Thabi Leoka

Economist, South African Economic Advisory Council

Thabi Leoka is an economist who has worked for various organisations in the financial sector. She notably served as  a member of the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation, the largest pension fund in Africa. She was also appointed by the Minister of Finance to review the system of taxation of staple goods to support the country’s poor and vulnerable.

Thabi is currently an independent director of MTN South Africa, Anglo American Platinum and the Small Business Institute. She began her career as an economist with Investec Asset Management in South Africa and London. She also worked as an emerging markets economist at Barclays Bank in London, before becoming head of economic research for South Africa at Standard Bank and then chief economist for South Africa at Renaissance Capital.

Thabi was named the 2017 Economist of the Year by ABSIP. She writes regularly for various publications in South Africa and abroad. Thabi holds a PhD in Economics from the University of London, an MSc in Economics and Economic History from the London School of Economics and an MA (Hons) from the University of the Witwatersrand.