Still reflecting on the energy, insight, and collaboration at the ITWeb CX Summit 2025 in Johannesburg a couple of weeks ago. Qaalfa Dibeehi delivered the opening keynote and led a Day 2 workshop on AI, empathy, and persona-based CX design—especially for SMEs and resource-constrained environments.

Some conferences focus more on vendors. This one focused on people who had something to say representing large corporates and consultants openly sharing an interesting perspective to learn from. The conversations were bold, human, and deeply strategic.

Themed “The power of the personal: Customer journeys in the digital age,” the summit featured an exceptional lineup of CX leaders:
• Gerrit van der Westhuizen, CCXP (Nedbank) on enhancing CX and realizing ROI
• Clint Payne CCXP, ACXP (Ipsos) on voice of the customer as a strategic driver
• Nicolas Callegari (Decapod CX) on the underestimated power of getting the basics right
• Sandisiwe “Siwe” Yengeni (African Bank) on inclusive, tech-driven customer journeys
• Clair Brenner (FNB South Africa) on experience measurement for focused differentiation
• Antonia Oakes (Old Mutual Insure) on aligning employee and organizational values for authentic CX
• Navashnee Moodley (Capitec) on chatbot strategy and preserving human tone
• Grace Brown (JSE) on CX leadership and culture
• Nickey Mannya who delivered a compelling closing keynote on the impact of influencers and user-generated content (UGC)
• Yugeshree Frylinck, CXPA (The CX Group), who ran a tight, insightful panel on AI-driven CX—cutting through hype to explore real-world impact

And a special shoutout to Farai Ntuli, the master of ceremonies, who was absolutely brilliant—bringing warmth, clarity, and seamless flow to every moment of the summit. Her commentary throughout was thoughtful and added just the right amount of flavor.

It’s great to work in Africa!