Keynote speaker, fireside chat guest, and panelist.
Business leaders, global investors, policymakers, corporate boards, emerging-market innovators, gender equity advocates, and organizations focused on leadership, technology, and inclusive growth.
Leading Through Disruption: Building Future-Fit Organizations
A compelling look at how leaders can navigate rapid change, strengthen decision-making, and build resilient teams. Phuti explores what future-fit leadership looks like in an era defined by technological acceleration and global uncertainty.
Africa’s Innovation Opportunity: Scaling Growth in a Digital Economy
An exploration of the unique trends shaping Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem. Phuti outlines how companies can unlock growth by aligning digital strategy with local needs, talent, and emerging markets.
Inclusive Leadership: Expanding Access, Opportunity, and Impact
A powerful session on the role inclusive leadership plays in driving stronger cultures, better performance, and long-term competitiveness. Phuti highlights practical ways to empower diverse teams and elevate new voices.
Corporate Transformation: Turning Legacy Strengths into Strategic Advantage
Focused on established organizations seeking reinvention, this keynote reveals how legacy companies can stay agile, adopt new technologies, and avoid stagnation while honoring what made them successful.
Women in Leadership: Breaking Barriers and Building Pathways
Drawing on her own journey, Phuti provides a candid, energizing talk on navigating corporate leadership as a woman in high-stakes environments. She offers clear strategies for cultivating confidence, influence, and meaningful change.
Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa is one of Africa’s most influential business leaders, known for her strategic vision, operational excellence, and unwavering commitment to inclusive economic growth. As CEO of Naspers South Africa—one of the continent’s largest technology and investment groups—she plays a pivotal role in shaping the region’s digital economy and expanding access to transformative technologies. Her career spans global finance, infrastructure development, private equity, and executive leadership, giving her a multidimensional understanding of what drives progress in emerging markets.
Phuti began her career in New York in infrastructure finance before returning to South Africa, where she led major initiatives at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. She later became CEO of the Shanduka Group, overseeing a diverse investment portfolio, and went on to co-found Sigma Capital, an investment firm focused on innovative, growth-oriented assets. Her leadership portfolio includes serving on boards of multinationals, advising governments, and championing youth employment, entrepreneurial development, and women’s leadership.
Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa is one of Africa’s most respected business leaders, known for her strategic clarity, global perspective, and unwavering commitment to inclusive economic growth. As the CEO of Naspers South Africa—one of the continent’s largest technology and investment powerhouses—she plays a central role in advancing digital transformation and expanding access to innovation across emerging markets. Her leadership is rooted in a rare combination of financial acumen, operational experience, and a deep understanding of the social and economic forces shaping Africa’s future.
Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa’s career began in New York in infrastructure finance, where she built a foundation in complex deal-making and economic development. Returning to South Africa, she took on senior roles at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, leading mission-critical projects focused on national growth and strategic infrastructure. Her work during this period sharpened her ability to balance commercial objectives with societal impact—an approach that has shaped her leadership ever since.
In 2004, she became CEO of the Shanduka Group, one of South Africa’s most influential investment companies. Over more than a decade, she oversaw a wide-ranging portfolio across energy, resources, real estate, and industrial sectors, guiding the company through expansion and strategic repositioning. In 2015, Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa co-founded Sigma Capital, an investment firm focused on innovative, high-growth opportunities. Her work there further established her as a forward-thinking leader capable of identifying emerging trends long before they become mainstream.
Since joining Naspers in 2019, Phuti has helped accelerate the company’s role in supporting entrepreneurship, scaling technology solutions, and driving digital inclusion across the continent. Her leadership emphasizes talent development, responsible innovation, and building ecosystems where young entrepreneurs and emerging leaders can thrive.
Beyond her executive responsibilities, Phuti is a global voice on leadership, innovation, and inclusive growth. Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa has advised multinationals, spoken at premier global conferences, and worked closely with governments and development institutions. Her academic background is equally distinguished, with an MBA from De Montfort University and advanced studies in leadership, strategy, and public policy from Oxford University and Harvard Kennedy School.
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Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa joins a group of leading CEOs to discuss what genuine corporate innovation looks like across the African continent. The conversation centers on how organizations can adapt to rising digital expectations, shifting customer needs, and the acceleration of AI, fintech, and platform-driven business models.
Phuti emphasizes that innovation must be both strategic and inclusive, grounded in solving real problems for African consumers and communities. She highlights the importance of building strong digital infrastructure, investing in local talent, and empowering teams to experiment without fear of failure. She also stresses that innovation doesn’t happen in isolation—it requires partnerships between corporates, startups, government, and investors to create ecosystems capable of scaling solutions across diverse markets.
Throughout the discussion, she shares insights from her leadership role at Naspers South Africa, reflecting on how major companies can remain agile despite their size. She talks about rethinking legacy systems, embedding digital-first thinking at every level, and ensuring that young leaders have pathways to create and challenge ideas. Other panelists reinforce themes of purpose-driven leadership, regulatory collaboration, and strategic risk-taking.
The session closes with a strong message: Africa’s future depends on bold, adaptive organizations willing to build with intention, invest in innovation, and develop solutions that reflect the continent’s unique opportunities and constraints. Phuti’s contributions highlight the combination of vision, discipline, and local understanding required to lead that transformation.
07:10 Phuti on the importance of solving real local problems, not chasing trends
15:22 How major corporates can stay agile and avoid legacy-driven stagnation
23:40 Building ecosystems through partnerships with startups, investors, and government
31:55 The critical role of talent, culture, and empowered young leaders
39:10 Balancing risk, regulation, and rapid technological change
Leadership, economic transformation, innovation in emerging markets, digital inclusion, women in leadership, and building resilient organizations.
Yes. Phuti regularly addresses international conferences, corporate leadership teams, and African innovation and development forums.
Her combination of global financial expertise, deep understanding of African markets, and lived experience breaking barriers gives audiences both inspiration and actionable strategy.
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