Babalola (Pr.Sci.Nat, MASSAF, FTWAS, FAS, FAAS, FISC, FRSB, FAAM) was the Vice President of the Org. for Women in Sci. for the Developing World (OWSD) & TWAS VP. Baba, an NRF B-rated scientist with an MBA, sits on several editorial boards and acts as an International Advisor to a few others. She was with IITA (Nigeria), ICIPE (Kenya), Weizmann Inst. of Sci. (Israel), Univ of the Western Cape, and now North-West Univ (South Africa). She has 21 years of experience in rhizosphere research. She is passionate about capacity building & has trained 37 PhDs & 29 MScs. Many of her products are in academia in the UK, Italy, America, Canada, Australia, Sweden, & Africa. She authored 450 publications. She is an AAAS-TWAS science diplomacy alumnus, impacting the world in policymaking, diplomacy, and diplomatic engagement. Her international experience spans the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. She enjoys global partnerships, and her efforts have received many awards, including finalist status at GenderInSite 2020, Clarivate 2022 & 2023, & SAWISA 2024. Baba has an H-index of 90, more than 38,000 citations & 56 professional certificates. She is #1 in Africa for Soil Science & Plant Nutrition

Whitelock is an astronomer at, and former director of, the South African Astronomical Observatory and an honorary professor at the University of Cape Town. She obtained her BSc and PhD at the University of London. Her primary research interests are the late stages of stellar evolution, mass-loss and variability. She also works on galactic structure, near-by galaxies and the cosmic distance scale. She is involved in astronomy education, astronomy for development, and international coordination and collaboration. She has served as president of the International Astronomical Union’s Division VII (Galactic Systems), is a member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa, an honorary fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (UK) and an honorary member and fellow—and former president—of the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP). She is the recipient of the 2018 de Beers Gold Medal of the SAIP and a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from Rhodes University in 2020.

Biekpe is currently Professor of Development Finance and Econometrics, and Program Director of the MCom in Development Finance at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. He is also President of Africagrowth Institute and Executive Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Development Finance. He has an MSc in Applied Statistics and Operational Research (London) and PhD in International Finance (Queens, UK). Biekpe is a Chartered Statistician and Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society of Great Britain and a Chartered Scientist of the Science Council of the United Kingdom. He is the Executive Editor of the African Finance Journal, Executive Editor of Review of Development Finance and Managing Editor Africagrowth Agenda Journal and Managing Editor of the Development Finance Agenda Magazine. Biekpe is a member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAf), a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (FAAS) and a Fellow of Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).