The Speakers

Nikkita Ngalande is an accomplished 2019 Rhodes Scholar pursuing a DPhil in Mathematics of Random Systems at the University of Oxford, where she focuses on the stability analysis of financial markets under the supervision of Prof. Rama Cont. 

Previously, she worked as an Actuarial Analyst at Munich Reinsurance in New York and held actuarial internships at Swiss Re in both the United States and South Africa. Nikkita's academic journey began with a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science, with a minor in Economics, from Michigan State University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude as an Honors Student and MasterCard Scholar. 

Her dedication to the field, combined with extensive academic, professional, and leadership experiences, positions her as a rising star in the world of financial mathematics.

Mutale is a 2019 Zambian Rhodes Scholar who is currently working as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Johannesburg, South Africa. At BCG, she advises executives of multibillion dollar revenue African companies across a variety of topics. Prior to this, she worked in Economics Research at Goldman Sachs in London, United Kingdom where she contributed to the building of an emerging markets index which got featured on Bloomberg. 

During her time at Oxford, she read for an MPhil in Economics — where she specialised in quantitative macroeconomics (dynamic programming) and examined the impact of the introduction of a sovereign wealth fund via a dynamic stochastic equilibrium model. 

She also has a BSc in Economics and Finance from the University of Surrey where she specialised in econometrics and graduated top of her class. Mutale has internship experience at Barclays Investment Bank and JP Morgan in London, United Kingdom. She has also interned at EY, KPMG, UNILUS and Spar in Lusaka, Zambia. 

Dr. Samuel Munzele Maimbo is Vice President for Budget, Performance Review, and Strategic Planning since July 1, 2023. In this role, Dr. Maimbo oversees the World Bank's annual Program Budget and All Funds  ̶  including the administrative budget for Bank Budget (BB) funds, Trust Funds, and Reimbursable Funds, ensuring resources are aligned with the institution’s strategic priorities, financial sustainability objectives, efficiency targets and business needs. He also serves as the top advisor to the World Bank’s senior management team on resource management allocation, leads the financial planning and performance review process for the institution’s multi-year Strategy and Business Outlook, and ensures the institution operates within budget. A Zambian national, Dr. Maimbo has nearly thirty years of experience in development, financial markets, resource mobilization and strategic planning.  

Prior to his current position, he served as the Chief of Staff to World Bank Presidents Ajay Banga and David Malpass. He also served as the Director of the International Development Association (IDA) Resource Mobilization and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Corporate Finance department for just over two years, where he was responsible for the implementation of IDA’s hybrid financial model and the policy analysis of IBRD income and corporate finance. In this role, he oversaw the successful IDA20 replenishment one year early, with a record amount of $93 billion. 

In the past 23 years at the World Bank, Dr. Maimbo has held several positions, including Senior Advisor in the Office of the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer. He has also worked on a diverse range of operations and countries in the Bank’s Finance, Competitiveness and Innovations (FCI) Global Practice, including as Practice Manager for Strategy and Operations; and Practice Manager for Long-Term Finance & Risk Management supporting the Agriculture Finance & Insurance, Capital Market Development, Disaster Risk Finance, Housing Finance, Infrastructure Finance, Pensions & Insurance, and Climate Finance programs. He also served as Financial Sector Specialist in three regions, including South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Europe and Central Asia. Dr. Maimbo’s World Bank career began in 2001 in the institution’s Young Professionals Program, serving in strategic roles with increasing responsibility.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Dr. Maimbo held the position of Bank Inspector at the Bank of Zambia and Auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Mr. Maimbo holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration (Banking) from the University of Manchester, an MBA in Finance from the University of Nottingham, a BSc. in Accounting from Copperbelt University, Zambia, and is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA, UK).

Dr. Namukale Chintu is Managing Director at Frontier Market Consultants, a boutique advisory firm focused on African Frontier market investors, including pension funds, private clients, and corporate investors. 

Dr. Chintu is also a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Invesco UK and Invesco Asset Management Ltd (FCA regulated), that have combined assets of over USD 500bn. She is also the National Secretary for the University of Oxford’s Rhodes Trust in Zambia. In her corporate career spanning 20 years, she was a Senior Banker at EFG Private Bank and prior to that, at UBS Wealth Management; responsible for Private Clients with African and Central and Eastern European wealth. Before that, she was Head of Global Proprietary Capital investing in UBS Asset Management. Prior to UBS, she was Co-Head of Africa at Syntaxis Capital and before the 2008 financial crisis, held capital market roles at Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers.

Prior to starting her career in financial services, she worked for the United Nations Development Program and Multichoice in aid coordination client relationship management, respectively. Dr Chintu holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, where she taught on Executive Education programmes including Management Practice and Leadership and is currently a speaker on the school’s Global Executive MBA programme. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Investments and Securities (UK) and a member of the Institute of Directors (UK).

She also holds two MScs in Financial Economics and Management Research from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and a BA in Economics from the University of Zambia as a Bank of Zambia Scholar.

Janet is a Rhodes Scholar and second-year PhD candidate in Engineering Science at Oxford University. Her research aims to assess the impact of climate change on buildings prone to subsidence and heave damage by utilising numerical modelling tools to simulate the interaction of climate, soil, and buildings. 

Janet is passionate about climate resilience and adaptation for infrastructure and hopes to increase knowledge and awareness of the threat climate change poses through her research. Janet studied Civil Engineering at The University of Edinburgh as a MasterCard Foundation Scholar before coming to Oxford. While at Edinburgh, Janet also worked as a research assistant on the RC3 project evaluating the resilience of traditional buildings in Madagascar to cyclones, which are increasing in intensity and frequency due to climate change. 

Janet sits on the Young Members Panel at the Institution of Structural Engineers, where she represents the views of young engineers in several task groups and supports the development of programmes and initiatives for them. She is also co-founder and co-host of SPAN, a podcast that shares knowledge on structural engineering and development opportunities for engineers.

Programme Director, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford.

Alex has 30 years of experience in finance, industry, and academia. At Oxford he directs research programmes focused on mobilising investment to achieve improve sustainable development outcomes. His specialist expertise is in water, impact investment and innovative finance. 

Alex is from Zambia and his current research includes work on the Constituency Development Fund; as well as mobilising impact investment for adaptive responses to the consequences of climate change. Alex holds masters' and doctoral degrees in water from the University of Oxford. He is also the founder of Watermarq, an early stage technology company focused on valuing water.

Dr Lukama read Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of Mancher graduating with a First Class Honours degree. He was then awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to pursue research in Next Generation Wireless Communication systems at Oxford University. His work led to a number of seminal publications in this field and was a member of the National Working Group on Radio Propagation.

Dr Lukama has worked for a number of organisations and commands more than 25 years experience in the technology sector spanning consumer electronics, energy solutions, communication systems and broadcast systems. He has represented the UK at various standards making bodies in Telecommunications and Energy such as ETSI and CEN/CENELEC.

As a founder member of Radiant Consultancy Services, Dr Lukama focuses on providing Sustainable Energy & Technology Solutions with an emphasis on distributed power generation and storage, co-operative power generation and technology scouting. He is keen on technology solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change on the energy value chain.  

Lubasi is a Rhodes Scholar and in the first year of his PhD at Oxford University focusing on the design and optimization of Nature-based solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation in Africa. He also holds a Master of Science in Water Science, Policy and Management from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Engineering from The Copperbelt University.

Before embarking on his academic journey at Oxford, he was heading the Department of Water Resources Development in Kitwe under the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation. While there, he worked with different stakeholders to ensure water security as well as providing policy guidance to both local communities and the government. 

Additionally, Lubasi has worked on various projects in Zambia as a consultant, specialising in groundwater assessments and development, hydrological assessments, water management plans, water balance studies, as well as environmental impacts assessments with a focus on ensuring sustainability, water security and climate resilience.

Dr. Roy Moobola is a mechanical engineer and university lecturer. He has 25 years of industrial experience researching, developing and designing critical engineering systems in the energy, nuclear, aerospace and marine industries. 

He also has 19 years of experience lecturing in engineering at university. He has a DPhil from Oxford University achieved on a Rhodes Scholarship. Projects he has worked on include development of equipment and technical solutions for wind and solar farms, fuel cell power systems, gas turbines, nuclear power stations, aircraft engines, oil rigs, ships and submarines. He has led technical teams in project delivery to strict time and budget constraints.

His passions include innovation in technology to support sustainable development. He is a strong proponent of the power of education to transform lives. As the product of a largely free education, his ambition is to see that all children in Zambia receive a high quality education. He believes that learning and mastering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects are key to our future prosperity.

Varun Shankar is a DPhil candidate in Engineering Science as a Rhodes Scholar from Zambia. He is passionate about accelerating the transition to low-carbon mobility with a focus on reducing transport emissions and improving air quality. 

His research examines the unregulated emissions from the use of renewable fuels in the road transport sector. He is an expert consultant for the OECD International Transport Forum developing evidence-based policy pathways and infrastructure plans to improve the connectivity and resilience of the Southeast Asia regional freight transport sector. 

His previous experience includes detailed life cycle assessments for maritime, net-zero roadmap design, battery supply chain evaluations for utility providers, coastal blue carbon offsetting, and advancing climate-resilient infrastructure in South Asia with the World Bank, AFRY Management Consulting, and the Oxford SDG Impact Lab. He holds an MEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bath. 

Sam has more than 25 years’ experience, combined, both academia and industry in civil engineering specialising in geotechnical construction projects. In academia he is currently an Associate Professor in Civil Engineering at Coventry University where he actively delivers teaching and research. 

In industry he is a Consultant Technical Director at PowerCem Technologies-UK, a fast-growing net-zero carbon and sustainable solutions provider to infrastructure construction industry in UK and abroad, dealing with challenging and complex projects from pre-acquisition through to validation of designs, project management and evaluations. 

In recent years Sam has diversified his interests into technologies of Biomass fuel and energy strategies for sustainable development and supplementation of crippling energy shortages for Africa. 

Currently, Sam is working closely with the Zambian Government on a couple of project proposals 1) with the Road Development Agency at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Development on new methods of construction of roads resilient to climate change, cheaper and durable road and 2) with the Ministry of Energy on the programme to implement the blending of biofuels with fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) from the production and supply of 95 – 99.9% grade ethanol. 

Sam is a member several professional bodies including the British Geotechnical Society, British Dam Society, Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT), Engineering Institution of Zambia, Africa Energy Association, Ethanol Producers Association of Zambia, Zambia Biomass Association.

Elias is a thought provoker, energy entrepreneur and transformation advocate who applies creative and holistic thinking to social and economic challenges in rural and urban settings. 

A Rhodes Scholar and law graduate from the Universities of Zambia and Oxford, Elias founded Zambia's premier and largest legal firm, Corpus Legal Practitioners, 30 years ago while serving on various multinational boards before briefly entering politics to run as a presidential candidate in 2011 and 2015. 

As Chairman and co-Founder of Mentor Me, an SME-development consultancy, his 4 main focus areas are: (i) advising on the design and implementation of an SME Credit Risk Guarantee Scheme backed by Zambia’s Central Bank; (ii) establishing a mindset-intervention based SME Academy; (iv) running Zambia’s first ever business angels network, ZBAN, an organisation he co-Founded and whose Board he chairs; and (iv) promoting the adoption of tested and appropriate hydrokinetic energy innovations across Africa as a way of delivering productive power to rural communities while helping to resolve the energy crisis facing the Continent. Elias is the author of the book: Unequal to the Task? Awakening a New Generation of Leaders in Africa, published in 2010.

Chishimba Kasanga is a Rhodes Scholar reading for a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the lives of three individual Zambian women. She seeks to understand how the biographies of Alice Lenshina, Julia Chikamoneka, and Sara Longwe can provide insights into how women have historically used their bodies as tools in resistance to patriarchy.

Chishimba is the Student Engagement Officer at the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx). She is responsible for identifying ways AfOx can support African graduate students at the University of Oxford. 

She holds an MSc in Social Science of the Internet from the Oxford Internet Institute. Before Oxford, Chishimba was a Beit Scholar and pursued an MA in Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University in South Africa.

Chisanga Chekwe is President of the Masomo Education Foundation, a Canadian charitable organization that provides scholarships to young men and women from low-income families. He also serves as a member of the Ontario Council of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, sitting on the Discipline Committee as well as the Fitness to Practice committee.

Before that he served as Deputy Minister of the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, Women’s Issues, and Seniors’ Affairs, in addition to being secretary general of the Order of Ontario. 

In 1994 Chisanga served as a United Nations Observer and Adjudication Officer to the historic South African election that brought Nelson Mandela to power.  Two years later he served as supervisor of the election in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition to his PPE degree at Oxford, Chisanga has LL. B and LL. M degrees from the Universities of Birmingham and London.

Chisanga is the author of five books on South Africa, Zambia and Investor Migration Programmes.

Patrick had an unconventional upbringing: seven schools before the age of 12, and partly as a result of a dysfunctional family, he was taken in by the Shaftesbury Homes and lived on board the Training Ship Arethusa for two years. Patrick was destined to join the Royal Navy at 16, but the Arethusa closed overnight, and an unknown benefactor changed his life by paying for him to go to Pangbourne College. This opportunity changed his outlook, and he became the first member of his family to go to University. After studying History at Cambridge, Patrick taught at Cheam School and Radley College before becoming Head Master of Solihull School in September 1996, Rugby School in September 2001 and Westminster School in 2014.

Passionate about widening access, Patrick set up the Arnold Foundation for Rugby School in 2003, which provides a boarding education at Rugby to disadvantaged children and was instrumental in setting up the SpringBoard Bursary Foundation, a new national charity closely modelled on the Arnold Foundation. He was a Trustee of IntoUniversity from 2007 – 2020. At Westminster, Patrick was closely involved with Harris Westminster Sixth Form, an academically selective free school that aspires to transform the education of the most able but disadvantaged London students.

Current roles include:

· Chair of Trustees Gladstone’s Library

· Advisory Board of 2 EdTech start-ups: Study Hall and Enrich360

· Advisory Board of Crucible (mission to set up 100 schools across Sub Saharan Africa to create the next generation of African leaders)

· Advisory Board of IntoUniversity and Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation

· Advisory Board of You Can Be (Australian charity modelled on RNCSF)

· Chair of Ultra Education

· Ambassador of Speaker’s Trust

· Advisory Board of Alsama

Patrick was awarded an OBE in 2018 for services to education.

Dzingai Mutumbuka currently serves as a member of the governing board for UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning. He is the former Chair of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), which brings together all African education ministers and donors supporting education in Africa.

Previously, Mr. Mutumbuka held various senior management positions in the education sector at the World Bank from 1990-2007. Prior to joining the World Bank, he held major political appointments in Zimbabwe.  At the age of 34, he served as a Minister in Education and Culture from 1980 to 1988 and then as Minister of Higher Education from 1988 to 1989.

Before Zimbabwe’s independence, Mr. Mutumbuka served as Minister of Education and Culture in the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU (PF)) from 1975 to 1980, after working at the University of Zambia as a University Lecturer he left for Mozambique to become responsible for the education of all Zimbabweans in refugee camps.

Melissa Kapulu is an Associate Professor and Principal Research Investigator at the University of Oxford based at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, in Kenya.

She is a trained immunologist and vaccinologist running a research group and programme of work that develops and/or establishes models, to identify, characterise, understand, and evaluate vaccines, in disease endemic populations. 

She is passionate and committed to building and mentoring the next generation of scientists on the African continent. 

Chisanga Chekwe is President of the Masomo Education Foundation, a Canadian charitable organization that provides scholarships to young men and women from low-income families. He also serves as a member of the Ontario Council of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, sitting on the Discipline Committee as well as the Fitness to Practice committee.

Before that he served as Deputy Minister of the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, Women’s Issues, and Seniors’ Affairs, in addition to being secretary general of the Order of Ontario. 

In 1994 Chisanga served as a United Nations Observer and Adjudication Officer to the historic South African election that brought Nelson Mandela to power.  Two years later he served as supervisor of the election in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition to his PPE degree at Oxford, Chisanga has LL. B and LL. M degrees from the Universities of Birmingham and London.

Chisanga is the author of five books on South Africa, Zambia and Investor Migration Programmes.

Sepiso Mwamelo is the AfOx Scholarship Programme Manager. In this role, Sepiso oversees the comprehensive delivery of the scholarship programme, dedicated to supporting African students in their graduate studies, this includes supporting students to have a seamless transition into Oxford by providing essential pre-arrival support, as well as delivering a range of support programmes, such as the Catch-Up Programme and the Impact and Leadership Programme. 

These initiatives are crafted to enhance scholar welfare and leadership development. Prior to joining Oxford, she was actively involved in fundraising for scholarships and has extensive experience in writing about scholarship programme management. 

Alaba Angole, is a PhD Social Anthropology candidate at the University of Oxford with an interdisciplinary background in Chemistry and Law. Supported by the Rhodes scholarship, her current research delves into understanding the infrastructure of the skin lightening industry in Zambia and explores the mechanisms driving the widespread use of skin lightening products among Zambian youth. 

Her ethnographic study aims to illuminate the interconnected networks and channels influencing the movement and utilization of these products. Additionally, she delves into the multifaceted concept of toxicity, examining scientific and institutional definitions alongside the affective dimensions and perceptions of toxicity experienced by everyday users of skin lightening products.