Technology advances when women can shape the conversation, build the solution and bring it to the people who need it. That is the spirit of Tech Believers, the theme for the Innovator Trust Women in Tech Awards 2026, which puts the women who speak about technology, build it and supply it at the centre. Keynote speaker and CEO of the Innovator Trust, Tashline Jooste, underscores the importance of turning these discussions into action
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Last year’s discussions raised important questions about what women-led SMMEs need to thrive. We’ve carried last year’s insights into this year’s work, creating stronger pathways for women-led SMMEs to grow in ways that are meaningful to them. At WIT, we’ll bring together leaders who have shaped industries and innovators creating solutions for their communities. Their stories show what it takes to turn belief into progress,” highlights Jooste.
At breakfast, Innovator Trust SMMEs will bring the Tech Believers theme to life by sharing the creative technology solutions they have built to meet community needs. Panellists including Nonhlanhla Moloko, CEO of SAMO Engineering, Siphokazi Simandla, Managing Director of Bolunga Systems and Zoe Molapisi, Founder & Group CEO of Fresh Minds, will discuss how local insight and creative approaches to tech can spark practical innovation.
A headline session, the Audacity to Believe, brings Prof Thuli Madonsela, Nonkululeko Gobodo and Irene Charnley together for a fireside chat on leadership, enterprise, social impact and the legacies that create room for others to grow. Prof Madonsela makes a much-anticipated return to WIT.
Madonsela is Director of the Centre for Social Justice at Stellenbosch University and a former Public Protector of South Africa. She was one of 11 technical experts who helped draft the South African Constitution. Gobodo, Founder and CEO of AWAKENED Global, was the first Black woman to qualify as a chartered accountant in South Africa. She founded Gobodo Inc., which merged with SizweNtsaluba to form SizweNtsalubaGobodo, now SNG Grant Thornton.
Charnley is a “tech believer” in action, as shown by a career spent expanding its reach. She co-founded Smile Telecoms, the first operator in Africa to successfully roll out and operationalise a broadband network using 800 MHz spectrum. Across public service, enterprise, and technology, these leaders have helped shape institutions, build businesses, and broaden participation. For SMMEs, their experience highlights a vital question: how can today’s businesses grow with purpose and create lasting value?
That question of access is also at the heart of the new Executive Speed Mentorship session, an industry first. WIT has brought icons and female captains of industry into the room year after year. This session brings women-owned SMMEs closer to those leaders through focused, direct conversations with C-suite executives, senior leaders and industry stakeholders. Participants can bring real business challenges, gain practical guidance and build relationships that may lead to ongoing mentorship, referrals and new opportunities.
Conversation strategist Nozipho Tshabalala returns to WIT as the key panel moderator. A favourite moderator for presidential and high-level conversations, she draws out different perspectives, finds the threads between them, and weaves them into a conversation that connects individual experience with the bigger picture. Joining her on stage this year as the main-stage MC is Kim Jansen.
Jansen brings warmth and charm to the role, backed by more than 20 years as a professional MC and 18 years in communications and copywriting. A professional MC and voice artist, she is Chief Experience Officer of Peralta Technologies and is no new face to WIT, having brought the same warmth and flair to the red carpet as host in previous years.
The invitation extends beyond the room: Innovator Trust invites audiences online to join WIT 2026, celebrate the women shaping technology, and add their voices to the growing community of Tech Believers.
The 2026 event takes place in a hybrid format on Tuesday 24 November 2026. You can register to join virtually here.