACQoL). She lives in Johannesburg with her husband and eight-year-old son.

Charles is a lecturer at the University of the Western Cape with an interest in fiscal policy.

I currently teach Economics for first years and second years (appointed 1 January 2019). In the past, I worked as a macroeconomist compiling macroeconomic and microeconomic research reports assessing African sovereign risk for institutional investors. My research focuses on the impact of
indigenous labour on the Cape colonial economy.

Moses is a PhD candidate in Development Finance at University of Stellenbosch
Business School. He holds a Master of Commerce (Finance) from Strathmore University
and a Bachelor of Economics from Maseno University, Kenya. Research interest: bank
efficiency, concentration, competition and risk-taking behaviour.

A Master of Science in Economics candidate at the National University of Lesotho in collaboration with the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). Her research interests include issues related to Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Economics.

My name is Katiso Thatho, a 27 year old MSc in economics candidate at the National
University of Lesotho. I consider myself an economist by profession and a writer by passion.
I enjoy obtaining knowledge and imparting it whenever possible.

Anton van Wyk is a lecturer in Economics at the School of Economic Sciences at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. He is currently completing his PhD in Economics with the specific focus of Public Interest Considerations in South African mergers. His research focus is on labour economics and competition economics and competition policy.

Richard Apau holds an MBA (Finance) from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and technology, Ghana. He has submitted his PhD in Finance thesis at the University of KwaZulu Natal. He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Ghana, Legon. He has published an article from his PhD thesis and has submitted a manuscript which is currently under review at a journal.

Dr Matthew Clance is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Pretoria and a Fellow at Pan-African Scientific Council. He received his PhD in economics from Clemson University. Matthew’s research interests include the connection between international trade and development and geospatial econometric analysis of inequality and conflict determinants. His research has appeared in Journal of Development Economics, Applied Economics, Tourism Economics, and Sustainability, among others.

Iesrafeel Jakoet is a current registered PhD student in Development Finance at Stellenbosch University's Graduate School of Business (GSB). By qualification and occupation, he is a registered Chartered Accountant (South Africa) with over 10 years' post articles work experience and is currently working as an Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer in the development sector. Iesrafeel completed his Master's degree in Development Finance at the same institution in 2016.

Damilola is a doctoral student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa with current research interests in Real estate, Alternative finance, Behavioral finance, Quantitative finance and Data science.

Andrea Saayman is professor of Economics at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU)

Frikkie Booysen holds a PhD in Economics from Stellenbosch University. Having previously researched the economics of HIV and AIDS, his current research focuses mainly on inequalities in health and healthcare and on issues of health and development.

Amit Achameesing obtained his initial academic qualifications in his home country of Mauritius. His first
degree was a Bsc Economics (2002) from the University of Mauritius. This was followed by a Masters
of Applied Economics (2004) from that same university, and later he obtained a Masters of
Professional Accounting (with Distinction) (2011) from Southern Cross University, Australia. In 2012,
he moved to Seychelles to take up a lecturing position at the University of Seychelles, and in the
following year was appointed Head of Programme on the London School of Economics (LSE)
International Programme.He is currently working at the Middlesex University and Civil Service College in Mauritius and completing his PhD thesis at the Stellenbosch Business School. His groundbreaking research on economic growth combines a new paradigm in macroeconomics with an advanced time series technique. His model of a New Economics for the 21st century encourages bank financing of high learning elasticity sectors that will spur African countries to higher levels of growth.

Bahati Sanga is PhD student in the Development Finance programme at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB). He holds MPhil in Development Finance (USB), M.Sc. Computer Science (McMaster University) and B.Sc. Computer Science (University of Dar Es Salaam). His research interests include emerging technologies, FinTech, SMEs financing and financial deepening.

Harold Ngalawa is a Professor of Economics in the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa. He is also a founding member of the Macroeconomics Research Unit at UKZN, the only research unit in the country specialising in macroeconomics research. He has also taught Economics at the University of Malawi. Before joining the academia, Professor Ngalawa worked as a Bank Economist at the Commercial Bank of Malawi Limited and later as Head of Research at Continental Discount House Limited in Malawi. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Cape Town and his research focus is on monetary theory and practice, deposit insurance, bank instability, structural asymmetries and policy failure.
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7040-5594

PhD Development Finance candidate at the University of Stellenbosch.

After graduating with a MComm in Economics cum laude from Stellenbosch University (2011), Dr Hylton Hollander went on to receive his PhD in Dynamic Macroeconomics (2014). His thesis, entitled “Financial frictions and the business cycle” has led to international publications in the Journal of Banking & Finance, the Journal of Macroeconomics and Economic Modelling. Before receiving a permanent position at Stellenbosch University, Dr Hollander joined the African Institute of Financial Markets and Risk Management at the University of Cape Town as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Dr Hollander’s research broadly focuses on the interaction between financial markets and the real economy. Some of his recent work studies how asset prices and financial intermediation modify the transmission mechanisms of monetary policy and other macroeconomic shocks. His current research focuses on fiscal policy, macroprudential policy, and international financial spillovers to emerging market economies. He has lectured courses in Dynamic Economic Theory, Mathematical Economics, Banking & Finance, and International Finance at the postgraduate level.

Ayanda is an Acting Director in the National Treasury’s Economic Policy division. She serves as a part-time commissioner on the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC). She was also an assistant consultant at Oxford Policy Management (OPM) South Africa. Ayanda is currently enrolled for her PhD through the University of Stellenbosch looking into labour mobility, wages, productivity and foreign connected companies in the formal South African labour market.

Nyemwererai is PhD Candidate in Economics at the University of Pretoria. She is researcher who seeks to undertake a professional role in research and analysis with special interest in macroeconomics and its policy, social and development economics. Current research focus is on understanding macroeconomic policy in unequal economies through theoretical modelling analytical analysis.

Prof. Heinrich Bohlmann is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Pretoria where he specialises in the development and application of dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) models for practical policy research. Prof. Bohlmann is also Research Director of the Modelling and Policy Impact Analysis group at the Partnership for Economic Policy and serves on the council of the Economic Society of South Africa and the South African Association for Energy Economics. He holds a PhD in Economics from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

A proactive, dedicated, and results-oriented economist with firm grips of international macroeconomic theories & development policy analysis. Skilled in drafting high-quality policy briefs, analytical research reports, problem-solving skills, excellent communication, and analysing complex economic issues. Dr. Adelakun Ojo Johnson is a Senior Lecturer & Consultant Economist. The research focus is development macroeconomics, international economics & finance, public sector & entrepreneurship economics, bioeconomy & secular economy. He has published moderately in local and international referred journals. Leader & a team player with proven ability to multi-task within timeframes while delivering excellent value-for-money services. Has incredible creative energies & a refreshing idealism tempered enough to accomplish optimal economic outcomes. Dr. Adelakun, an awardee of African Economic Research Consortium, 2019 grant & the European Union Intra-African Academy Mobility Scholarship, 2018 respectively. His ability to work independently with great creativity & enthusiasm is embedded in the Africa-wide structure of economic research & education. He is part of the collaborative research "Developing & emerging economies face a two-fold energy challenge in the 21st century and Food security”. Participated in joint research seminars, and offer courses in the African Doctoral Academy program, South Africa. He is committed to the highest standards of research & teaching at the university & in a multidisciplinary manner, explores issues pertinent to their own area of work & engages with professionals outside of their specialism on high-impact, topical issues with some of the industry’s latest research & up-to-date information.

It is a beautiful place where passion and knowledge meet. Being passionate about the sustainability of the earth’s resources, I find joy in asking new and innovative questions, thus generating new knowledge that may assist in preserving resources for generations to come. Having a future orientated mindset, and as an aspiring energy economist, I firmly believe that renewable energy is an accountable way to ensure sustainability, in order for our children and their children to still have the resources now available to us. I am an Economics PhD candidate doing research in the energy and sustainability field. I have recently also participated in the BRICS Youth Energy outlook and IAEE online conference.

Thamsanqa Nhlapo is a PhD candidate at the University of Pretoria with research interests in development economics and international trade.

Dr Jessika Bohlmann holds a PhD from the University of Pretoria and is currently working as Prof. Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu’s Research Assistant and is doing a postdoc under her supervision. She has also completed certificate courses in Dynamic and Regional General Equilibrium (CGE) Modelling presented by the Centre of Policy Studies in Melbourne and an Advanced Certificate Course in Emerging Markets and Risk Analysis from Fordham University in New York. Since 2018, she works as a consultant administrative assistant for the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) where currently she assists Prof. Heinrich Bohlmann with research and administrative tasks for the Modelling and Policy Impact Analysis (MPIA) unit. Dr Bohlmann has presented her academic research at several local and international conferences and has published peer-reviewed academic article in journals including Energy Policy and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. She has also worked on several research projects with staff from the Department of Economics, SPMA and the University’s Teaching and Learning Committee. Dr Bohlmann has also served as a referee to academic journals in the area of energy economics on various occasions. She is a member of the Economic Society of South Africa (ESSA), the South African Affiliate for Energy Economics (SAAEE) and the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE).

Winnie Thebuho is a PhD candidate at University of Stellenbosch Business School, with the department of development finance. Her thesis is focused on Financial Globalisation, Energy Consumption and Environmental Sustainability. She is interested to research on sustainable development, financial inclusion and energy finance. Her earlier research was on smallholder farmer’s perception of adaptations to climate change.

Anthanasius Fomum, Tita is a Part-time lecturer and academic resource person for the MPhil in Development Finance research assignment at the University of Stellenbosch Business School. Tita joined the Business School in 2013 as a PhD student in Development Finance and graduated in March 2017. His research interests include finance and growth, financial inclusion of firms and households, housing, infrastructure and growth, and applied macroeconometrics and microeconometrics.

Harris Maduku is a Post-Doctoral fellow in the faculty of Finance and Economics at the Tshwane University of Technology. He is an emerging scholar with passion in Development Economics particularly poverty, inequality and the informal economy.

Katherine Eyal is a senior lecturer at the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town, and a senior researcher at the Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU). Her research interests include development economics, specifically education, cash transfers, program evaluation and mental health.

Edson Vengesai (PhD) is a finance professional and Senior Lecturer in Finance in the department of economics and finance at the University of Free state. Edson graduated with a PhD in Finance from the University of KwaZulu Natal in 2018, Cum laude Master of commerce in finance (2014) and a cum laude Honours in finance (2012). He is actively involved in scientific research and teaching in the field of financial economics. His research interests are in corporate finance, financial technology and digitalisation, financial markets, financial engineering and modelling and investment management. Edson worked in a bank treasury function specialising in online MasterCard reconciliations at FBC bank in Zimbabwe. He started his academic carrier as a teaching assistant at the Bindura University of science education in 2013-2015. He worked as a teaching assistant; Post-doctoral research fellow, and Lecturer in finance at the University of KwaZulu Natal before joining UFS in 2020. Dr Edson Vengesai is a passionate, enthusiastic and energetic upcoming academic determined to make a significant contribution in finance revolution especially in Africa