Muano Karidza

Senior Product Development Specialist: Credit Card,

Absa Personal and Private Banking

Ayanda Mbonambi

Experience Design Lead,

Absa CIB

Jennifer Stuart

Principal Design Consultant,

Spot On Consulting

Jonelle Kuyler

Senior Manager: Customer Insights, Absa Personal and Private Banking

Call for Speakers

We welcome speakers from design, product, technology, research, business architecture, transformation, ethics, and policy — any discipline that can show how trust and design shape business outcomes.

Applications close DD-MM-YYYY

Apply to speak

Topics to explore

Trust as a driver of organisational value

Trust in African contexts

Trust in high‑stakes & high‑risk environments

Design systems  & trust

Ethical innovation  & tech governance

De‑biasing research,  data & insight

Got another idea? If it fits the 2026 theme, we’re all ears!

Yashoda Ram

Founder & CEO,

The Manifesto

Candice Bond

Product Manager: Customer Innovation, ShopriteX

Jade Willemse

Design Director,

Absa Africa Regional Operations

Hannah Gould

Experience Design Director,
Absa Personal and Private Banking

A strong speaker proposal

1.

Local relevance: Reflect real African contexts and lived experiences

2.

Strong narrative: Share a story‑driven narrative, not a theoretical lecture

3.

Originality: Bring unique angles or uncommon insights to the stage

4.

Audience value: Provide ready-to-use tools, frameworks and methods

5.

Evidence: Ground your talk in real case studies and data

Designing digital futures: Rethinking global tech for the African context

Darren Bak

Head of Intelligent Data,
Synthesis Software Technologies

Brandon Fairweather

Strategy and Design Executive,
Synthesis Software Technologies

Nelri Venzke

Senior Design Director, 

Absa Personal and Private Banking

Zaheera Ismail

Experience Design Director, 

Absa Personal and Private Bank

XDC 2025 Theme

Designing for Trust: The Currency of the Future

Designing digital futures: Rethinking global tech for the African context

XDC 2026 is all about how trust becomes the true currency of digital transformation in Africa. It builds naturally on 2025’s theme 'Designing Digital Futures', while shifting focus from technological possibility to human belief.  

Africa’s unique cultures demand a level of personal engagement in an age where AI, automation and data-driven systems are optimised for efficiencies, analytics and bottom-line results. Trust is the crucial stepping stone that reshapes these strategies for African users. Creating belief, positive perceptions and most importantly real relationships.

The ideal XDC speaker

Has prior speaking experience

Can deliver engaging content to large audiences

Brings real case studies with measurable outcomes

Demonstrates expertise in their chosen topic

Is willing to promote our event to their personal networks

Is willing to engage in pre-event speaker orientations and dry-runs

Absa is unable to pay for travel, accommodation or other expenses*

Join the circle of innovators

Whether you're here to learn, connect, or inspire new ideas, this is where bold thinking meets real impact. Come meet other curious minds, soak up insights, be part of the conversations shaping the future of design and end the day with conversation and good food.