Master of Institutional Agriculture (Crop Protection), MBL – Masters in Business Leadership

Wendy is a plant pathology specialist with over 12 years of experience. She has worked in the Crop Protection and Agrochemical industry for 12 years in various companies; mainly in product development and regulatory teams. She is highly qualified, holding two Master’s degrees in Crop Protection from the University of Pretoria, as well as Master of Business Leadership from UNISA’s School of Business Leadership.

PG DIP. (Corporate Governance), MDP (B-BBEE Management Programme), BCom. (Economics and Marketing Management, Cert. Social Entrepreneurship Programme

Makibinyane is the founder of Tshokoma Business Consultancy, an Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Impact Investing Advisory firm. Tshokoma has been officially endorsed by Statistics South Africa as a major contributor to the country’s SDG country report. As Vice-President of the Youth Economic Alliance, he has led South African delegations to Tunisia and the United Kingdom on issues revolving around collaboration in emerging technologies and venture capital. He continues to be an important role player in advancing the on-going policy discussions surrounding the role of the youth in the mainstream economy and a champion for ESG, Impact &Responsible Investing; he also takes pride in his role as a guiding light to many young entrepreneurs across the Southern African region

Through his passion for success, Bright has embraced a fanatical interest in the agri- business and real estatespace. Bright works with agribusiness industry players and investors across fundamental segments of thelivestock, crop and aquaculture value chains, agro processing and related sub-sectors.

Having been a New Business Development Executive (Africa Strategy) for two multinational Veterinary Pharmaceutical companies listed in the New York Stock Exchange, (PfizerIncorporated and Zoetis) and a shareholder / Director for Grit Real Estate Income Group (A London & Mauritius Stock Exchange listed company), Bright has proven his businessdevelopment skills. Responsible for managing a portfolio of key accounts and delivering client-focused solutions.

As an Entrepreneurial Professional, Bright received several awards:-

1. Business Development Manager of the year: 2009, 2010, 2011 (Pfizer Inc)
2. Top Executive Accounts Manager of the year: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 (Zoetis Inc)
3. Innovation Award by Minister of Public Enterprise (Public Sector Innovation Awards): 2012
4. Innovative Partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development &Veterinary Services (Gauteng). 2012

BSc Actuarial and Financial Mathematics

Didintle has over 15 years of experience in commercial banking and insurance. Her expertise covers back and front office functions as a risk analyst and dealmaker. She was the founder of New Vantage Solutions (NVS), an advisory firm assisting black owned SMEs in raising acquisition, expansion and transformation funding through DFIs, commercial banks and PE Funds. NVS’ function was later absorbed into Global Hands (later rebranded Empower Energy), where she was an Executive Director. Empower Energy is an enterprise that delivers engineering infrastructure solutions throughout Africa responding to the physical, social and economic infrastructure needs of Africa. Integrating engineering and construction capabilities of traditional firms with infrastructure investment solutions and a socio-economic development approach is used to create sustainable communities through infrastructure projects. She served on the board and investment committee of the RH S12j VCC, an investment holding vehicle aimed at investing in healthcare infrastructure in South Africa. Her key areas of expertise include, but are not limited to Research; Risk Portfolio Management; Transaction Structuring and Data Science.

BSc (Hons) Mathematical Statistics

Matsuma has over 21 years’ experience in the South African private sector, with solid expertise in the Financial and Banking industries. He is recognised as a highly adaptable credit analytics professional with a proven track record in the industry. His interpersonal and intercultural competence ensures he delivers appropriate financial management guidance in the workplace to drive organizational reputation, goals, and efficiencies. He approaches his tasks with energy and action, taking charge to ensure constructive project management. He functions well as an individual and in team environments, as he build solid relationships at all company and stakeholder levels.

Freddy is an experienced Environmentalist with a Doctorate degree from the University of Limpopo and 15 years of professional experience in various agricultural organisations.

Mankwana is a seasoned animal scientist with over 14 years of experience gained from various organizations, in the academic and private sector. She is a specialist in animal health.

John is an experienced Agronomist with a Masters degree from the University of Limpopo. His experience spans 10 years in various agricultural organisations. He is also a published author of several academic papers.