BOARD
Our Next Monthly Call
Dr. Mmboneni Muofhe, Deputy Director-General for Socio-Economic Innovation Partnerships, Department of Science and Innovation, South Africa
Dr. Mmboneni Muofhe is the Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Socio-Economic Innovation Partnerships at the Department of Science and Innovation in South Africa. Dr Muofhe previously held the position of Deputy Director-General for International Resources and Cooperation and Deputy Director-General for Technology Innovation in the same Department.
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Dr. Muofhe holds a PhD in Management of Technology and Innovation, Master of Business Administration and Master of Science. He has years of experience in the South African Science, Technology and Innovation System and the global innovation systems in general, which includes doing scientific research, managing research, international cooperation, development and implementation of innovation funding schemes and implementation of various innovation initiatives and instruments.
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Dr Muofhe led the implementation of various science, technology and innovation strategies such as the National Space Science Strategy, Bioeconomy, and Hydrogen South Africa (Energy). He currently leads the implementation of the Circular and Digital Economy (the new sources of growth) aspects of the White Paper for Science, Technology and Innovation; the Modernisation of critical sectors of the South African Economy such as Mining, Agriculture and Manufacturing and the mainstreaming of Science, Technology and Innovation in government through innovation sensitive planning and budget coordination.
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He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the World Health Organisation’s mRNA Technology Transfer Hub which is entrusted with building vaccine manufacturing capabilities in low- and middle-income countries. Dr Muofhe is also the South African Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Principal, a member of its Executive Committee and one of its four Co-chairs.
South Africa's Innovation Frontier: Circular Economy, Industrial Modernisation, and the New Sources of Growth
Dr. Mmboneni Muofhe, Deputy Director-General for Socio-Economic Innovation Partnerships at South Africa's Department of Science and Innovation, will share how South Africa is translating Science, Technology and Innovation policy into action — from scaling the circular and digital economy as new engines of growth, to modernising critical sectors like mining, agriculture, and manufacturing, to embedding innovation into government planning and budgeting itself. Drawing on his experience leading national strategies spanning space science, the bioeconomy, and hydrogen energy, as well as his current work bridging the persistent gap between research and market-ready innovation, Dr. Muofhe will offer a look at what it takes to move innovation policy from ambition to measurable socio-economic impact — including lessons from his role on the WHO's mRNA Technology Transfer Hub and as a Co-chair of the Group on Earth Observations.