Xoliswa Mahlangu (“Xoli”) works as a Computing Curriculum Developer and Technology Integration Specialist at Future Nation Schools. Her personal mission is to demystify tech and make it more fun and accessible to kids of all ages. She is a Microsoft Certified Innovative Educator Expert and has represented South Africa in the international educator exchange. She was featured as Tech Magazine’s Mover and Shaker and has spoken at numerous youth and women in tech events. Xoli has an MEng in software engineering from Wits University.

Monica Singer qualified as a Chartered Accountant. After working for the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants and the World Bank, she became CEO of STRATE, a company set up to digitise the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JCSE). She drove this challenging project with great success. In 2015 she left STRATE to become an evangelist for Blockchain, a technology she sees as having the potential to eliminate many forms of financial corruption.

Tim Jenkin is a political and social activist and a unique individual. He is the author of the book “Escape from Pretoria” which tells the amazing true story of his escape in the 1970’s from Pretoria's maximum security prison. He developed cutting-edge data communication technology in the 1980’s for the ANC’s underground. He is currently involved in Community Exchange which is paving the way for a world without money.

Twenty years ago Pieter De Villiers and his co-founders came up with a tech innovation that was a world first. It literally went on to change the world of digital technology. They launched the company Clickatell which now has offices around the world, including Silicon Valley, although most of its developers still sit in Cape Town. Apart from being a successful South African tech entrepreneur, Pieter has worked really hard to encourage and develop local innovation and entrepreneurship. He is also working on an initiative to grow digital skills in South Africa.

Mark Harris is one of the most respected leaders in the South African digital sector. He entered the sector in 1981 as an engineer at IBM. He remained with IBM for over 30 years rising through the ranks to become Head of IBM SA and then Vice President of business development for the Middle East and Africa region. In 2013 he left IBM to become CEO of Kagiso Media. In 2019 he joined Altron Nexus as its CEO.

Mteto Nyati, CEO of Altron, is in conversation with Prof Barry Dwolatzky and Kerryn Gammie. Mteto, who previously headed Microsoft SA and MTN SA, shares his thoughts on how to lead and how to inspire those who you lead, in the context of South Africa’s digital economy. He also talks about some of the important lessons he has learnt in his own life journey. In 2019 Mteto became a best-selling author with the release of his book “Betting on a Darkie”. Don’t miss this entertaining and inspiring episode of the Optimizing podcast.

Kent Beck is an American software engineer, writer and thought leader. He is best known as the creator of the eXtreme Programming (XP) and was one of 17 signatories of…