WomensDay: SA's top 5 women in technology
Cape Town - Did you know that the world’s first generated computer known as the ENIAC, was also developed by women?
As we celebrate Women’s Day, we would like to shed light on the contributions from South African women in the field of Technology.
Let’s take a look at how South African women are currently changing and paving way for future generations of the fast-evolving sector
1. Naledi Pandor
Naledi Pandor currently serves as our Minister of Science and Technology. She holds Masters degrees in Education (University of London) and Linguistics (University of Stellenbosch). She has also received a prestigious award for science diplomacy by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) . She is honoured for her advocacy for young scientists and female scientists by supporting initiatives that encourage collaboration for groups locally and internationally.
2. Nisha Maharaj
Nisha Maharaj is the founder of Niche Integrated Solutions which provides software solutions, ICT managed services and Training.
Nisha Maharaj has dedicated 20 years of her life gathering work experience within South Africa’s major listed companies. This includes four banking and financial services companies and the telecommunications sector. Her roles varied from executive management, general management or COO level.
She was also successful and featured in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women Class of 2015.
3. Zandile Keebine
Zandile Keebine, while working in the ICT sector, she started working on various projects that required her to find solutions and designing software solutions for clients in the public sector.
During this time, she realised how gender inequality exists in the field.
In 2014, she co-founded GirlCode. GirlCode is a hackathon used to get girls excited about tech. She joined forces with her 2 friends Jeanette Theu and Tinyiko Simbine to register GirlCode as a non-profit organisation.
4. Lebogang Madise
Lebogang began doing App development that targeted devices running on the Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. Currently, she is a facilitator and representative of mLab SA , where she provides support to entrepreneurs and mobile developers to develop mobile applications and services.
Through the Demola Ntework Program, Lebogang teams up with talent from academic institutions and partners in the industry to find innovative solutions. In 2015, she founded her own company FruityMo.
FruityMo is an Edu-Tech company that focuses on Learning, Developing and Consultation. Her passion lies in teaching people how to code. To date, she has taught over 500 learners how to code from as young as the age of 7.
5. Annette Muller
Annette Muller is the founder and CEO of DOTNXT, a strategic innovation management firm with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Annette holds a Business Science degree (Honours Cum Laude) and has attended the Hyper Island Digital Master Class in New York. Her work continues to expand her globally , as she was recognised by Forbes as one of the ‘10 female tech founders to watch In Africa’ (2014)’, Annette is widely regarded as one of the great young strategic minds of today.