Kayin Scholtz and Jessica Horler

Dr Jessica Horler has been working as a programme evaluator in South Africa’s nonprofit sector for nearly 10 years, primarily consulting with nonprofit organisations operating in South Africa's early childhood development (ECD) sector. In 2024, Horler completed her doctorate in programme evaluation, exploring how systems thinking can support monitoring, evaluation and learning in ECD nonprofits. She is based at DataDrive2030, where she collaborates with ECD clients to use data to enhance the quality of early learning programmes in low-resource contexts across the country. Kayin Scholtz has 13 years of experience working with innovative organisations focused on reducing poverty and improving child outcomes at a national level. Working with NGOs, provincial and national government and funding organisations, Scholtz has supported policy development, programmes implementation and the distribution of funds, all with the aim of improving the lives of vulnerable people. He has strong collaborative experience and is a co-founder of the Real Reform for ECD Campaign. He holds a bachelor of social work and an honours in policy and management from the University of Cape Town. He is the digital transformation lead at SmartStart.