OUR TEAM

Banelise holds an Honours degree in Agricultural Economics from Free State University. With a strong academic foundation and practical experience in the rural development space, she has developed expertise in project coordination, administration, and management. Her expertise lies in driving impactful and transformative projects that enhance agricultural practices and empower rural communities. She has played a pivotal role in various transformative initiatives, including the Women in Farming and Agribusiness Incubator Programs.

Mareli Prinsloo attains her MSc (Agric) Food Science degree from the University of Pretoria in 1997. She devotes her career as a Training and Development Specialist and Project Manager, currently with 24 years’ experience, varied in project management and quality assurance of training and development projects, skills development facilitation (SDF), administration/coordination, unit standards writing, qualification design, workplace training and assessments, moderation of assessments and development of learning material and assessment tools for the Food Manufacturing Industry and in the broader Agricultural space.”

Aisha is an accomplished agricultural economist with a profound passion for the entire agricultural value chain. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management from the University of Pretoria, along with qualifications in the SAIFM Agricultural Markets Dealers Exam, Poultry Management, and a Beekeeping Course. Currently thriving as a project manager in rural development, she finds inspiration in the empowerment and upliftment of rural farming communities. With her strong understanding of agricultural markets, Aisha is driven by her aspiration to become a farmer herself one day.

Lesley has more than 10 years’ of experience in the workplace. She has worked her way up the ranks from a Safety Officer to her current position as Administrator and shows no intention of slowing down in her pursuit of corporate excellence. Her experience includes being – Safety Officer and administration, High-level Personal Assistant to Directors and General Managers. Human Resources Management and Administrator. Payroll Administrator.

She is obtaining the required credits needed to complete her bachelor’s degree in accounting.  She believes continuous improvement can only be achieved through vigilance, dedication, and hard work.

Pieter has more than 20 years’ experience in various leadership roles in agriculture. Apart from being a commercial farmer, he was a project leader with the Deloitte Africa Agribusiness Unit (DAAU), founder of Afrilogic and Managing Director of an agro- input manufacturer. He has extensive experience in Financial and Agricultural Risk Management, Company and Asset Valuations, Due Diligence and Feasibility Studies in Agriculture across Africa. Pieter was the project leader on many strategic interventions in Africa for corporates and agri- businesses, and he has held various leadership roles in organised agriculture and was a lead facilitator for the President’s Agri Phakisa initiative. He manages a strong team of professionals that focus on agriculture development, strategy, operations and dealmaking in the agriculture industry.

Dr. Kathy Hurly possesses an in-depth understanding of both the commercial and technical aspects of agricultural value chains. She has significant experience with commercial operations in tandem with small-scale agriculture, particularly in South Africa. Since 1983, Dr. Hurly has been engaged in the agricultural value chain. Her involvement began with her Honour’s project, which introduced a solution to the then-nascent Rooibos Tea industry. Her solution notably reduced seedling mortality, paving the way for the successful planting of commercial fields. For her PhD research, Dr. Hurly delved into the manipulation of sugar in Guayule with the goal of boosting rubber production, a commodity that was scarce in South Africa during the late 80s. Additionally, she has lectured Honours’ students and overseen their projects, further expanding her interests in plant products and innovative value chains.

Angelo Petersen is an experienced senior executive, board chairman, director, general manager and business leader. He has been active in the transformation process in the fruit export and agricultural sector with particular focus on the establishment of commercial black fruit export farmers, and is experienced in dealing with the complexities and dynamics of public institutions, board governance and challenging stakeholders. This was gained serving as a director on the boards of a number of leading agri businesses, industry bodies and public sector entities. Angelo is currently the chairperson of NAMC, non-executive chairperson of Capespan Namibia and Capespan Farms, non-executive director of Agri Enterprises (Pty) Ltd and industry body Hortgro (Pty) Ltd. Prior to this, he was the Chairperson of the PPECB from 2013 – 2020 and the Executive Head: Global HR/ Corporate Services and subsidiary board director at global fruit marketer and logistics player, the Capespan Group (CGL). Angelo joined CGL in 1999 and held increasingly senior positions in strategy, human resources and general management.”