Keynote Speakers

Refilwe Sarah Mpho Buthelezi is a Professional Engineer (PrEng) and current President of the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO) as well as the first female President of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). She champions the Operational Technology function at Rand Water and is a Fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE).

She serves as a Non-Executive Director of SANRAL and Transnet and sits on the Programme Steering Committee for the Infrastructure Technical Assistance Facility supporting sustainable development in South Africa. Passionate about STEM promotion, she co-founded the Pfuxani STEM Foundation.

Her recognitions include the SAIEE Women in Engineering Award (2021), University of Johannesburg Dignitas Award (2022), UK-South African Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Award (2023) and being named among the Top 10 Performing Presidents of Professional Bodies in Africa (2023).

Refilwe is a firm Pan-Africanist, committed to advancing engineering standards and collaboration across the continent.

Dr. Inga Jacobs-Mata brings over 15 years of dynamic leadership in water security and multi-level environmental governance, guiding transdisciplinary teams. Since her association with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in 2019 as the Country Representative for Southern Africa and Regional Representative for Southern Africa, Dr. Jacobs-Mata has effectively implemented IWMI’s strategy in the region and steered large-scale scaling and delivery initiatives including the CGIAR’s Regional Integrated Initiative for East and Southern Africa, IWMI’s involvement in the World Bank-funded Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research in Africa (AICCRA) Zambia project, and IWMI’s contributions to the USAID-funded Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I). In her former capacity as CGIAR Country Convenor for South Africa, she has also made significant contributions in growing CGIAR’s presence in South Africa. Now based in Kenya, and appointed as IWMI’s Director for Growth and Inclusion, she continues her impactful work globally providing science leadership to research teams in water governance and political economy; gender and social inclusion; circular economy; and economics and impact assessment. Before her tenure at IWMI, she held leadership positions including the research group leader at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa, and as the Executive Manager for Business Development, Marketing, and Communications at the Water Research Commission. Dr. Jacobs-Mata is an accomplished political scientist, with a PhD in International Relations from St-Andrews University, Scotland, and a Masters in International Relations and Political Science from Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

A/Head: Origination & Client Coverage – Transport, Logistics, Water & Sanitation; and
Principal – Infrastructure Financing, South Africa & International, DBSA Investment Division

Master of Finance & Investment (MFI)(Cum laude) (Wits Business School); Bachelor of Commerce (Business Finance & Accounting)(Wits University)(Golden Key International Award); MDP (Distinction & Merit).

25 years developmental infrastructure financing, private equity and investment banking experience from South Africa, SADC and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Leonardo started working as a civil engineering student in the Eden District Municipality after which he worked in a range of technical and management positions at the National Department of Water and Sanitation in Pretoria until 2023. During this period, he developed and executed various innovations in water and sanitation management space, and most note-worthy the award-winning incentive-based regulation Blue Drop and Green Drop programs, as well as the published wastewater risk abatement planning program. During his stint serving as the Deputy Director General for Water Resource Infrastructure Management, he explored with capital project funding innovations and invested in ideation to improve asset management of government water schemes.

He added a master’s degree in engineering management and a postgraduate diploma in business management to his academic credentials. He is currently pursuing further research in the field of systems engineering as it relates to unplanned settlements and its impact on sanitation systems.

He currently holds the position of Executive Director: Water and Sanitation for the City of Cape Town, where he is tasked with ensuring the resilience of the water supply and the sustainable operation of wastewater systems throughout the City.

Wandile Sihlobo is South Africa’s Presidential Envoy on Agriculture and Land. He is also Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of three books, “The Uncomfortable Truth About South Africa’s Agriculture (March 2025)”, “A Country of Two Agricultures: The Disparities, the Challenges, the Solutions (2023)” and “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture (2020)”.

He is a Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University. Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 (and re-appointed in 2024), having served on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture from 2018. He is also a member of the Council of Statistics of South Africa (Stats SA) and a Commissioner at the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC).

Sihlobo is the Chairman of the Agribusiness Working Group of the BRICS Business Council (South Africa). Sihlobo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Fort Hare and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Stellenbosch University.