Mbongeni Michael Ndlovu is an academic, consultant and development economist. He is the Illovo Academic Head of African Trade and Industrialisation, an academic institution, Toyota Wessels Institute for Manufacturing Studies (TWIMS), and an Associate Researcher at a consultancy, BMA. Mbongeni has over a decade of experience in economic research and consulting focusing primarily on the automotive, clothing and footwear, and agro-processing industries. He has contributed to some of South Africa and Africa’s flagship industrial policies. He has contributed to the development of the continent’s African Automotive Pact model; South Africa’s Automotive Masterplan, South Africa’s Clothing, Textiles and Footwear Masterplan, and the National Strategic Framework for Agro-Processing.Mbongeni has a Bachelor of Business Science in Economics & Finance, Cum Laude from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and two Master of Science qualifications, in African Studies and Economics for Development from the University of Oxford. The Oxford qualifications were obtained by Mbongeni as a Rhodes Scholar (South Africa-at-Large & Lincoln). He is currently completing a PhD in Economics with Specialisation in Industrial Development at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). His PhD topic is: The effects of regional value chains on industry competitiveness.