Dr Noncedo Vutula is Chief Research Officer for Regional Integration and the AfCFTA at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, where she leads research and strategic engagements that inform public policy, institutional capacity, and implementation of the AfCFTA. Her work operates at the nexus of international trade negotiations, agricultural transformation, regional economic integration, and public sector reform. She has over two decades of experience shaping trade, development, and integration agendas across national, continental, and multilateral platforms. As a representative of South Africa at the World Trade Organization, she led multilateral negotiations and chaired the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (2018-2019). At the continental level, she has been a key player in shaping and implementing strategic frameworks such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme.