Dr Jennifer Molwantwa is the CEO of the Water Research Commission of South Africa since 2022. Since 2023, she is a member of the Advisory Board for IWA’s Inclusive Urban Sanitation initiative.

She holds a PhD in Biotechnology focusing on mine water remediation and water resource management. She has over 20 years’ experience in the water sector and governance experience having served on various Boards of Directors. She was a commissioner in the National planning commission that developed the Vision 2030 and the South African National Development Plan. Her passion is capacity building, skills development, and inclusion of Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDI) in the mainstream science and technology careers and economy of which water and land are integral. She believes: “the way for women to participate at all levels of the economy, science and technology, knowledge generation and business depends on the opportunities created by women before them”.