Treasure Maphanga
Ms. Treasure Maphanga is the Chief Operating Officer of the African Electronic Trade Group (AeTrade Group), a position she held since 2019 to be responsible for strategy, advocacy, partnerships, operations and flagship programmes including Sokokuu.Africa.
She was appointed as the Special Envoy for His Majesty King Mswati III in 2019 for theAfrican Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) during the host country bid. Prior to that, she served as Director of the Department of Trade and Industry at the African Union Commission, where she played a key role in regional integration including managing the AfCFTA negotiations and implementation strategy as a flagship project under Agenda 2063. She led SME, trade and minerals for development policies and industrial development at the Pan-African level under the auspices of the policy organs of the African Union. She is an advocate for intra-African trade, south-south trade, inclusive global trade and Africa’s job creation and digital transformation initiatives.
Ms. Maphanga also worked as Chief of the Office for Africa, at the International Trade Centre (UN/WTO), where she led the institution’s strategy and programmes in the continent. Earlier in her career, she held various positions in the public and private sectors, including board memberships.
An international speaker and experienced moderator, she is also a regular contributor to Chatham House, a think tank in the United Kingdom as well as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Centre through the EMnet platform.
Ms. Maphanga holds an Executive Master’s Degree in International Relations, International Negotiations and Policymaking from the Graduate Institute of Geneva, Switzerland. She was recognized in 2006 as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.