Yandisa Nkuna

Yandisa Nkuna is a Behavioural Economist Graduate at Standard Bank Group. The candidate possesses expertise in applying Behavioural Economics techniques in driving customer engagement and the uptake financial products, across personal and business banking platforms.

The candidate is a Masters graduate student in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (MPhil PPE), at the University of Cape Town and possesses expertise academic expertise in international trade development; governance; international affairs and Africa's economic and political climate. The aforementioned fields of expertise are combined with the ability to effectively manage stakeholder engagement; convey easy-to-understand information, through writing and speech, negotiation and leadership. The candidate is driven to contribute to Africa's economic growth and development and recognises the pivotal role that leading commercial banks play in promoting and facilitating the efficient flow of finance and trade, both nationally and continentally.

Leadership; Team player; Health and wellness; Emotional awareness; Social skills; Appetite self-improvement; Appetite for challenges; Willingness to travel; Hardworking, and Effective negotiator

HTML; CSS; Attention to detail; Critical thinking; Attentive listener; Microsoft Office; Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation; Report writing; Presenting; Verbal communication; Professionalism

2021 GTAC Public Economics Winter School Debate:




The candidate was selected to take part in the 2021 Public Economics Winter School debate that was organised by the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC), an agency of the South African National Treasury. The candidate formed part of a technical student debate team that presented and won a debate supporting the adoption of a Universal Basic Income Grant (UBIG) in South Africa. The winning team provided empirical qualitative and quantitative evidence on how the proposed UBIG can be financed and why it is a necessary intervention for economic development and addressing high unemployment, poverty and inequality in South Africa.




Africa Young Graduate Scholar 2021:

Organised by the Human Sciences Research Council (HRSC), the candidate was selected as a member of the 2021 Africa Young Graduate Scholar (AYGS) programme. The annual AYGS programme consists of a cohort of 20 emerging scholars from around Africa to present academic work and research on topical issues within the African continent. The topical theme for the 2021 AYGS programme was how COVID-19 has called upon African societies to reshape research such that it is made more interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and stimulates participation from civil society.