Dr Basani Baloyi is a Programme Director at the IEJ. She is a feminist, development economist, and activist. She gained her research experience while working on industrial policy issues in academia, at the Centre for Competition, Regulation, and Economic Development (CCRED) and Corporate Strategy and Industrial Development (CSID) Unit. She is the former Inequality Programme Lead at Oxfam South Africa, where she infused her research and management experience with movement building and coordination, campaigning and advocating for economic and social justice, in partnership with social movements.

Basani is also the former Director of Industrial Policy and Acting Chief Director in the Industrial Procurement Unit at the Department of Trade and Industry. She holds a PhD in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, an MA in Public Policy, and an MCom in Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand. As a former drama student and child actress, she has a strong, fiery passion for the arts and is in constant pursuit of using that artistic background in her advocacy work for social change.

Basani has recently also served as an advisory council member of the C20 Brazil, one of the official engagement bodies of the 2024 G20 Summit held in Brazil.