In April this year the Dutch Consulate General in Cape Town together with Inspiring Fifty Netherlands launched Inspiring Fifty South Africa.
This activation to showcase brilliant Women in Technology, called for South African nominees to sign up and become role models to attract more female champions in the technology-related fields. When the application period closed end of June, an overwhelming number of 252 women in tech were nominated.
The list included remarkable women which made the task for the judges to select the final fifty an arduous one. The selected nominees have more than proved themselves worthy of their new titles as one of South Africa’s first Inspiring Fifty women.
“The caliber of women is amazing and the project has reached so many different fields,” according to project manager, Chantal Louw.
The finalists are showcasing a broad spectrum of skills;
- 6 are academics
- 10 are in corporate
- 25 are entrepreneurs
- 2 are journalists
- 6 are from NGOs and
- 1 is a VC
Inspiring Fifty was initiated by Janneke Niessen and Joelle Frijters from the Netherlands and has since been realized in the Netherlands, Europe, France and the Nordics.
The initiative aims to prove the philosophy that “if she can see it, she can be it” therefore, “We are excited about all these women who have been given the opportunity to create awareness of their roles in the technology and innovation sectors and encourage more women to join the force”, says Janneke.
Hosting the first platform for inspiring women in technology outside of Europe, the Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Bonnie Horbach was elated at how far-spread the campaign reached, with finalists from Cape Town (28), Gauteng (19) and Kwa-Zulu Natal (3). “I was overwhelmed by the response to the call for South Africa’s Inspiring Fifty; not only by the numbers but by the unbelievable talent that we were presented with,” says Horbach.
According to Horbach the Inspiring Fifty platform will achieve more than only educate girls. “Inspiring Fifty South Africa will be part of European platform of talented women in technology and innovation. It will show the caliber of female talent available in South Africa and change the persisting perception about Africa in Europe. There is so much talent here in Africa and now with this amazing list of women, the Inspiring Fifty South Africa, we have the results to prove it,” Horbach says.
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