Nadia Naidoo
Nadia is a service designer with 20+ years in the design industry. Her career has come full circle: starting with web design, diving into coding, mastering customer experience (CX), and now back to her true passion—crafting meaningful services that deliver.
Mika O’Donovan
Hi, I am Mika, a humanity-centred designer with a passion for sustainable interaction design. Design impacts the way we use products and can influence the availability of natural resources on our planet. I believe that when products and systems are created, designers should consider the entire product lifecycle so as to develop a closed-loop system that is in line with a green future.
I did my honours in behaviour change theory and persuasive technology, being inspired by Leyla Acaroglu, BJ Fogg and Don Norman. In my honours year, I investigated how technology can influence people‚ behaviours for a pro-sustainability outcomes. Since then, I’ve worked at Glucode as an app designer and experience design lead, learning the ins and outs of what makes a good digital experience.
More recently I’ve been inspired by Don Norman’s book ‚’Design for a Better World’‚ and would love to open up the conversation about how design can impact the world in a positive way.
Barend Chamberlain
I am a senior UX Engineer at Entelect. I come from the branding and marketing world of design. I have always had a passion for design and how it impacts our lives everyday.
Kayembe Gilles Ilunga
Starting off at SAB, Kayembe’s career spans across FMCG, Financial Services, Consulting, and 31 African countries where he led a product and business development team that created micro insurance capabilities in partnership with mobile network operators, retailers, and insurance companies. As the former Director in the Cloud & Digital capability at PwC, Head of Mobile Customer Solutions for Emerging Markets, Head of Digital Operations and Executive Head of Digital & Data Analytics for the SADC region at Old Mutual, and he has great insights into how digital, data analytics and digital marketing is shaping across the continent.
Kayembe has recently given a TEDx talk on leveraging experience design principles when creating a customer, employee, and leadership proposition, and was the Head of Digital and one of the directors of PocketFin, a financial literacy proposition which is now the sole provider of financial education to CNBC Africa.
On top of being a being the current Director of Business Consulting at Technicap Partners, Kayembe holds a qualification in Agile Leadership from the Namibia University of Science & Technology (NUST), an Honours from WITS Business School, and has just completed his Masters in Digital Business from WITS Business School. He and his team have been exploring the breakthroughs and wonders of AI to create memorable experiences for their customers and the firm.
Estee Jacobs
Estee is a Senior UX Engineer at Entelect, renowned for her expertise in Service Design. With a keen eye for detail and a holistic approach to product development, she seamlessly integrates functionality with user experience, ensuring every design aspect meets user needs.
Beyond her role, Estee mentors future designers as a guest lecturer at the University of Pretoria since 2021, equipping them with crucial UX/UI skills. As a local leader at the Interaction Design Foundation, she leads discussions on cutting-edge design topics, fostering an innovative community.
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Lucky Nkosi
Lucky is a software engineer who currently works as the Head of R&D at BBD, a global bespoke software development firm. He has experience building and maintaining enterprise solutions with varying tech stacks, from VB6 and .Net to web and cloud technologies.
Some of his biggest interests are education and activism. To feed these passions, he is a co-organiser of the web-focused meetup, Jozi.js -and a lecturer at Wits University.
Stephan Swart
Stephan Swart has chosen engineering leadership as his craft. Stephan has held various titles including developer, architect, agile coach, and CEO of a 16-person startup. He is currently employed as Head of Engineering and DevOps at MagnaBC. Here he actively creates work environments where software teams and individuals can flourish. He has seen the insides of small, medium, and large organisations. He has grown a reputation for bringing clarity, trust, and courage to all the teams he has been part of.
Ebbie Swart
Ebbie Swart is a Video producer turned Developer, turned UX Designer. Ebbie creates joy not only through his work but also in how he helps his teams work together. Ebbie is well known to create flow in his teams and actively seeks better ways of working. Ebbie, in his own humble way, is never silent about hard things. He believes that those who live to their values are the ones who live lives that leave an impact.
Alfi Oloo
Alfi is a founder and product designer and aspiring agent, with a deep interest in mentorship. His expertise spans advertising, fintech, and smart technology, including IoT.
In advertising, he honed his passion for communication and presentation. Fintech exposed him to managing large teams and the effectiveness of podcasting, while IoT ignited his interest in cutting-edge technologies and hardware solutions. Alfi is a resident instructor at the Sensemakers Club, where he is co-creating a peer-mentorship and self-directed learning framework.
And finally, CampFire, an ed-tech start-up, aims to redefine education by building a new generation of mentors to lead Africa’s youth to a promising future. His career trajectory showcases a blend of innovation, leadership, and a deep commitment to education and mentorship.
Kate van Niekerk
Kate is an anthropologist and UX researcher. Her passion for research is rooted in a commitment to understanding the needs of the humans we design products and services for and how to do it better. She is a co-founder of She Can Do, an NPO working to empower women in the South African design industry.