Let's Talk Data

Minister Solly Malatsi sits down with Lebogang Langa to talk about what governing a digital economy actually requires, when the technology moves faster than the frameworks built to contain it, and the infrastructure it runs on is largely owned elsewhere.

The conversation moves through the National AI Policy withdrawal and what it revealed about how government is adopting AI without governance, the Starlink and equity equivalent investment controversy and what problem it was actually trying to solve, and a direct challenge drawn from the Freedom Charter: if "the people shall share in the…

What does it actually cost to lead at scale? Not the version you see on LinkedIn; the real one. The loneliness. The pressure to perform strength even when you're breaking. The feedback that forces you to look at yourself honestly.

Nomonde White is a multi-award-winning technology executive serving as Managing Executive and Chief Information Officer for Group Compliance at Absa Group, where she leads enterprise-wide technology strategy across compliance and regulatory platforms in a complex, multi-jurisdictional banking environment. Previously CIO at Bidvest Bank, she was recognised…

Your personal data is sitting inside institutions you trust; banks, telecoms, technology companies, being processed, protected, and in some cases misused, in ways most people never see and rarely question.

Amenda has spent her career being the person responsible for what happens to it. A former litigator who found her way into data privacy before most organisations knew they needed it, she has built privacy functions from scratch across telematics, telecommunications, and financial services and today leads data privacy at one of South Africa's most significant financial institutions.

In…

What does it mean to build an agricultural system that is not just more efficient; but more just?

In this episode of Let's Talk Data, Lebogang Langa sits down with Faith Burn, Chief Technology and Operations Officer at the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa. Faith has led technology across some of South Africa's most complex organisations - Eskom, Novartis, Tsebo, and now Land Bank. In this conversation, she speaks candidly about the digital divide facing rural farmers, the ethics of agricultural data ownership, and what it would take for South Africa to move from talking…

Most banks are still tinkering at the edges. Bank Zero bet everything on building differently. Behind that bet is a technology leader who has spent decades learning not just how to build systems, but how to build the judgment to know which system to build.

Gita Daya is CIO of Bank Zero and one of the most experienced technology leaders in South African financial services. In this conversation we cover the architectural philosophy behind one of the continent's boldest banking experiments, the real meaning of innovation in a heavily regulated industry, and what AI is actually exposing about…

In this episode of Let’s Talk Data, Lebogang Langa sits down with Wendy Turner Williams to explore what the 2026 Chief Data & AI Officer mandate truly demands.

From enterprise intelligence and semantic modelling to board-level accountability, this conversation examines how the role of the CDO is evolving beyond data management into systems leadership. What does it mean to design architectures that don’t just scale technically, but scale responsibly? How do leaders prove ROI while managing regulatory exposure, model risk, and long-term societal impact?

Drawing from her leadership across…

In an era where trust, scale, and speed define financial services, technology leadership can no longer be reactive. In this episode of Let’s Talk Data, Lebogang sits down with Wim, CIO at Capitec, about what it truly means to build reliability , not just into systems, but into organizations and people.

The conversation explores how large banks move beyond firefighting toward resilient, product-led platforms; how accountability for reliability shifts from engineering teams to leadership; and why CIOs must play an active role in shaping South Africa’s tech talent pipeline.

This is a…

In this episode, Lebogang Langa sits down with Blessing Mgaga, Divisional Executive for Retail Client Experience Delivery at Capitec Bank, for a masterclass on building technology organisations that deliver real impact.

Blessing unpacks the critical balance between innovation and execution — from cutting through AI hype to focus on measurable outcomes, to implementing platform engineering principles that scale without creating legacy debt. He introduces the "product health" framework that's democratising data across Capitec, turning every business owner into a data-informed decision

In this…

In this inspiring episode of Let’s Talk Data, I sit down with Tarebi Alebiosu, an award-winning tech innovator and entrepreneur based in Lagos, Nigeria. As the founder and CEO of QShop Tech Inc, Tarebi is transforming the African e-commerce landscape by empowering over 25,000 SMEs across Nigeria and Ghana with scalable digital solutions.

We explore her journey from studying and working in New York to building ventures like QShop, Yoke Solutions, and QTrack, all of which sit at the intersection of AI, business optimisation, and scalable digital infrastructure. Tarebi shares her insights on:
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In episode 2 of Let’s Talk Data, Lebogang Langa sits down with Gerrie Fourie, outgoing CEO of Capitec Bank, to reflect on nearly three decades of leadership and transformation. As a pioneer of people-centered, tech-enabled banking, Gerrie shares his insights on what it means to lead with purpose in the age of AI, and how Capitec became one of South Africa’s most trusted financial institutions by blending digital innovation with deep human empathy.

We explore the future of work, financial inclusion, and the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence in a country still grappling with…

In this debut episode of Let’s Talk Data, Lebogang Langa sits down with Lazola Ndamase to unpack the evolving role of the Chief Data Officer, the critical importance of data governance, and what it takes to implement Generative AI in organisations. From overcoming legacy mindsets to imbedding data into strategic decision making, this episode explores how businesses can move from reactive data management to proactive innovation. Discover why strong data leadership is more relevant than ever, and what it means to data into impact.

Welcome to the podcast where we decode the language of data in business.

Join us for candid conversations with data professionals, tech innovators, and industry experts as we explore how data shapes decisions, drives growth, and builds the future.