Susan Mashibe is Founder, Owner and Executive Director of VIA Aviation, formerly known as Tanzanite Jet Centre (TanJet). An avid aviator and entrepreneur, she built her business to serve private aviation needs in three countries across the African continent. Mashibe became the first female FAA-certified commercial pilot and aircraft maintenance engineer in Tanzania. She the Africa Regional Lead for the National Business Aviation Association. Mashibe holds a degree from Western Michigan University.

Billy Mawasha has been CEO of Kolobe Nala Investment Company (KNI) since April 2019. KNI is an investment holdings company with interests in mining, manufacturing, and energy.

Prior to KNI, Billy was Country Head – South Africa for Rio Tinto and Managing Director of Richard Bay Minerals. He previously held leadership, operational and technical roles at Anglo American (Kumba Iron Ore), AngloGold Ashanti and De Beers. His career has given him deep exposure to mining operations and projects across the Africa continent.

Billy is a Certified Director (IoDSA) and a Non-Executive Director of JSE listed Impala Platinum Holdings, Exxaro Resources and Metair Investments.

In 2017, Billy was selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) of the World Economic Forum, and in March 2023, he was invited to join the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Responsible Resource Use.

Billy graduated with an Engineering degree from the University of Cape Town and has completed executive development programmes at Harvard Kennedy School, Kellogg School of Management, London Business School and GIBS in South Africa.

Karabo is an investor-operator entrepreneur. In 2020 she founded Amara Strategic Investments, a venture philanthropy company. Amara Strategic Investments' long-term aspiration is to have interests fintech with a focus on financial inclusion, manufacturing, agriculture-related and -adjacent industries, culture and tourism. Karabo's current operational focus and mission is to get collectors of African art to see it as an asset class to ensure that modern and contemporary artworks from Africa and other under-represented regions are not relegated to artefacts over time, and that art collectors see long term value in the artworks that they collect. She is the Founder of Capital Art which is an art fintech and is a service for art collectors to better manage their art collections.

Karabo started her career in 2005 working in investment banking at J.P. Morgan, first working in equity derivatives in the Johannesburg franchise before moving to London, United Kingdom, in 2006 and working in Insurance Securitised Products until 2009 where she gained invaluable international experience.

She then moved back to South Africa and joined the pan-African financial group Old Mutual, in their Johannesburg offices in 2010 as a Strategy & Marketing Executive in the Retail Affluent segment, then moved into the Corporate segment as General Manager: Member Solutions in 2011 where she focused on customer experience for the members of the retirement funds the company administered. In January 2016, she became Managing Director in the Personal Finance segment, becoming the first woman to lead that business, a role she held until January 2020 where transitioning the business from being product-led to being customer-led was a key achievement as were the strides made in diversity and inclusion. Karabo has experience on several company boards and a former independent non-executive director at (amongst others) Tyme Bank Holdings Ltd, the first digital bank in South Africa to have its core banking platform in the cloud, as well as a former independent director of the Public Investment Corporation SOC Ltd, Africa's largest asset manager.

Karabo has a Bachelor of Business Science degree (cum laude) in Actuarial Science and Finance, and also a Postgraduate Diploma in Actuarial Science, both from the University of Cape Town. She is also an alumni of Harvard Business School, having completed the Advanced Management Programme in May 2019. Outside of work, she is a fellow with the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA), having been the second black woman to qualify as an actuary in South Africa, and was recognised as one of the 200 Young South African leaders who are shaping the country's future in 2014. She enjoys travelling, learning about new cultures, art, film and photography and music.

David Munro has retired after a career of 27 years with the Standard Bank Group that included roles as CEO of the groups separately listed long term insurance company, Liberty Holdings Limited, CEO of the groups Corporate and Investment Banking business, and most recently as Group Execuitve of Standard Bank Group responsible for integration of the insurance and banking operations post the buy out of the Liberty minorities. Standard Bank Group is a South Africa-based financial services company with a global presence, operating from 18 African countries and 13 countries on other continents, including the key financial centres of Europe, the Americas and Asia. David is a Chartered Accountant (CA) in South Africa with expertise in investment banking and emerging markets, with specific emphasis on Africa, the BRIC countries and natural resources.
David has remained as Chairman of STANLIB, the asset management arm of Standard Bank Group and is a non executive director of Liberty 2 Degrees, a listed REIT in SA that owns iconic properties including Sandton City and Nelson Mandela Square.

Political Sociology and Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. Became an activist early in youth but after having been arrested as a result of anti-apartheid activities and going underground for one year, lived in exile in England until 1989. After Nelson Mandela’s release in 1990, returned to South Africa to work on the legalization of the African National Congress. During the 1994 democratic elections, was the official spokesperson of the Independent Electoral Commission and directed the training of all electoral staff in the country. Recognized internationally as a forceful advocate for gender equity and against gender violence.

Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is an expert on agriculture and nutrition, entrepreneurship, social innovation, and youth development. She has over 25 years of international development experience and is the founder of LEAP Africa, Changing Narratives Africa, and African Food Changemakers (www.afchub.org) . She is also the co-founder of Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition Ltd. and AACE Foods Processing & Distribution Ltd.

Ndidi serves on the boards of the Rockefeller Foundation, AGRA, Stanbic IBTC Group, Nigerian Breweries Plc. (Heineken), Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. India, the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum, and the Bridgespan Group.

Ndidi holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree with honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, a visiting Scholar at Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University, an Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow, and an Eisenhower Fellow.

Ndidi is the author of three books: Social Innovation in Africa: a practical guide for scaling impact, Food Entrepreneurs in Africa: Scaling Resilient Agriculture Businesses and Walking for God in the Marketplace.

MBA. Consulting in global banking operations, developmental consulting, diaspora marketing, employee volunteering programmes, globalization, faith-based initiatives and youth empowerment. With Citigroup, Chams and Center for Management Development; led projects implementation to create jobs in Nigeria through entrepreneurship. Currently, via the Diaspora Innovation Institute, with partnership with Lagos Business School championing initiative to mobilize African diaspora back to their home countries to support engagement and participation in political, economic and social spheres. Chief Convener, African Diaspora Conferences. Author. Recipient, US President's Volunteer Service Gold Award.

Ada Osakwe is a creative food entrepreneur and the Founder and Chief Executive of Nuli, an indigenous food company dedicated to inspiring a healthier generation for Africa through the manufacturing of fresh foods & beverages made from only locally-grown agriculture produce. She also founded Agrolay, a venture investment firm for technologies that transform food systems.

From November 2012 to May 2015, Ada was the Senior Investment Adviser to Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and current President of the African Development Bank. Prior to this she was Vice President at Kuramo Capital Management, a private equity firm based in New York. She was also a Senior Investment Officer, Private Sector Infrastructure Finance at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), based in Tunisia,

Ada received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She holds an MSc in Economics and Finance from the University of Warwick, U.K. and a BSc in Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Hull, U.K.

In 2014, Ada Osakwe was named one of Forbes 20 Yo ungest Power Women in Africa. She is also an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow and a fellow of the African Leadership Network (ALN). She is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

Lewis Pugh is an ocean advocate and an endurance swimmer. He is the only person to have completed a long distance swim in every ocean of the world. He has pioneered swims in the most challenging environments on earth, including the Antarctic, the North Pole and the Himalayas, and developed an understanding of the beauty and fragility of life and its many ecosystems.

Lewis is a leading figure in efforts to protect our oceans. He is currently working on creating a series of Marine Protected Areas around Antarctica. The negotiations require consensus among 25 countries, a number of which have long standing disputes with one another. The media have dubbed his efforts as "Speedo diplomacy".

Lewis is also one of the world’s foremost inspirational speakers, with TED describing him as "a master story teller”. In 2011 he was inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. In 2013 he was appointed UN Patron of the Oceans. And this year he was named National Geographic's Adventurer of the Year.

Lewis read law at the universities of Cape Town and Cambridge.

Founder and CEO, Raizcorp. Co-Founder: Entrepreneurs' Organisation South Africa; Rural Roots. Has hosted a radio show and written and hosted a primetime reality TV show on entrepreneurship. Member of the advisory and judging boards of numerous local and international NGOs and entrepreneurial awards.Ex Member of the Board, National Empowerment Fund, South Africa (a US$ 800 million fund). Member, Global Future Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, World Economic Forum. International speaker. Author of Lose the Business Plan - and What to do when you want to give up. Oxford Said Entrepreneur in Residence. Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum (2008).

Gugu Msibi is a Senior Partner at Ernst & Young. She is the Public Sector and Government Leader in Africa and a priority account leader. She was appointed to the leadership team of the African firm and contributes to leadership of the firm across the globe. In a short time, she has made a meaningful contribution to the firm in a number of different ways. Msibi has demonstrated her leadership strengths among her colleagues by engaging them strategically in significant areas of the business related to both its market and people strategies. As such, she has earned their respect and is often sought for her advice and guidance. Msibi is one of South Africa's pioneering women working across business and government with a focus on global financial services. She has also been adviser to many senior government leaders at a ministerial level. As a Fellow of the Aspen Institute's African Leadership Initiative, Msibi has been identified as a leader within Africa who is a role model as well as pioneer across disciplines.

Mandla Sibeko set up his own investment business, Seed Capital Investments, through which he has various interests in the small business sector. Through this company, he has partaken in a number of related media, retail, property and e-procurement acquisitions, including becoming the owner of the Pick n Pay Family Supermarket in Kliptown, Soweto. He also holds a 40% stake in Icon SA, a partnership with a UK-based global stadium and City dressing company that branded the 2006 German FIFA World Cup. Mandla Sibeko ventured into the media industry by creating his own production company. In addition, Mr. Sibeko is a founding member of several investment initiatives focusing on the empowerment of young people, with key investments in food, retail, media and clothing industries. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Paarl Print and Paarl Print, Paarl Labs – the largest magazine and commercial printer in South Africa and part of Media 24 Group, Mandla serves as Director of the FNB Joburg Art Fair, the largest Art Fair in Africa.