When Ayanda Nene stepped onto the stage to receive the 2025 Youth Top Achiever Award, the room rose with her. At just under 35, Nene represents the next generation of women shaping South Africa’s digital landscape bold, curious, and ready to build. Her recognition was one of the most heartfelt moments of the 2025 Innovator Trust Women in Tech (WIT) Awards, held in Johannesburg on Monday night, marking the beginning of an evening that honoured courage, innovation and the collective power of women-owned SMMEs.
Nene, celebrated for her standout performance and innovation in the Innovator Trust Youth Entrepreneurship Programme, embodied the spirit that carried throughout the night: the belief that when women are given tools, mentorship and space, they do not just participate in technology, they transform it.
Now more than ten years strong, the partnership between the Innovator Trust and Vodacom Group has nurtured women founders across South Africa’s tech sector. This year’s Awards highlighted a growing truth in the digital economy: innovation is not only powered by hardware and networks; it is powered by the women quietly building the country’s invisible technological infrastructure.
“Innovation grows where intention lives, when women build in the tech ecosystem, they bring solutions shaped by the realities of our communities. Our role is to give them the environment, expertise and networks to scale with confidence. Code It. Shape It. Scale It. reflects that purpose,” said Tashline Jooste, CEO of the Innovator Trust, whose keynote opened the ceremony.
The 2025 Awards unfolded in an atmosphere thick with excitement, pride and sisterhood. AI the technology reshaping global advancement, anchored almost every conversation. From keynotes to panel debates, speakers stressed that Africa cannot afford to merely adapt to AI; African women must be active architects of it.
Industry leader Atenkosi Ngubevana delivered one of the evening’s most resonant messages: “Nothing for us without us.” Her words reminded guests that for technology to be commercially successful and socially relevant, it must be designed with diversity at its core. When African women build, she said, communities recognise themselves in the solutions created.
Guiding the night with warmth and precision was moderator Nozipho Tshabalala, whose thoughtful facilitation brought founders, industry experts and partners into deep, human-centred dialogue. Discussions explored how AI tools, digital systems and regional integration can uplift SMME growth, especially in a continent where entrepreneurship is often synonymous with resilience.
The Awards also highlighted the personal journeys of Innovator Trust alumnae, from refining operations and strengthening governance to surviving setbacks, managing teams and learning to scale with intention rather than urgency. For many, the Innovator Trust was more than a business incubator; it was a lifeline.
2025 WOMEN IN TECH SMME AWARD WINNERS
Enterprise Development Awards
• Top Female Achiever Q1: Tanya Ahjam — Bilion Power Networks
• Runner-up: Nonhlanhla Moloko — Samo Engineering
• Second Runner-up: Unathi Nuku — New Era IT
- Highest % Growth: Moira Mazibuko — Simphiwe Security Consulting
• Runner-up: Lethabo Ramotshela — Tsokotla Engineering
• Second Runner-up: Aphiwe Tafeni — Olem Business Boutique - Top Employment Creator: Aphiwe Tafeni — Olem Business Boutique
- Annual Revenue Top Achiever: Bongeka Nyembezi — Thamani Technologies & Systems
• Runner-up: Unathi Nuku
• Second Runner-up: Moira Mazibuko - Pinnacle Award: Olem Business Boutique — Aphiwe Tafeni
Supplier Development Awards
• Highest % Growth: Siphokazi Simandla — Bolunga Systems
• Pinnacle Award: Akhona Mfaba — Khayakhulu Enterprise
And of course, the night’s standout honouree:
Youth Top Achiever 2025 — Ayanda Nene
As the lights dimmed, Jooste closed with a message that will stay with many long after the glitter settles: “You have to code in courage. You have to code in conviction. You have to code in care.”
The 2025 Innovator Trust Women in Tech Awards did more than honour excellence. They reminded South Africa what becomes possible when women are equipped to lead — a future where innovation is intentional, inclusive and undeniably African.
