The Innovator Trust Women in Tech Awards (WIT) celebrate the women who are rewriting the code of Africa’s digital economy.
Taking place on November 20, the awards will spotlight how women-owned SMMEs are shaping SA’s tech future and feature insightful keynote presentations and thought-provoking panel discussions .
Hosted under the theme Shaping her Growth. Code It. Shape It. Scale It., the event brings together an impressive line-up of speakers and panellists to foster dialogue, access, skills transfer, mentorship, and representation.
“Women in tech don’t need gatekeepers. They need access, capability, and contracts. The Innovator WIT Awards is where we connect those dots,” says Tashline Jooste, CEO of the Innovator Trust, an ESD and empowerment business incubator dedicated to supporting the growth of ICT SMEs.
Thought leaders setting the tone
The day opens with two powerhouse voices who have shaped the trajectory of SA’s tech ecosystem.
Tashline Jooste, CEO of the Innovator Trust
Jooste will deliver a keynote presentation that redefines what readiness means for women-owned ICT SMMEs. In Code It. Shape It. Scale It — Building Tech SMMEs Ready for Africa, she’ll outline how capability, confidence, and access remain the true engines of growth.
Martha Lamola, operations director: Vodacom Ventures & Partnerships
Lamola will explore how strategic collaboration and corporate vision can fuel homegrown innovation across the continent.
Illuminating panel discussions
This year’s expert panellists take tech, artificial intelligence (AI), and entrepreneurial expertise, creativity, and insight to new heights. They are the women shaping Africa’s digital and creative economies, turning ideas into innovation and vision into scalable impact.
Nozipho Tshabalala, the award-winning CEO of The Conversation Strategists, will be guiding the day’s conversations as panel moderator. Known for her depth, composure, and incisive questioning, she’ll navigate these powerful dialogues with precision and purpose.
Supporting her on stage is Barbara Moagi, engineer, broadcaster, and founder of Becoming Boldly, whose warmth and wit will keep the energy high and every transition seamless.
Breakfast Panel: The AI Effect on Digital Creatives
Four formidable founders and alumni beneficiaries of Innovator Trust incubation programmes — Aphiwe Tafeni of Olem Business Boutique, Janine Schilder of Ignite Media, Sisanda Mbodlela of SM Solutions PE Trading, and Zumurrud Rinquest of Curious & Creative — dissect how AI is reshaping the creative industry.
From automating design workflows to building narrative precision, these women show how technology enhances, not replaces, human genius.
Panel 1: The AI Edge: Redefining Africa’s Digital Future
AI isn’t the future; it’s the lens through which Africa must envision itself today.
In this session, Atenkosi Ngubevana, executive head: Process Automation & Re-engineering at the Vodacom Group, Ayanda Mafuleka, CEO of Fasset, and Khosi Bambisa, head of Group Performance at Sanlam and co-chair of the IWFSA Alumni Forum, unpack how automation, ethics, and inclusion can merge to create intelligent systems that reflect African realities.
Expect grounded insight on how to embed AI into real business practice.
Panel 2: SMMEs Leading Beyond Limits: Women Steering ICT in the Age of AI
Zukiswa Phillips, managing executive: Financial Planning & Analysis at Vodacom, Nomvuyiso Batyi, CEO of the Association of Comms and Technology, Charmaine Houvet, senior director: Africa at Cisco, and Siphokazi Simandla, SMME alumni and MD of Bolunga Systems, bring the boardroom to life in the way that only leading women can, discussing what it takes to lead through uncertainty, build credibility in male-dominated sectors, and champion inclusion while staying commercially sharp.
This is leadership stripped of pretence and rich with perspective.
Panel 3: One Africa, One Market: Trading Without Limits
From local hustles to continental enterprises, this conversation is about scale that sticks.
Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani, director general of the department of communications & digital technologies, Kanini Mutooni, regional MD: Africa at the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and Smangele Nkosi, GM: Sub-Saharan Africa at Cisco, explore how the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement is turning borders into bridges and how women founders are building Pan-African value chains. It’s about trade that’s digital, deliberate, and distinctly female-led.
Youth Panel: The AI Code for Africa’s Next Generation
The energy shifts here: raw, creative, and unfiltered.
A stellar panel including Faith Mangope, broadcaster and founder of FMTALI, Kim Jayde, entrepreneur and media personality, Amahle-Imvelo Jaxa, content creator and youth advocate, Thabile Makhoba, SMME alumni and CEO of Makhoba Professional Services, and Serisha Barrat, co-founder and CEO, Lawyered Up, explore how the next generation is coding, designing, and curating the stories of Africa’s digital rise.
This is the continent’s creative resistance — informed, bold, and global.
Attend the awards virtually
The message from the Innovator Trust Women in Tech Awards 2025 is unmistakable: Africa’s digital future is female-built.
The exceptional line-up of speakers and panelists demonstrate that intellect, innovation, and integrity are the new infrastructure of growth. These are women shaping industries, mentoring generations, and ensuring that the next evolution of technology speaks with an African accent and a woman’s voice.
Don’t miss the 2025 Innovator Trust WIT Awards from 9am to 4pm on November 20.
Online attendance is complimentary. Virtual registrations are open — click here to register.
This article was sponsored by the Innovator Trust.
