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Biodiversity informatics has been recognised as a scare skill in the biodiversity conservation sector in South Africa. To meet the challenges of managing biodiversity information effectively for conservation policy and planning, and meeting broader sustainability objectives in South Africa, human capital development is required to train,  recruit and retain biodiversity information management personnel. It has been proposed that a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Biodiversity Information Management be established in South Africa with the aim of building  a post-graduate hub and extended curricula to effectively train and ground students in biodiversity informatics, strengthen skills and share resources. Through building effective capacity in young graduates and post-graduates the management and coordination of biodiversity information would enable greater networking, sharing and dissemination of resources and data and support professionals in this growing field of work. The CoE would also harness South Africa’s biodiversity capacity towards the goals of the Biodiversity Act, the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the National Biodiversity Framework.