From the tenured to the rising stars, South Africa’s female tech change-makers were lauded at the second annual Wired4Women Awards ceremony last night.
The awards showcase is an initiative of the Wired4Women Tech Forum, in partnership with Telkom and ITWeb Brainstorm. This year, it attracted close to 500 submissions, with 65 finalists selected across the 13 award categories.
The accolades recognise women’s achievements within the predominantly male-dominated tech sector, while also inspiring the next generation of women to see ICT as a viable and rewarding career path.
This year’s winners were named last night during a banquet event, in Johannesburg, and included female trailblazers leading digital transformation in organisations such as Investec and managing the cyber security of institutions like Eskom, as well as tech innovators, entrepreneurs and rising stars in cloud computing and emerging technologies.
Among the winners are Tumi Sekhukhune-Chamayou, chief enterprise business officer at MTN; Zandile Mkwanazi, co-founder and CEO of GirlCode; Eskom chief information officer (CISO) Sithembile Songo; and KnowBe4’s Anna Collard.
Unathi Mtya, group chief information and digital officer at African Bank, took home the trailblazing career award.
Nomonde White-Ndlovu, Wired4Women Tech Forum chairperson and CIO ofBidvest Bank, described the second Wired4Women awards as a dream realised.
She honoured all the women in attendance for their efforts to shape the country’s future, saying the gathering was not only in celebration of their achievements, but also to recognise the power of women who dare to innovate, lead and redefine the art of what is possible.
“This night shines a light on the visionaries, disruptors and the change-makers who prove that technology and progress have no gender, only greatness.
“The world we live in is driven by technology, connection and by the relentless pursuit of solutions, yet for far too long women have been underrepresented in STEM careers, boardrooms and in the stories of innovation. However, looking at this beautiful room, I’m proud to say this story is changing.
“Every woman in this room is proof that brilliance doesn’t come in a single vault; whether you’re a coder breaking barriers, or an entrepreneur building the next big thing for the world, or a mentor, you are the reason the future looks brighter and more inclusive.”
White-Ndlovu acknowledged the road hasn’t been easy. “Many of us have encountered biases, glass ceilings and moments where the weight of doubt felt extremely heavy. The truth is you didn’t break the ceiling; you rewired the whole system. For that, you should be exceptionally proud of your relentless pursuit of happiness.
“These awards are about the collective rise of women in technology, business and leadership in general. When one of us wins, it is a collective win for all of us that propels us all forward. Your presence in this industry is changing the game for generations to come.”
Top tech student award winner Rejoice Chitengu, who is studying towards a master’s degree in data science at Wits University, said she hopes to come back to the stage in a few years for the CIO of the year award. “It’s such an honour to receive this award. It was a tight competition, and we are all winners.”
The CISO category was described as the “MVP” (most valuable player) award, recognising digital transformation in an organisation. The award, won by Eskom’s Songo, recognises the CISO that has excelled at safeguarding the organisation’s assets and driving a security-first culture.
Songo previously told ITWeb TV that Eskom fends off up to one billion attempted cyber incidents per month, adding that ransomware attacks account for more than 100 000 per month of attempted cyber attacks that the entity blocks.
Accepting her award, Songo described her win as an honour. “I do realise that a CISO role is not an easy one, so congratulations to all the nominees.
“I’d like to honour my boss who has supported me. We’ve been working together for several years now. You’ll know that we’ve been facing the challenge of load-shedding, but we made a vow that cyber attacks will not contribute to those challenges.”
Songo added that it would not have been possible for her to receive the accolade without her team’s support. She also thanked her parents for pushing and supporting her to study maths and science.
The 2025 winners of the Wired4Women Awards are:
- CIO of the Year: Kerusha Kanjee, CIO, Investec Wealth and Investment International
- CISO of the Year: Sithembile Songo, head of security, Eskom
- Tech Business Leader: Adetola Bakinson, founder and director, Meli Zekaya Services
- Tech Entrepreneur: Anna Collard, SVP content strategy and evangelist Africa, KnowBe4
- Top Tech Innovator: Natalie Miller, co-founder, XRGlobal
- Tech4Good: Zandile Mkwanazi, CEO, GirlCode
- IT Business Development Executive: Tumi Sekhukhune-Chamayou, chief enterprise business officer, MTN
- Rising Star in Security: Denielle Rawthee, cyber security officer, Vodacom
- Rising Star in Cloud: Siphesihle Mbonxa, cloud and DevOps engineer, Nedbank
- Rising Star in Emerging Tech: Tanaka Dhliwayo, founder, Tanie Codes Org
- Top Tech Student: Rejoice Chitengu, master’s student, Wits University
- Mentor of the Year: Shaleenah Marie, head of learning and development, Siemens
- Trailblazing Career Award: Unathi Mtya, group chief information and digital officer, African Bank
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