SAN FRANCISCO — The growing list of presenters from across the Diaspora includes infrastructure decisionmakers from Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa.. More than 150 experts and policy makers from across the Diaspora will illuminate the economic future for 1.5 billion Black people.

Michael Magaji, Director of Infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships for the Bureau of Public Enterprises of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Moses Matyayi, CEO of Windhoek, Namibia will headline the Marcus Garvey Day during the 31 Ways 31 Days Festival of the 21st annual Journal of Black Innovation National Black Business Month, originating from the City That Created Cool.

Kganki Matabane, CEO of the Black Business Council of South Africa, will participate in the three day focus on banking, insurance and investment Aug. 25-27.

Farmer Samson Ogbole, team lead of the Eupepsia Place Limited, a soiless farm lab in Ogun State, Nigeria, will present during the Aug. 1 focus on food security.

In Africa’s largest nation, the 200 million population Nigeria, the Bureau of Public Enterprises is managing the spinoff of publicly-owned companies.  See list of completed transactions.

Matyayi brings a wealth of experience in public service, business administration, and leadership. He holds a Master of Arts in Human Resources Management from London Metropolitan University in the United
Kingdom, as well as a Bachelor of Technology in Human Resources from the then Polytechnic of Namibia, now Namibia University of Science and Technology.

Prior to taking on his position at the City of Windhoek, Matyayi held several senior leadership roles. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Otjiwarongo Municipality and as the Chief Executive Officer of the Otavi Town Council for over a decade, from 2010 to 2020.

In addition to his professional achievements, Matyayi’s leadership skills have been honed through his various roles, including his tenure as the President of the Namibian Association of Local Authority Officials (NALAO) from 2021 until present date, Chairperson of the Central North Regional Electricity Distributor (CENORED) Board of Directors, Board Member of the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) amongst others.

Matabane, the former chief operations officer and executive director at Sentech, is  a seasoned business executive with more than two decades’ experience in operations and strategy, doing business on the African continent in the telecommunications, power utilities, rail logistics, motor retail, bus rapid transport and mining sectors. While at Sentech, he drove international business and also achieved five consecutive clean audits – a first for the government agency.

Matabane is also a former executive director for operations and transformation policy at Business Unity SA, and worked for the Black Management Forum, the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, City Power and Transnet.