Judy Hofmeyr

Senior Fellow: Minerals & Development Africa Policy Research Institute

Judy heads up APRI’s Mineral & Development Programme, which explores how Africa’s minerals can be governed to support structural transformation, industrialisation, and inclusive development. She recently completed a PhD at the University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute, where her research focused on natural resource governance and development policy. Her thesis examined the application of international business and human rights standards in Africa’s extractive industries, with particular attention to how both hard and soft law are being reshaped by the energy transition and its social repercussions for African communities. Judy is also a Research Fellow at the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), where her work engages questions of corporate responsibility, just transitions, and accountability in global supply chains. Before returning to academia, Judy spent seven years working in the Southern African mining sector, delivering and managing projects in South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania, and Botswana. She began her career mediating mine community disputes before joining Deloitte Africa’s mining team as a consultant. Judy has extensive experience working directly with community, corporate, and policy actors. Through projects and research conducted across numerous mining jurisdictions in Southern Africa, she has developed deep practical insight into the challenge of balancing economic interests, social justice, and environmental sustainability in policy and practice. Judy holds a Master’s degree in Violence, Conflict and Development from SOAS (University of London), an Honours degree in Political Sciences from UNISA, and a BA Law degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Communications from the University of Stellenbosch.