2026

Raesetja Jane Sithole is a distinguished South African leader currently serving as the Deputy Minister of Small Business Development in the Government of National Unity (GNU), a position she assumed in July 2024. She holds postgraduate qualifications in Political Leadership and Governance from the Wits School of Governance, equipping her to champion localised economic development and global market integration. As a Member of the National Assembly, she plays a vital role in shaping national economic policy, with a dedicated focus on driving growth, sustainability, and market access for SMMEs and cooperatives. Sithole’s extensive career in public governance spans over two decades, beginning in local government as a councillor before she spent ten years in the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature. A committed advocate for trade and enterprise development, she was a highlight at our 2025 Import Export Access Summit, where she engaged with stakeholders to break down trade barriers for emerging businesses.

Ziaad Suleman is the Chief Executive Officer of Cassava Technologies operations for South Africa and Botswana. He is an accomplished C – Suite business and technology leader, with his experience spanning over 25 years in the technology industry. He is responsible for the country's leadership, strategy, and operations across the Cassava's portfolio of companies, including Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Africa Data Centres, Sasai Fintech, Liquid Cloud, and Security, and CassavaAI. Ziaad has a proven track record of driving business success through the enablement of technology solutions. He is a solution-driven leader with a keen interest in digital transformation. Before joining Liquid, Ziaad was the Group Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and an exco member at iOCO Technologies, formerly the EOH Company. Before that, he was a Director and the Head General Counsel for IBM Africa and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer (COO) for IBM Southern Africa. He is also a non – executive Director of CollectiveX (the national initiative to solve the digital skills deficit), Southern Africa Philanthropy Foundation and Geeks 4 Learning.

Dr Sifiso Falala is a distinguished South African executive, researcher, and global leader in market analytics and credit ratings. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sovereign Africa Ratings and concurrently serves as the CEO of Plus 94 Research, one of the largest independent market research firms in South Africa. With deep expertise in consumer insights and media analytics, Dr Falala is the current President of the Pan African Media Research Organisation (PAMRO). His leadership in the sector is further reflected in his past tenure as Chairman of the Southern African Marketing Research Association (SAMRA) and his active membership in the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR). An accomplished academic, he holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the Da Vinci Institute, a Master of Science in Population Studies, and an Honours degree in Business Studies. Through his extensive career, Dr Falala continues to play a vital role in shaping data-driven economic, credit, and market strategies across the African continent.

Lehlohonolo Chabeli is a prominent South African executive and community development strategist currently serving as the Director of the Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela Development & Welfare NPC. In this role, he drives socio-economic advancement across the community's 32 villages in the North West Province, focusing on sustainable agriculture, rural industrialisation, and local enterprise development. With over 25 years of leadership across the financial, corporate, and non-profit sectors, Chabeli has a distinguished track record of guiding high-impact social responsibility initiatives. He previously served as the CEO of the Thebe Foundation, championing basic education and early childhood development frameworks, and as the National Director and CEO of World Vision South Africa, where he directed large-scale community development and economic empowerment programmes.

Dr. Tselane Confidence Nthebe is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics at the Mahikeng Campus of North-West University. She holds a PhD in Economics and has expertise in microeconomics, macroeconomics, international trade, fiscal policy, and quantitative economic analysis. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and focuses on topics such as corruption, foreign direct investment, exchange rates, and agricultural trade within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Her research interests span international trade, agricultural economics, development economics, spatial econometrics, and energy economics. Through her research, Dr Nthebe contributes to evidence-based policy discussions aimed at promoting inclusive economic growth, sustainable development, and regional integration in South Africa and across the African continent.

Lehlohonolo “Nolo” Mmeti is a PhD candidate in Cultural Policy and Management at the University of Witwatersrand. He is a MasterCard Foundation MScR Sustainable African Futures Fellow (2026), holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Policy and Management, a Professional Diploma in Project Management, and a BA Honours in Performance and Visual Arts. He is a Brand Ambassador of South Africa through Brand SA, a strategic cultural development practitioner and social impact leader committed to strengthening creative ecosystems and expanding youth development opportunities. Nolo was the project coordinator for Impala Platinum's COVID-19 Vaccination project, which won the best COVID-19 response team nationally at the MineSafe awards. The project budget was several hundred million rands, with over 140,000 patients. As a director under The Access Group, he led cultural diplomacy, youth engagement, and creative economy dialogues aligned with global development themes.

Botlhale Mosito is the Co-Founder of The Access Group and the Import Export Access Summit (IEAS). With a proven track record in SMME development, he is a farmer, product developer, service developer, and business development professional passionate about building sustainable enterprises and unlocking economic opportunities. His work focuses on connecting government, industry, investors, traditional leadership, and entrepreneurs to strengthen value chains, improve market access, facilitate trade and investment, and drive industrialisation. Botlhale is committed to developing integrated ecosystems that empower businesses, create jobs, and position the North West Province as a competitive hub for innovation, manufacturing, agriculture, and export-led growth.