Melissa Govender

Based in Johannesburg, Melissa Govender works as a Senior Policy Manager for the African continent, identifying areas for collaboration within the digital economy. Melissa’s work focuses on the digital divide, and how technology can be used to unlock economic opportunities and growth in Africa, ensuring alignment with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Prior to Access Partnership, Melissa headed up Regulatory Engagements for British American Tobacco’s Southern African operations. Melissa has spent over five years working in the financial sector, where she assessed prudential and market conduct regulation; she also assisted with the establishment of Standard Bank’s Regulatory Advocacy Unit and pioneered The Regulatory Dialogue series.

Melissa has trained as a diplomat and, on completion of her master’s degree in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics, she was selected for the Development Bank of Southern Africa’s Young Professional Program. Melissa holds a BA degree in Political Science and Media Writing, obtained from the University of Cape Town.

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