Four SA women playing a pivotal role in tech - Women's Day special

On August 9, South Africa celebrates Women's Day, a day that not only commemorates the historic 1956 march led by icons like Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph, but also highlights the remarkable strides the country's women have made across many sectors, including the tech ecosystem.

In the past decade, South African women have made significant technological strides, from founding innovative startups to leading cutting-edge research into artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and software development.

Their contributions are fostering a more inclusive and dynamic industry as well as transforming the tech landscape.

As we honor the legacy of those who fought for equality, we also need to celebrate the modern-day innovators who continue to inspire and drive progress in the South African tech sector.

Connecting Africa has compiled a list of four South African women playing a pivotal role in the country's tech ecosystem.

1. Baratang Miya

Baratang Miya, founder and former CEO of GirlHYPE and currently the co-founder of Devshired AI, has played a key role in the South African tech ecosystem for over two decades.

Miya started a business, saved money, and eventually, in the late '90s, made her way to university, where she thrived but also struggled to balance her studies and childcare.

During an interview on the Connecting Africa podcast, Miya said the strive for diversity has driven everything she does and led her to starting GirlHYPE in 2003.

Devshired Co-Founder Baratang Miya. (Source: LinkedIn)

She started GirlHYPE with a single purpose – to empower marginalized women and girls to build a long and lasting career in the tech industry.

"I've always been driven by diversity and inclusion, and I know that if you are on the other side, you are very disempowered. I succeeded because there was always someone to open the door for me ... but I had to learn to use my power," she said on the podcast.

2. Kgomotso Motshidi

Kgomotso Motshidi is CEO of The Zora Group, a consulting and technology firm that helps provide secured architecture with protection from malware, phishing and other cyber threats or security breaches.

Motshidi is a technology and strategy specialist with more than 15 years of experience, having worked for Fortune 500 Companies in South Africa and abroad.

The Zora Group CEO Kgomotso Motshidi. (Source: The Zora Group)

Because of the skills shortage in cybersecurity, Motshidi told Connecting Africa that The Zora Group and its partners have created a cybersecurity skills training platform.

"The Zora Group has partnered with the YES Program, which was part of the initiative to employ graduates. The program has granted us interns, who we are training in cybersecurity," she continued.

Moreover, she acknowledged that – because skilled cybersecurity talent comes at a premium – The Zora Group is working toward training young talent to compete with bigger companies.

3. Jessica Hawkey

South Africa's youth unemployment is amongst the highest in the world. According to Statista, youth unemployment was almost 60% in the first quarter of 2024. RedAcademy MD Jessica Hawkey told Connecting Africa that it is against that backdrop that the Cape Town-based skills-hub was launched.

RedAcademy MD Jessica Hawkey. (Source: RedAcademy)

"RedAcademy is an innovative skills and experiential learning hub that specializes in teaching coding and technology skills," she said.

Hawkey has a deep passion for providing talented South Africans with the opportunity to sprint into their software careers by working closely with professional lecturers, industry-leading senior developers and customers in a way that is designed to fast-track careers in the real world.

4. Lorna Mlonzi

Sky Internet SA CEO Lorna Mlonzi believes that people living in underserved areas deserve fast, reliable fiber Internet connectivity at affordable prices. This belief system catapulted this Cisco-certified network engineer – who holds a national diploma in information communication technology from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology – to start Sky Internet SA.

Sky Internet SA CEO Lorna Mlonzi. (Source: Sky Internet SA)

"I wanted to bridge the digital divide between the haves and have-nots. The Internet enabled me to change my life professionally and personally," she explained to Connecting Africa.

Born in the Eastern Cape town of Gqebera and raised in the Cape Town township of Nyanga East, Mlonzi said she created the company after studying where she lived.

"Sky Internet SA aims to change the narrative of how we view our circumstances, our spaces and ourselves. We want to be an agent of change," she said.

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa