South African tech entrepreneurs to be honoured at the 6th annual Women In Tech Appreciation Experience

Amid the ongoing challenges facing women in South Africa, tech entrepreneurship presents a remarkable opportunity to empower women and girls in the country through the use of technology.

The 6th annual Innovator Trust Women In Tech (Wit) Appreciation Experience is set to take place on November 16 with aims to honour female tech entrepreneurs from across the country for their outstanding achievements in leading their businesses.

The awards are hosted by the Innovator Trust – a small-business training incubation facilitator established in 2014, whose mission it is to support and nurture the development of sustainable Information and Communications Technology (ICT) SMMEs in South Africa.

Now in its 6th year, the auspicious Women In Tech Appreciation Experience was initially conceptualised primarily to recognise female beneficiaries from the Enterprise Development, Supplier Development and Young Entrepreneurs programmes facilitated by the Innovator Trust.

Since inception, the Innovator Trust has successfully incubated more than 190 black-owned ICT small businesses, some of whom have been able to grow from start-up phase to medium and large-scale enterprises.

For the past two years, the WIT event was virtual and offered a captivating line-up of keynote addresses and panel discussions featuring renowned women in leadership such as Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams; former public protector, Professor Thuli Madonsela; Chancellor of the Nelson Mandela Bay University, Ms Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, and Vodacom chief officer and executive director for external affairs, Takalani Netshitenzhe.

This year’s experience will be hosted as a one-day hybrid event to include those unable to attend in person. Leading women of industry, innovators, government, academia, media and small business owners are expected to attend the event in recognition of the female beneficiaries being awarded.

Tashline Jooste, chief executive of the Innovator Trust said: ”Wit 2022 presents a call to action for women to #PowerUp in support of one another and unite as a collective toward creating the opportunities for economic growth that exist within the realm of tech entrepreneurship, despite the dire economic and social climate of the country,”

In addition to a spectacular awards ceremony, the programme promises an impressive line-up of guest speakers and panel discussions engaging on topics such as women and sustainability, African entrepreneurship and the effects of the energy crises in the SMME sector, challenging the current status quo on the state of women in technology and entrepreneurship.