Portia Rabonda is an Evangelical Optician at Flexoptix where she has been engaging with IXPs and network operators globally since joining in 2019. She is currently responsible for market development, customer support and community engagement in Africa. Introduced to the community in 2014 through working with SAFNOG, Portia has a strong love for the community. She currently serves on the AFIX Board of Directors, as well as several Programme Committees including ZAPF, ngPIF, and several NOGs across Africa. She aims to expand the reach of reliable and affordable internet services, enabling socio-economic growth and development in Africa and empowering communities through connectivity.

Edrich de Lange has been working in the ISP sector since 2008. He co-owns and operates an ISP in Durban, South Africa, and still finds time to consult to numerous operators in the region. Edrich is passionate about community engagement, and spends a significant amount of his personal time working on community related activities, from music to Sailing to ICT. He is a founding member of KZNNOG, South Africa’s most active network operator’s group and then later ZANOG, and has been using this, as a vehicle to promote Internet self-development and innovation.

Born and bred in Durban South Africa with a passion for technology and the city of Durban. Don has helped build the internet community by encouraging the formation of KZNNOG. He started connecting people together both in technology and person with a LinksysWRT 54G and a “Pringles Can antenna” on rooftops. Over the last 20 years the networking journey has taken him from a two PC Lantastic network to metro fibre carrier networks to Internet Service Providers.

Shawn is the founder and operator of Rocking Connect, an Internet Service Provider specialising in Wireless and Fibre networks in the South of Cape Town. With over 12 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, he is best known for creating the accidental ISP. A passionate advocate for network development and knowledge sharing, Shawn has been actively involved in organizing Network Operators Group (NOG) events in Cape Town for more than 5 years.

Daniel is the director and founder of Microweb, an ISP providing ultra low-cost internet access to underserved communities in South Africa. He specializes in designing and maintaining network and wireless infrastructure that remains efficient and stable in challenging environments. Alongside technical work, Daniel is committed to supporting local communities by enabling connectivity and partnering with other outreach organisations. He also created and runs TheseBytes.net, a blog offering free networking education, currently with a strong focus on MikroTik systems