Irene Mpofu completed her Bachelor of Commerce majoring in law and accounting and her Bachelor of Laws (Dean’s List) from the University of the Witwatersrand. A public speaker, debater and advocate at heart, Irene has always been fascinated by the power of the law and debate. Her work over the past 8 years has been to cultivate these two interests into a unique skill that she can teach to young students as well as contribute meaningfully to society. Irene went on to pursue her greatest joy, coaching South African high school learners in debating for the past 7 years. Her time coaching debating teams brought her face-to-face with the intelligence, potential and power of South Africans. She was inspired by her students to make an impact on society.

Over the last two years, Irene has developed an interest in solutions to the current crisis of economic crime and state capture that is plaguing many developing economies, specifically African economies. She interned for the state and worked in the unit tasked to solve South Africa’s state capture problem. She recently spent time working in the non-profit space looking at alternatives available in the law to hold those implicated in economic crimes accountable. She believes that the current generation has the potential to change the status quo, and she wants to be a leader in that change.

Irene is currently studying towards a Master of Philosophy in Fraud, Risk and Money Laundering at the University of Pretoria, specifically looking at the impact of economic crimes on Africa’s sustainable development goals. She hopes that the work and research she is doing will contribute to repatriating State resources back to minority communities that were most affected by the years of capture but ultimately allowing the new generation to reap the benefits of a democracy that is premised on morals that Irene lives by of accountability, responsibility, and equality.