South Africa’s Mandla Magagula to keynote DevConf 2022
Blockchain expert, Chief Digital Officer and coding academy co-founder, Mandla Magagula, has been confirmed as the keynote speaker at DevConf 2022. DevConf is South Africa’s largest community organised gathering for software developers and professionals, taking place in Cape Town on 5 April and in Johannesburg as well as virtually on 7 April.
Mandla is currently a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at a UAE-based DeFi company, Eccenscia, where he builds protocols for democratising asset ownership and censorship-resistant transfer of value. Mandla has taken a keen interest in technology for social good, co-founding a tuition-free development start-up, thecodingground.com, to improve access to Computer Science education for young people in resource-poor communities.
His talk titled “The Great Myth: Software Engineering Teams” is inspired by his nearly 20 years working in software development across a broad range of industries. “My observation is that the success of software engineering teams can almost always be determined by their approach to diversity and inclusion – we need to be building long tables instead of high walls”, he says.
In his keynote address he will challenge the audience to consider the relevance of commonly used software engineering metaphors, many of which reference inanimate objects. He sees Permaculture, an agricultural concept, as having principles from which software engineers can benefit greatly. Of Permaculture, he says “in this context, living things complement one another in a way that sustains the environment within which they exist. Software teams that effectively leverage a diverse constellation of skills, personalities, backgrounds and demographics build sustainable products”.
DevConf co-host Candice Mesk says she is excited to welcome Mandla to the DevConf stage. “Mandla is someone I feel very privileged to know. His capacity to learn, to create, and to make things better inspires me, but what I love most is that he lifts others up with every step he takes”.
Mandla is looking forward to connecting with the local software community. He welcomes conversations with the DevConf audience about sustainable development concepts and educating future software developers in South Africa. In addition, Mandla has a strong interest in tech topics such as security, Web 3.0, and all subjects related to blockchain, DeFi and cryptocurrencies.
Mandla is joined by a stellar cast of software development experts who will present to live and virtual audiences. This is the first in-person DevConf since 2019, and tickets have sold out in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. Virtual tickets are for sale until Friday 25 March, while stocks last. For more information about DevConf visit www.devconf.co.za.