Chief Research Officer, Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, UCT

Dr Noncedo Vutula is a senior policy strategist and thought leader with over two decades of experience shaping trade, development, and integration agendas across national, continental, and multilateral platforms. Her work operates at the nexus of international trade negotiations, agricultural transformation, regional economic integration, and public sector reform. 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 (CAADP).In her current role as Chief Research Officer for Regional Integration and the AfCFTA at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, she leads high-impact research and strategic engagements that inform public policy, institutional capacity, and implementation of the AfCFTA.

Her areas of research interest include Regional Integration, Value Chains and Industrialization, Agricultural Standards, Climate Change, Agricultural Trade and Food and Nutrition Security. She is a published author, featuring regularly in international peer review journals. Her recently published papers include Trade Facilitation in the AfCFTA as well as the Cassava Value Chain for Food Security in Africa.