SA Innovation Week
Boma Stage (Outside)
Day 1: 18 March 2026
PANEL: The Next Evolution of Growth in an AI Era
Why Digital Trust Is Foundational to Sustainable Innovation

Timothy Maurice Webster
Applied Neuroscience Practitioner, and Brand Psychology Expert

Mali Mothiba
Equate Group
CREATOR HUB: Innovation meets Influence

Botlhale Boikanyo
Botlhale Boikanyo Foundation

Michelle Expert
Resonate Communications (Pty) Ltd

Reggie Mohlabi
Content Creator and Creative Strategist
LIGHTNING TALK: From Research to Real-World Ventures
- Translating research into industry-ready pilots
- What Successful Founders Do Differently: Lessons from African Business Heroes
- Building Innovation in Hard Markets: Lessons from South Africa’s Mobility Economy

Zahra Baitie-Boateng
Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH)

Dr Andrew Bailey
University of Cape Town

Jamie Thurston Wyngaard
Loop
LIGHTNING TALKS: HealthTech, Fintech & SpaceTech
- HealthTech: How digital tools are transforming health systems
- FinTech Disruption: Startups improving financial access or transparency
- SpaceTech for Development: Satellites, earth observation, and local innovation

Kurhula Baloyi
Sum1 Investments

Nandi Mtethwa
RIIS
LIGHTNING TALKS: Innovation Momentum
- Africa’s continental innovation momentum

Rene Parker
RLabs: Co-Founder & Director
Day 2: 19 March 2026
CREATOR HUB: The Creator Tech Stack
PANEL: Venture Builders in Action
Designing Ventures for Scale from Day One

Gian-Marco Melfi
Partner: OneBio Venture Studio

Nick Allen
Savant Venture Fund
LIGHTNING TALKS: Digital Trust
- Cyber Alliance: Digital Trust as Economic Infrastructure
- GOOGLE Lightning Talk
LIGHTNING TALKS: Innovation for Inclusion
Building Opportunity Through Technology, Entrepreneurship and Impact Capital
- Digital Inclusion: Bridging the technology gap for underserved communities
- From Support to Scale: What Women Founders Actually Need
- From Grant to Growth: Funding Innovation that Delivers Social Impact

Candice Chirwa
QRATE

Jason Bygate
Capacitate Social Solutions
LIGHTNING TALKS: Public Value & Emerging Economies
- Innovation for Public Value
- Beyond Silicon Valley: How Emerging Economies Are Building World-Class Innovation Ecosystems

Klariska Moodley
UNICEF South Africa