New members appointed to National Advisory Council on Innovation
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Blade Nzimande, is pleased to announce the appointment of seven new members to the Council of the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI).
The new members will fill vacancies on the current council, the term for which ends on 31 October 2026.
The seven people appointed are distinguished in one or more areas of science and technology or have special experience of and insight into the role and contribution of innovation in promoting and achieving national and provincial objectives.
The council, chaired by Mr Tilson Manyoni, advises the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Cabinet on matters that affect South Africa's national innovation system.
Mr Manyoni has over 20 years' experience in the technology industry, and is the Managing Director of VisionWave, the Chairperson of the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Council, and the Chairperson of TUT's Institute for the Future of Work. He has been on the advisory boards for the JP Morgan-BFA Global digital spazas initiative and the SA Innovation Summit.
A list of new NACI Council members and short bios is provided below.
Ms Mpho Chinyolo
Ms Chinyolo is a Development Economist with 20 years' experience in international development, academia, advisory services and consulting. She is currently a Principal Country Programme Officer with the African Development Bank (AfDB) managing a portfolio comprising of infrastructure and skills development projects. Previously, she worked as an economist at the World Bank, focusing on its African Development Indicators publication and the Africa Results Monitoring System, which measures the results of World Bank-funded projects in Africa. She also worked at the AfDB covering Somalia and Eritrea. She was an economic advisor to the President of Malawi.
Ms Chinyolo has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, an MA in Development Economics, and a Graduate Certificate in International Studies (Economics) from Howard University in Washington DC. She also has an MSc in International Relations and Global Business (Joint MA International Relations and MBA) from American University and a Certificate in Project Management from Georgetown University.
Mr Niezaam Davids
Mr Davids is a highly accomplished business executive and entrepreneur with over 25 years' experience in strategic business leadership, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital funding and start-up business incubation. He currently works as a Managing Director at FG La Pasta (Pty) Limited. He previously worked for Tiger Brands as Business Development Group Executive, for Optimus Investments as CEO and Founder, for Vodacom Group as a Chief Officer: Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions, as well as for PWC as a corporate finance manager. He is involved in completing multiple big-ticket transactions ranging from complex cross-border and multi-jurisdictional acquisitions to early-stage venture capital funding and investing. He is a strong all-around commercial executive with a history of strategic business leadership and the ability to influence at board and shareholder levels.
Mr Davids holds a BCom from the University of Cape Town, a BCompt (Hons) from the University of South Africa and a CA(SA) qualification obtained from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1995.
Dr Mmaki Jantjies
Dr Jantjies is a leading South African computer scientist, currently working as the Group Executive: Innovation and Transformation at Telkom. She is also an adjunct associate professor and has spent several years in academia. She served as departmental head for information systems at the University of the Western Cape and North West University. She has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Warwick.
Her passion for digital transformation and inclusion ranges from education and health technology to small business. She founded an NPO that leads initiatives to teach digital literacy skills to teachers and children. In 2017 and 2018, she was South Africa's representative to Women 20 (an official G20 engagement group to ensure that the gender considerations are mainstreamed into G20 discussions), focusing on the digital inclusion of women.
Prof. Vladimir Linkov
Prof. Linkov is a full professor at the University of the Western Cape and the Director of the South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry, as well as Vice President of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy board. He is an internationally recognised expert in research, development and innovation (RDI) in the fields of materials and processes for hydrogen and fuel cell technology, lithium ion batteries, gas and liquid separations, and emissions and effluent processing. He has been an advisor to government, NGOs and the private sector for over 30 years.
A graduate of Moscow State University and Stellenbosch University, Prof. Linkov has published over 200 papers in Scopus-indexed journals (his h index is 42) and has 29 registered patents.
His management expertise relates to establishing and supervising RDI projects for industry and government, developing and demonstrating technological concepts, managing multidisciplinary research and innovation groups involving people with wide-ranging skills sets, and handling annual budgets exceeding R100 million. He provides strategic direction and daily supervision to self-sustaining university-based RDI groups and institutes.
Mr Dheepak Maharajh
Mr Maharajh is currently CEO of UVU BIO, with over 25 years' experience in science, engineering and business. He specialises in taking biotechnology concepts from laboratory scale to commercialisation. His career includes successful delivery on initiatives funded by both the private and the public sector. Mr Maharajh is driven by a passion for nurturing startups, translating their concepts into tangible commercial realities, and mentoring budding science and engineering professionals. His career includes six years at a biotechnology production plant, followed by 19 years in research, development and commercialisation. He ran his own consultancy firm before joining UVU Bio.
He has a Master's in Bioprocess Engineering from Stellenbosch University and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. As a registered Professional Natural Scientist (Pr.Sci.Nat.), he thrives at the crossroads of science and business.
Mr Julian Mixon
Mr Mixon is a finance and investment professional with more than 19 years' experience in diverse sectors, including financial services, technology, mergers and acquisitions and venture capital. He is a chartered accountant and a chartered global management accountant. He is currently as an associate fund principal at the Public Investment Corporation as part of its Early-Stage Fund team, before which he worked at Naspers Foundry, a South Africa-focused venture capital fund. He started his career doing his articles at Microsoft South Africa as a trainee accountant.
Mr Mixon holds a BCom in Accounting and an honours degree in Financial Management from the University of Johannesburg. He also has an honours degree in Accounting (CTA) from the University of South Africa.
Dr Nomhle Ngwenya
Dr Ngwenya is the first black woman to have received a science PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand. She does independent consulting on climate change and extreme weather events and has emerged as an important figure in this critical arena. She is well known for her insights into climate-related risks and the repercussions of extreme weather events on developing nations. While navigating the intricate dynamics of climate change mitigation and adaptation, she is committed to raising awareness of climate change and championing solutions. She is actively engaged in providing tailored strategies to the public and private sector.
Dr Ngwenya has published and co-authored journals and articles on green bonds and extreme weather events.
Minister Nzimande is confident that the additional members come with the needed expertise to supplement the Council's current skill set.
