Africa’s got the creative talent. How do we turn it into business?
African creativity already shapes global culture. Creative Universe is building the leaders and businesses that can turn that influence into sustainable enterprises, African-owned intellectual property, skilled jobs, and global opportunities.
Event information:
Date: Friday 13 November 2026
Time: 10:00–17:00 (SAST)
Cost: Free
Location: Henley Africa campus, 1 Witkoppen Rd, Paulshof, Johannesburg, 2191
About Creative Universe
African creativity shapes what the world watches, wears, hears, plays, and shares. The talent is visible. The businesses behind it are often undervalued and underfunded. Creatives need leadership, business capability, technology, networks, markets, and investment. When their businesses grow, they create work, develop intellectual property, and open opportunities for others.
Creative Universe serves leading creators, distributors, producers, investors, policymakers, and academics working across the ‘creative universe’: gaming, game development, virtual reality, immersive media, film, television, animation, fashion, music, digital content, design, advertising, photography, visual art, content production, and creative technology. It also brings together the investors, sponsors, industry partners, policymakers, researchers, platforms, and audiences needed to help those businesses grow.
MEET YOUR HOST
Thato Moraka – CEO and founder, Leaders in Motion Academy (LIMA)
Thato Moraka has more than 20 years of experience in media and broadcasting. A strategic marketer by expertise, he has developed campaigns for leading brands including Coca-Cola and South African Tourism, and has built cross-border partnerships with Ghana, Botswana, and Lesotho.
For 13 years he has led Gateway Media as Founder and Creative Director. He previously served on the board of the Gauteng Film Commission and currently serves on the South African Women in ICT Forum. A sought-after speaker on the creative industries, he addresses audiences both locally and internationally.
Thato has represented South Africa on promotional missions to the Black History Festival in Ohio, USA, as well as to Ghana and the UK. In August 2024 he joined a trade mission to devcom and Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, supported by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), to attract investment into South Africa’s emerging gaming industry.
A committed champion of South Africa’s creative economy, Thato is passionate about youth development and education. He continually seeks new ways to address the country’s challenges and to harness the power of storytelling in building the African brand. A Henley Business School alumnus, he is the host of the Creative Universe Summit.
Masterclasses
As a delegate, you will have the opportunity to attend four masterclasses of your choice.
While we will make every effort to accommodate your preferred choices, we cannot guarantee that everyone will receive their exact selections. However, we assure you that the options presented will be carefully curated to provide informative and engaging lessons.
Take a look at the day’s programme here.
Meet your speakers
Amit Kumar
Chief Technology Officer, Future Capital
Amit Kumar is Chief Technology Officer at Future Capital, a South African firm that develops AI-focused professional services and forward-deployed engineering for enterprise clients. He has more than 12 years of experience leading cloud, data and data-centre modernisation programmes, including work for Standard Bank, Liberty and Derivco. He has also built three AI data centres.
At Future Capital, Amit helps organisations move AI from early trials into dependable products that can operate at commercial scale. His work centres on practical engineering and on helping African builders retain control of their technology, data, and intellectual property. He brings a technical and commercial view to questions of AI readiness, ownership and investment in African businesses. Outside work, Amit is an ultra-trail runner and cyclist.
Chimwemwe Chalemera
Regional Director for Southern Africa and Country Director for South Africa, UK Government Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
Chimwemwe ‘Chim’ Chalemera is Regional Director for Southern Africa and Country Director for South Africa at the UK Government’s Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. She leads the United Kingdom’s trade, investment and commercial engagement across the region. Chim has worked in the private and public sectors across the United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia. A chartered quantity surveyor by profession, she is a multiple award winner and speaks several languages, including French.
Before taking up her current post, she served as Country Director for the department in Nigeria, where she advanced partnerships between the United Kingdom and Nigeria’s creative sector. Her personal and professional ties across Africa inform her work with businesses and innovators seeking investment, international partners and access to new markets. She remains committed to stronger commercial links between the United Kingdom and African countries.
John Vlismas
Partner and Head of Strategy, OGO Creative
John Vlismas works across comedy, strategy and leadership. He is Partner and Head of Strategy at OGO Creative, as well as a stand-up comedian, academic and diversity, equity and inclusion strategist. Named South African Stand-Up Comedian of the Year in 2007, he reached the finals of Canada’s Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off in 2008. Over two decades on stage, he became known for sharp humour that examines difficult subjects.
John later completed an MBA at Henley Business School Africa on scholarship, earning distinctions in Strategic and Relationship Marketing. He co-authored a Henley white paper on workplace diversity and has presented Player Zero at LeaderEx and other academic and industry forums. A former 46664 Ambassador for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, he uses comedy to help leaders test assumptions, address difference and make better decisions about organisational culture. His work combines audience insight, research and performance experience.
Lebogang Mbana
Managing Director, CHMB Holdings
Lebogang Mbana is a pan-African strategist, corporate governance specialist and keynote speaker with more than 15 years of experience in business leadership and organisational change. Her career includes senior work with Accenture, Deloitte and KPMG, where she advised organisations on corporate strategy, operating priorities and talent. She has worked across agribusiness, asset management and executive development, combining international business practice with knowledge of African markets and institutions. Lebogang also serves as a board director and as a faculty member at Duke Corporate Education.
Her work with the Thabo Mbeki Foundation includes responsibility connected to its financial legacy. As Managing Director of CHMB Holdings, she advises leaders and organisations facing growth, governance and performance decisions. She is a strong advocate for women in leadership and for preparing a new generation of African executives to lead businesses that can compete internationally while responding to local conditions.
Martin Hiller
Portfolio Director, FAME Week Africa
Martin Hiller is Portfolio Director of FAME Week Africa at RX Africa, where he supports the commercial development of Africa’s creative industries. His career spans events, media and entertainment, with experience connecting creative talent, businesses and international markets. Through FAME Week Africa, he works across film, television, music and fashion, bringing industry participants together around business opportunities, distribution and market access.
Martin’s work is informed by a practical understanding of how events can help creative professionals meet buyers, partners and decision-makers from different countries. He is committed to wider participation in the creative industries and to ensuring that African stories and businesses receive serious attention in international markets. His experience gives him a broad view of the partnerships, networks and commercial routes that creative businesses need when they want to reach new audiences and build long-term value.
NickyB
Producer and Presenter of The World Show, Kaya FM 95.9
Nicky ‘NickyB’ Blumenfeld is one of South Africa’s best-known radio voices and a long-standing advocate for African music and culture. She joined Kaya 959 in 1997 and is the producer and presenter of The World Show with NickyB. The programme has introduced audiences to music from South Africa and across the continent, giving artists and genres that receive limited mainstream coverage a regular place on air.
In 2019, Nicky held a fellowship at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, where she worked on Musical Migration, a research project examining the influence of South African music in France. She has received the Order of Princess Magogo for her contribution to indigenous arts and heritage in South Africa and abroad. Drawing on decades in radio, research and cultural programming, Nicky brings informed commentary on music, identity, audience development and the business conditions facing African artists.
Nicola van Niekerk
Senior Vice President of Content and Channels for South Africa, MultiChoice Group and CANAL+
Nicola van Niekerk is Senior Vice President of Content and Channels for South Africa at MultiChoice Group and CANAL+. She has more than 20 years of experience in broadcasting and television, working across a wide range of genres and with both South African and international markets. After working on productions for local and global broadcasters, Nicola joined M-Net in 2012 as a Commissioning Editor. She has since taken on senior responsibility for content and channels serving South African audiences.
Her work includes commissioning, production partnerships and decisions about how African stories are developed, produced and distributed. Nicola is known for her commitment to storytelling and for supporting productions that connect with audiences while meeting the commercial and editorial demands of television. Her experience gives her a direct view of the opportunities and pressures facing producers, broadcasters and creative teams as audience behaviour, technology and distribution models continue to change.
Dr Puleng Makhoalibe
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alchemy Inspiration
Dr Puleng Makhoalibe is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Alchemy Inspiration. For more than two decades, she has worked across creativity, design thinking, leadership and inclusive innovation, combining corporate strategy with methods drawn from the arts. She is a keynote speaker and the author of The Alchemy of Design Thinking. Dr Makhoalibe holds a PhD in Business Management from the University of Cape Town, and a neuroscience certification from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Her work connects research on how people think with practical approaches to creative problem-solving and decision-making. Through Alchemy Inspiration, she works with organisations and leaders that want to strengthen imagination, collaboration and their response to uncertainty. She makes creative methods accessible in business settings and shows how structured imagination can help leaders make decisions and address organisational problems.
Shane Maja
Chief Executive Officer, South African State Theatre
Shane Maja is Chief Executive Officer of the South African State Theatre, with more than two decades of experience in arts administration, cultural policy, media and public-sector leadership. Before joining the theatre, he served as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Gauteng Film Commission, and as Chief Director of Cultural Affairs for the Gauteng Provincial Government.
Earlier in his career, Shane worked as an actor, television presenter and journalist. His screen and broadcast credits include Backstage, Mamepe, Carte Blanche and the film Hijack Stories. He holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Policy and Management from the University of the Witwatersrand. His career brings together first-hand knowledge of artistic work and experience managing public cultural institutions. At the South African State Theatre, he is responsible for the organisation’s leadership, governance and contribution to the performing arts. He is committed to stronger institutions, cross-cultural partnerships and viable working conditions for independent African artists.
Shaun Samuels
Managing Director, SGS Consulting
Shaun Samuels is Managing Director of SGS Consulting and has worked in development management for more than 20 years. He holds a Social Science degree and a postgraduate qualification in adult education from the University of Cape Town.
His career began in the non-governmental sector and has included extensive work with government, regional NGOs, United Nations bodies and Regional Economic Communities, including SADC and the SADC Parliamentary Forum. His areas of work include organisational development, change management, strategy, monitoring and evaluation, grant-making, education and research. Shaun founded SGS in 2002 to provide services focused on social justice, community philanthropy and organisational development. He helped establish and manage South Africa’s Constitutionalism Fund, leading the fund for six years before stepping down in 2021. He was also a founding trustee of the Other Foundation, a regional grant-maker serving LGBTQI+ communities in southern Africa, and serves as a council member at St Peter’s Prep School.
Sipho Ngwema
Head of Communications, Competition Commission of South Africa
Sipho Ngwema is Head of Communications at the Competition Commission of South Africa and an experienced media and reputation management strategist. His career spans journalism, corporate investment, public institutions and private consulting. He first gained national recognition as the founding Head of Communication and spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority and its former anti-corruption unit, the Scorpions.
In 2002, he received the first Government Communicator of the Year award. Sipho has since advised and led communications across Parliament, investment boards managing significant portfolios and private consultancies. He was also seconded back to the National Prosecuting Authority to support the strategic rebuilding of the institution. His work covers public communication, reputation, crisis response and the demands of communicating on matters that carry legal, economic and public interest. At the Competition Commission, he helps explain the institution’s work to businesses, media and the public.
Sithembile Ntombela
Chief Marketing Officer, South African Tourism
Sithembile Ntombela is Chief Marketing Officer of South African Tourism, where she leads the international marketing and brand positioning of South Africa as a destination for leisure and business visitors. She has more than 25 years of experience across the fast-moving consumer goods and public sectors. Before joining South African Tourism, she held several senior roles at Brand South Africa, including Acting Chief Executive Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager of Marketing.
During this period, she contributed to organisational performance and consecutive clean audits. Sithembile is a certified Chartered Marketer South Africa and holds a Master of Commerce. She is also completing a Doctor of Business Administration focused on nation branding. Her international experience includes strategic roles on the advisory boards of the CMO Sub-Saharan Council and City Nation Place in the United Kingdom. Her work connects destination marketing, national reputation and the commercial value of South Africa’s cultural and creative assets.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka
Musician, Actor and Humanitarian
Yvonne Chaka Chaka is a South African musician, actor and humanitarian whose career began in the early 1980s. Born Yvonne Ntombizodwa Machaka in Soweto, she studied Adult Education and Local Government and later graduated in Speech and Drama from Trinity College London. She appeared on South African television in 1981 and was discovered at 19 by Phil Hollis of Dephon Records.
Her screen work includes Foreign Demos, in which she played Josephine. After a backing singer died from malaria in 2004, Yvonne became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership. Her Princess of Africa Foundation works in health and education across Africa. She also served as the first ambassador for Nelson Mandela’s 46664 campaign and is an Honorary Colonel in the South African Air Force. Her honours include the World Economic Forum Crystal Award, the Crans Montana Forum Gold Medal and the BET International Global Good Power Award.
Dr Ziyanda Mzamo
Chief Corporate Services Officer, Kagiso Trust
Dr Ziyanda Mzamo is Chief Corporate Services Officer at Kagiso Trust, with more than 20 years of experience across corporate services, project and programme management, portfolio management, PMO leadership and IT delivery. Her career spans telecommunications, IT consulting, manufacturing and financial services. She has led complex programmes, established project management offices and supported business change through corporate services and technology.
Dr Mzamo also serves on boards and subsidiary administrative boards. She founded BlaQRose Consulting, which provides business enablement, project management, PMO and IT services, and the BlaQRose Foundation, which supports education in rural Eastern Cape communities. Her qualifications include a BCom in Accounting, a Postgraduate Diploma in Management, a Management Advancement Programme, an MBA and a PhD in Business Sciences. Her doctoral research examined innovation, entrepreneurship and immigrant entrepreneurship. She is pursuing corporate governance certification through the Institute of Directors South Africa and is completing her book, Wires.