Where we are
GSB UCT Campus, Cape Town,
South Africa
Your Partner in Sustainable Business Transformation
Lean Institute Africa works alongside organisations to improve performance, strengthen leadership and create lasting operational excellence through practical, people-centred transformation.
Sustainable Development Through Operational Excellence
At Lean Institute Africa (LIA), we believe that better organisations create a better society. Since 2008, we have worked alongside leaders, teams and organisations across Sub-Saharan Africa to improve performance, develop people and build cultures of continuous improvement.
Our Vision
To contribute to the sustainable development of society by helping organisations achieve operational excellence through continuous improvement, capable leadership and a relentless focus on customer value.
Our Mission
We develop leaders and organisations by providing internationally recognised education, practical consulting, coaching and collaborative learning that embed operational excellence and CI across Africa.
Specialised Unit of the GSB UCT
Member of the Lean Global Network
Bringing the African Lean Community Together
Helping African Organisations Improve and Grow
Our Team
Samantha Allen has extensive experience in a variety of industries within both the public and private sectors.
She has led the design and implementation of effective Lean programs in both the UK and SA, that ensure institutionalization of process improvement and Organizational change. Samantha has a passion for training and skills development and holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and is a Prince 2 Project Practitioner.
She has led the design and implementation of effective Lean programs in both the UK and SA, that ensure institutionalization of process improvement and Organizational change. Samantha has a passion for training and skills development and holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and is a Prince 2 Project Practitioner.
Tshepo Thobejane has implemented Lean Thinking and Practice to achieve operational improvement through the use of process improvement methods throughout his career as an Industrial Engineer.
He has work in a diverse range of industry sectors includes – manufacturing, management consulting, logistics, supply chain, banking and public healthcare. He is convinced that Lean Thinking can be a lifestyle and is applicable absolutely everywhere.
He has work in a diverse range of industry sectors includes – manufacturing, management consulting, logistics, supply chain, banking and public healthcare. He is convinced that Lean Thinking can be a lifestyle and is applicable absolutely everywhere.
Ben is a Lean Coach at the Lean Institute Africa. Ben partners with individuals, organisations, and enterprises on the journey of continuous improvement. Ben’s prior years of experience as a lean practitioner and advisor have provided him the opportunity to lead projects, facilitate executive training, and improve systems and processes in client engagements across the globe.
Ben grew up in the mold of People Development as part of the Toyota Production System, and he has since found his passion learning, teaching, and applying principles of problem-solving, collaboration, and servant leadership.
Ben grew up in the mold of People Development as part of the Toyota Production System, and he has since found his passion learning, teaching, and applying principles of problem-solving, collaboration, and servant leadership.
Maxine Swanepoel is a Junior Consultant at Lean Institute Africa, supporting organisations in their pursuit of operational excellence and sustainable business improvement. Working alongside senior consultants, she contributes to consulting engagements through business analysis, process observation, research, workshop support and continuous improvement initiatives. Her experience includes assisting organisations in identifying operational challenges, analysing processes and developing practical recommendations that improve performance. In addition to her consulting responsibilities, Maxine brings expertise in digital strategy and business communications, helping translate complex improvement concepts into accessible, value-driven solutions. Passionate about continuous learning, innovation and Lean Thinking, she is committed to developing practical consulting capabilities while helping organisations build stronger, more resilient operations and achieve lasting business results.
Our Associates
Bongani Mangcipu is a Senior Associate at Lean Institute Africa and an experienced Operational Excellence and Strategic Transformation leader. His expertise spans Lean Thinking, business transformation, leadership development and operational performance improvement, with a strong focus on helping organisations build capability and deliver sustainable results. Bongani works alongside executive teams and operational leaders to identify opportunities for improvement, strengthen management systems and develop cultures of continuous improvement. Known for his servant leadership approach, he combines practical implementation experience with a passion for developing people and improving organisational performance. His work enables organisations to solve complex operational challenges, improve customer value and create long-term business resilience through structured, continuous improvement.
Our Founders
Founder and Advisor of the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) Inc. The LEI is a nonprofit training, publishing, conference, and management research company chartered in August 1997 to advance a set of ideas known as lean production and lean thinking, based initially on Toyota’s business system and now being extended to an entire lean management system.
The intellectual basis for the Cambridge, MA-based Institute is described in a series of books and articles co-authored by Womack and Daniel Jones over the past 20 years. The most widely known books are: The Machine That Changed the World (Macmillan/Rawson Associates, 1990), Lean Thinking (Simon & Schuster, 1996), Lean Solutions (Simon & Schuster, 2005), and Seeing The Whole Value Stream (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2011). Articles include: “From Lean Production to the Lean Enterprise” (Harvard Business Review, March-April, 1994), “Beyond Toyota: How to Root Out Waste and Pursue Perfection” (Harvard Business Review, September-October, 1996), “Lean Consumption” (Harvard Business Review, March-April, 2005).
The intellectual basis for the Cambridge, MA-based Institute is described in a series of books and articles co-authored by Womack and Daniel Jones over the past 20 years. The most widely known books are: The Machine That Changed the World (Macmillan/Rawson Associates, 1990), Lean Thinking (Simon & Schuster, 1996), Lean Solutions (Simon & Schuster, 2005), and Seeing The Whole Value Stream (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2011). Articles include: “From Lean Production to the Lean Enterprise” (Harvard Business Review, March-April, 1994), “Beyond Toyota: How to Root Out Waste and Pursue Perfection” (Harvard Business Review, September-October, 1996), “Lean Consumption” (Harvard Business Review, March-April, 2005).
Womack received a B.A. in political science from the University of Chicago in 1970, a master’s degree in transportation systems from Harvard in 1975, and a Ph.D. in political science from MIT in 1982 (for a dissertation on comparative industrial policy in the U.S., Germany, and Japan). During the period 1975-1991, he was a full-time research scientist at MIT directing a series of comparative studies of world manufacturing practices. As research director of MIT’s International Motor Vehicle Program, Womack led the research team that coined the term “lean production” to describe Toyota’s business system.
Womack served as the Institute’s chairman and CEO from 1997 until 2010 when he was succeeded by John Shook.
Founder and Chairman of the Lean Enterprise Academy United Kingdom. Daniel T. Jones is a senior advisor to the Lean Enterprise Institute, management thought leader, and mentor on applying lean process thinking to every type of business. He is the author with James P. Womack of the influential and popular management books that describe the principles and practice of lean thinking in production, The Machine that Changed the World, and Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Organization, and the workbookbook Seeing the Whole Value Stream. Their book Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together extends these ideas to consumption, provision, and service delivery. He is the publisher of Breaking Through to Flow, Creating Lean Dealers, and Making Hospitals Work. A sought-after keynoter, Jones also has organized Lean Summit conferences in Europe, including the Frontiers of Lean Summit, the First Global Lean Healthcare Summit, and the Lean Transformation Summit.
Jones advises organizations in different sectors on their lean transformations, helped establish the first company University in the UK at Unipart, wrote the UK Government’s Rethinking Construction report and Lean Thinking for the NHS. He organized the first Global Healthcare Summit, mentors a dozen hospitals in the UK, Italy and the USA and published Making Hospitals Work. Jones was the European Director of MIT’s Future of the Automobile and International Motor Vehicle Programs. He is advisor to the European Efficient Consumer Response movement and editor of the International Commerce Review. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Sussex.
Jones advises organizations in different sectors on their lean transformations, helped establish the first company University in the UK at Unipart, wrote the UK Government’s Rethinking Construction report and Lean Thinking for the NHS. He organized the first Global Healthcare Summit, mentors a dozen hospitals in the UK, Italy and the USA and published Making Hospitals Work. Jones was the European Director of MIT’s Future of the Automobile and International Motor Vehicle Programs. He is advisor to the European Efficient Consumer Response movement and editor of the International Commerce Review. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Sussex.
Norman is the founder of the Lean Institute Africa, a Lean Executive Coach and formerly a Professor of Business Administration at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. He was among the first researchers in South Africa to introduce innovative manufacturing and supply chain improvement concepts, such as lean manufacturing, into the country.
In recent years he has focused on implementation of lean management in the South African public health system although his experience spans across the mining, manufacturing and service sectors. He teaches on executive programmes at UCT and elsewhere. He continues to research the area of process improvement, with particular attention to large-scale systems.
In recent years he has focused on implementation of lean management in the South African public health system although his experience spans across the mining, manufacturing and service sectors. He teaches on executive programmes at UCT and elsewhere. He continues to research the area of process improvement, with particular attention to large-scale systems.
