The Innovator Trust Women in Tech (WIT) Awards recognise this contribution and give it the visibility it deserves. With a distinct focus on women-led ICT SMEs, WIT has grown into one of South Africa\u2019s leading women-in-tech platforms. On Tuesday, 24 November 2026, WIT returns with free virtual registration, women from across South Africa are invited to take part in WIT 2026.<\/p>\n
The 2026 WIT Awards will honour the accomplishments of growing female-owned SMEs in South Africa\u2019s ICT sector. These women have participated in the Innovator Trust\u2019s Start-up Enterprise Development, Youth Entrepreneurship and Supplier Development incubation programmes. Through these programmes, they have strengthened their ability to digitise, monetise and scale their businesses. That journey from incubation to growth is exactly what WIT brings into the spotlight.<\/p>\n
The recognition is supported by a speaker programme that brings wider perspective to the opportunities and challenges facing women in business and technology. WIT has earned a reputation for bringing together an accomplished and varied speaker line-up. Previous speakers include former Public Protector Professor Thuli Madonsela, former Deputy President Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, business leader Irene Charnley, Dr Roze Phillips (African Futurist, Business Strategy Advisor & Founder, Abundance at Work, Tsatsi Mthimunye (Managing Executive \u2013 Central Region, Vodacom) and Charmaine Houvet – Senior director, Africa of Cisco. Their contributions have helped connect the success of individual business owners to wider conversations about leadership, access and economic participation.<\/p>\n
This is where WIT\u2019s broader value lies: recognising the women already shaping the sector while making its emerging leaders visible. Annual recognition keeps attention on the progress being made and the barriers that continue to affect women\u2019s access to opportunity. Returning each year allows the Innovator Trust to recognise new achievements, track meaningful change and keep the remaining work in view. The 2026 theme,\u00a0Tech Believers<\/em>, takes that idea further. Women founders believe in their ideas long before the market validates them. They invest time, take risks, build capability and keep doing the work while others are still deciding whether to believe. The wider ecosystem must show the same conviction through contracts, capital, mentorship, partnerships and market access.<\/p>\n WIT will continue to celebrate women in technology year after year. Their businesses are creating jobs, solving real problems and strengthening South Africa\u2019s digital economy. The sector is moving forward because of their work and that deserves recognition.<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not so long ago, conversations about women in technology centred on whether space would be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"yoast_head":"\n
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\n\u201cWIT celebrates evidence and action. We see it in growing businesses, new jobs and technology that solves very real problems in our country. Through this year\u2019s theme, Tech Believers, WIT and its partners recognise the women who have backed their ideas with action and call on the market to back proven ability with real opportunity,\u201d says Tashline Jooste, CEO of the Innovator Trust.
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\nFor Jooste, visibility also carries commercial weight. It can influence whose name is remembered when contracts become available, whose business is considered ready to scale and whose expertise is invited into the room. An award cannot replace access to capital, procurement opportunities or long-term business support, but it can strengthen the credibility that helps women-owned businesses reach those opportunities.<\/p>\n