Dr Mbava holds a PhD: Public and Development Management; an MBA (Stellenbosch University) as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics (Smith College, Massachusetts, USA). She brings a wealth of expertise, including as a member of various boards. Dr Mbava has headed monitoring and evaluation units in public entities, where she provided strategic leadership for activities related to organisational strategy development and governance.

She has served as a board member at the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association. She is a Research Fellow - Public Sector Monitoring and Evaluation at the Stellenbosch University School of Public Leadership. Dr Mbava has exemplary academic awards and achievements.