Palesa Kganane

Palesa Kganane is the Senior Programme Coordinator: Strategic Partnerships at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa. She also serves as Executive Secretariat of the Africa Semiconductor Technical Advisory Group (ASTAG) under the AUDA-NEPAD Africa Semiconductor Initiative and is a member of the Operations Committee for the Science Diplomacy Capital for Africa (SDCfA).

With over 10 years of experience in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy and international programme management, she specialises in strategic partnerships, stakeholder engagement, science diplomacy, programme governance, and multilateral coordination that advance Africa’s industrialisation and innovation agenda. Her work includes collaboration with AUDA-NEPAD, WAITRO, the European Union, USAID, GIZ etc, with a focus on partnership development, resource mobilisation, and cross-border collaboration frameworks.

At CSIR, she supports the implementation of the CSIR Africa Strategy, strengthening research and innovation ecosystems, promoting industrial value chain participation, and fostering the institutional partnerships needed to accelerate Africa’s STI and sustainable development priorities.

Palesa holds a Master of Management in Public Policy and Governance from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and is currently pursuing a PhD in Governance at the Wits School of Governance, with research focused on industrial policy, state capacity, and Africa’s participation in emerging technology value chains, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation.