{"id":31565,"date":"2026-08-20T19:47:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=31565"},"modified":"2026-08-21T07:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T10:38:57","slug":"women-shaping-gaming-2026-adds-three-speakers-as-inaugural-event-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/women-shaping-gaming-2026-adds-three-speakers-as-inaugural-event-nears","title":{"rendered":"Women Shaping Gaming 2026 adds three speakers as inaugural event nears"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The WCGRB has expanded the lineup to five women with expertise spanning gaming operations, leadership, governance, public finance, strategic partnerships and fintech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

South Africa.- The Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board (WCGRB) has expanded the speaker line-up for Women Shaping Gaming 2026<\/strong> in South Africa ahead of the August 28 event, with just days remaining until the inaugural forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest development follows the board\u2019s earlier announcement of Prakashnie Govender as the first speaker<\/a> for Women Shaping Gaming 2026, followed by Ayanda Vabaza-Mvandama. Shivika Singh and Deidr\u00e9 Baartman were subsequently added, with Rachelle Barioli the latest speaker announced by the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five speakers bring experience spanning gaming operations<\/strong>, leadership, corporate governance, public finance, strategic partnerships and fintech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Govender, general manager of Grand Slots Western Cape and Kingdomslots Durban, has more than 24 years of gaming leadership experience, while Vabaza-Mvandama CA(SA) is a chartered accountant, corporate governance expert, entrepreneur and WCGRB board member who chairs its Human Capital Committee and founded Kwandiso Consulting.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Women Shaping Gaming 2026: Ayanda Vabaza-Mvandaba, Prakashnie Govender, Rachelle Barioli, Deidr\u00e9 Baartman and Shivika Singh, the five speakers announced for the inaugural event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Among the latest additions to the line-up, Singh, chief executive officer of BetCity, brings more than 20 years of experience in gaming, having held senior leadership positions and served on multiple boards. Her experience includes strategic decision-making<\/strong>, governance and business transformation. The WCGRB says she is focused on responsible gaming, inclusive leadership and building a trusted, customer-first brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baartman, Western Cape Minister of Finance, brings public finance, economic policy and government experience to the programme. Appointed Minister of Finance in 2024 at the age of 33, she became the youngest Minister ever appointed to the Western Cape Cabinet. She is an advocate of the Western Cape High Court and holds an LLB and an LLM in Public Procurement Law<\/strong> from Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before her appointment to the Provincial Cabinet, Baartman served as chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism and the Budget Committee, as well as deputy chief whip in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barioli, strategic partnerships lead at Flash Group, has a career spanning sales, key accounts<\/strong>, strategic partnerships, gaming and fintech. She currently leads a team and works with key partners across South Africa, including within the gaming industry. The WCGRB said Barioli\u2019s professional journey has been built around \u201crelationships, people and purposeful leadership.\u201d The WCGRB said Barioli\u2019s three cancer diagnoses over 12 years shaped her perspective on resilience, leadership and courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rescheduled to August 28<\/a>, Women Shaping Gaming 2026 will bring together women from gaming, regulation, leadership, technology, compliance and finance, with the WCGRB positioning the forum as a platform to connect, share industry experience and examine the future of the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Women Shaping Gaming 2026 rescheduled as WCGRB reopens expressions of interest<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The WCGRB has expanded the lineup to five women with expertise spanning gaming operations, leadership, governance, public finance, strategic partnerships and fintech.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2809,"featured_media":31575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board (WCGRB) has finalized the speaker lineup for its inaugural Women Shaping Gaming 2026 forum in South Africa. The five women bring extensive expertise across gaming operations, corporate governance, public finance, strategic partnerships, and fintech, aiming to foster industry connection and examine the sector's future. This event underscores a commitment to diverse leadership and robust governance within the South African iGaming landscape.","focusai_entities":"Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, WCGRB, Prakashnie Govender, Ayanda Vabaza-Mvandama, Shivika Singh, Deidr\u00e9 Baartman, Rachelle Barioli, Grand Slots Western Cape, Kingdomslots Durban, Kwandiso Consulting, BetCity, Flash Group, Stellenbosch University","focusai_location":"South Africa, Western Cape, Durban","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.8), investor_analyst (0.7), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact on Regulatory Frameworks?","query":"How might the diverse expertise of the 'Women Shaping Gaming 2026' speakers influence future regulatory compliance and governance frameworks within the South African iGaming sector?"},{"label":"Strategic Partnership Outcomes?","query":"What specific strategic partnership opportunities or policy recommendations are anticipated to emerge from the 'Women Shaping Gaming 2026' forum, particularly concerning fintech integration and responsible gaming initiatives?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60016,60011],"tags":[72,60610,61179],"class_list":["post-31565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-south-africa","tag-gaming","tag-leadership","tag-public-finance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2809"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31565"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31640,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31565\/revisions\/31640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}