She is a philanthropist with a generous heart, a businesswoman, a medical doctor with a passion for women’s health; and is recognised as one of the 50 most powerful women on the African continent by Forbes Africa. Appointed as the University of Cape Town’s sixth Chancellor in January 2020, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe’s philanthropic and business interests are intertwined, with a special focus on education, women, youth empowerment and the creative arts industries.

Drawing from extensive work and engagement with young people across the continent, Dr Moloi-Motsepe will share her insights at the upcoming Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit, hosted by UCT and the University of Bristol. Her session, themed “From brain drain to knowledge circulation: African leadership in talent, innovation and mobility’, will reframe talent mobility away from deficit narratives, focusing instead on knowledge circulation, institutional capacity‑building and African‑led innovation ecosystems.

As a higher education leader, Dr Moloi-Motsepe supports youth leadership development and is a proponent for Africa’s participation in the global knowledge economy. Through the Motsepe Foundation, she has expanded access to tertiary education, donating R30 million in 2023 to Students’ Representative Councils at 26 universities across South Africa in a bid to help alleviate student concerns surrounding registration, fees, and historical debt. When the world was plunged into uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Motsepe Foundation donated R5 million to help UCT manage its multi-faceted response to the global pandemic. 

Moloi-Motsepe said at the time: “Due to the unexpected nature of the pandemic, staff and students were in a precarious position. Understanding that many of our students come from very impoverished backgrounds, making the arrangements for everyone to leave campus was a difficult and stressful period.”

“I watched with sadness a student from a rural community interviewed on TV mention that she relied on computers at the university library to do her work as she doesn’t have a laptop. Now that the university was closed, she was expected to do her work online, which was just not possible.”

With these challenges in mind, the trustees of the Motsepe Foundation had committed R5 million for UCT to assist its students and staff and its coronavirus crisis management. In times of crisis, it’s vital that leaders lead by example, she said.

Through her company Africa Fashion International, Moloi-Motsepe also promotes African creativity, education and business growth to support greater economic participation across the continent.

Focus of her session at the THE World Academic Summit

• What are some innovative examples of university initiatives looking to accelerate domestic enrolment, and match academic programmes with the realities of the local job markets? 
• What models of talent circulation are emerging across African higher education? 
• How can universities strengthen domestic research ecosystems while remaining globally connected? 
• What role do African institutions play in redefining global knowledge production? 

Read Dr Moloi-Motsepe’s citation.

See a detailed THE World Academic Summit programme.