Tumelo Chipfupa

Tumelo Chipfupa is a seasoned executive and policy practitioner with more than 30 years of experience spanning South Africa’s public and private sectors. He is the Managing Director of PBP Economics, a South African advisory firm specialising in public policy research, investment promotion, government grants and incentives, and energy economics. Tumelo previously served as Deputy Director-General at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), where he led the design and implementation of South Africa’s major industrial incentive programmes, including the DTIC Film and Television Rebate Scheme, the Automotive Investment Scheme, the Special Economic Zones Programme, and the Section 12I tax incentive. In the private sector, he was a Partner at EY Advisory and co-founder of Cova Advisory and Associates, where he consulted for South African film producers and international studios on incentives, structuring, and market entry, alongside his broader work in government incentives, global trade, and sustainability. Tumelo holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. Development issues have always been close to Tumelo’s heart, and that’s really what drives him at PBP Economics. Having first shaped incentive policy from within government, and later helped bring it to life in the private sector, he has a clear sense of what it actually takes to make these programmes work in practice. That’s the thinking behind PBP Economics: helping government and industry understand each other a bit better, and giving clients practical, hands-on incentives support, from policy design right through to implementation, so they can actually grow and invest with confidence.