https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

New legal and innovation expertise on board at the Bigen Group

7th August 2018

By: Creamer Media Reporter

     

Font size: - +

This article has been supplied as a media statement and is not written by Creamer Media. It may be available only for a limited time on this website.

Dr McLean Sibanda, until recently CEO of The Innovation Hub Management Company (TIH) in Pretoria, has joined the Bigen Group as Executive: Investments and Concessions at its head office located at The Innovation Hub precinct in Pretoria. The Bigen Group is a leading multinational infrastructure developer with an influential presence in Africa and a reputable development footprint across the continent.

“We are gratified and excited to welcome Mclean on board and look forward to his contributions to, inter alia, our partnership programme. He brings on board legal expertise with a specific interest in deal structuring, as well as  extensive experience in developing entrepreneurship, innovation, venture funding and incubation. I am confident that he will add significant value to our pursuit of becoming one of Africa’s top-five socio-economic development impact activist by 2021,” says Bigen CEO, Anton Boshoff.

As an executive shareholder and permanent employee at Bigen, Sibanda’s broad experience in intellectual property rights, innovation systems, investments in technology, entrepreneurship and leadership in executive positions in the public and private sectors, will stand him in good stead at Bigen. “I relate completely to Bigen’s philosophy of doing good while doing business and am confident that with the help of my new colleagues, our focus on investments and concessions will contribute to optimising the sustainable impact of projects and long-term social wellbeing of our partners and stakeholders throughout the African continent,” says Sibanda.

Sibanda will be focussing on public private partnerships (PPPs), concessions and other investments that support Bigen’s core business in its five focus sectors. This includes asset ownership along the infrastructure value chains and increasing enterprise value and Bigen’s projects pipeline to enhance the company’s robust balance sheet.

Before joining Bigen on 1 July this year, Dr Sibanda spent seven-and-a-half years at the helm of Africa’s leading Science Park and innovation agency for the Gauteng province, a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency.

He is an admitted and practising attorney of the High Court of South Africa, a registered South African patent attorney and an engineer. He has held senior and executive roles in both the private and public sector in South Africa and is passionate about creating value out of new ideas and innovative thinking. Not only does this resonate within the Bigen culture, it also finds expression in Bigen’s activities across the African continent.

Sibanda’s legal expertise includes intellectual property (IP), commercial and company law with a particular interest in patents and copyright, commercialisation of intellectual property and using IP for economic development and competitiveness. He is a fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Lawyers (SAIIPL) and has reviewed and drafted intellectual property strategies, policies and laws locally and in Africa and developed intellectual property management and technology transfer capacity for the South African public sector.

He has also served as an expert to the African Union (AU), SADC and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which included undertaking various commissioned studies and tutoring the Advanced Patent Search course and assisted the Department of Science and Technology locally in intellectual property and innovation matters.

Following his contributions as immediate past-President (African Division) and immediate past-Treasurer of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP), as well as serving on its Executive Board, he was elected as President of the IASP Advisory Council in 2017. He previously also acted as Executive Director of the Innovation Fund (2008-2010) and served as Group Executive for Commercialisation at the Technology Innovation Agency (2010-2011).

Sibanda currently serves on the boards of the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO) as Chairperson, HySA Advisory Board as Vice Chairperson, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF-Kenya) and Chairperson of QualiBasic Seeds (Kenya).

 “As I travelled through African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and others over the years, I have always been impressed by the impact of infrastructure and the way in which innovative thinking, new ideas and the assistance of small and medium enterprises have helped to resolve construction challenges.

“I visited Ethiopia for the first time in 2006 to do work for the African Union and when I returned eight years later, it was a different country due mainly to new infrastructure. The provision of infrastructure, when well-managed, is a dynamic enabler that changes people’s lives and creates new avenues of wealth and economic activity. When unmanaged, however, it can destroy existing businesses and livelihoods. That is why I am so enthused by the sincerity I have found at Bigen in giving effect to its philosophy of doing good while doing business,” says Sibanda.

As the author and co-author of a number of scientific and intellectual property articles and book chapters, he has often been an invited speaker at conferences, seminars and workshops. His business expertise and proficiency are supported by BSc (Eng) and MSc (Eng) degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand and LLB, LLM (Commercial Law), and Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees from the University of South Africa (UNISA).

Sibanda is married to Tumi, a lawyer who, a number of years ago, changed careers to become a life coach in a heartfelt quest to help people. They have two sons, Mthokozisi, the eldest and an IT specialist and Lesedi, currently in Grade 10. For Sibanda, in addition to making a real contribution towards transformation in Africa, there may well be a book of reflections on his many rich and varied life experiences.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

Multotec
Multotec

Multotec, recognised industry leaders in metallurgy and process engineering help mining houses across the world process minerals more efficiently,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Actom image
Actom

Your one-stop global energy-solution partner

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:1.274 1.582s - 158pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now