I am Nosiphelo Gengele currently doing Masters in Economics. I did Bachelor of Administration (PA) as my undergraduate degree and in 2015 I did B. Com Economics Honours (Transport Economics) and I graduate with cum laude in 2016 that is where my dream of being an Economist started to be bright and seem possible, that cum laude was some kind of a motivation.  In 2015 & 2016 the department of economics in University of Fort Hare has appointed me as a tutor for both Micro & Macro Economics and Econometrics, that was very interesting to share my knowledge with other student and it also built a strong & proud economist within me. In July 2016, I attended a GTAC public economics winter school, of course I got my certificate but what is important is that I gained more knowledge around public economics and they’ve made me even more interested in the economics field.

My research interest is around trade, infrastructure, transport costs and employment. The research that I am currently doing will be quantitative and it will be looking at transport infrastructure investment and exports, trying to determine how transport infrastructure affects level of South African exports. When it comes to trade there is always a tough competition among countries so I find it important to check on the factors that affect the movement of goods to other countries and transport cost and infrastructure are the most valuable. My goal is to finish up my research and publish it so that my view of having an adequate transport infrastructure in South Africa that will reduce transport costs and contribute to the level of exports will be out and heard. I wanted to contribute my knowledge or my views to the government so as to build up South Africa’s economy.