Johannesburg - Renowned singer-songwriter Nomcebo Zikode is one of the leading women who were honoured at the 2023 Forbes Woman Africa Awards.
These awards recognised the remarkable work of women on the continent, and for each category, the judging panel and the editorial team adopted a set of well-entrenched criteria to shortlist deserving nominees.
This year's ceremony followed the theme "Women 3.0: The Icons and Ideas Shaping Africa" across the public sector, business, finance, entertainment, society, and more.
Zikode was overflowing with gratitude, highlighting that, although there is a lot happening in the entertainment industry, gaining recognition is incredible.
"There’s so much that is happening in this industry—and when I say so much, I mean going through so much. So, for me, as a woman, to be recognized by Forbes Africa is great," said Zikode.
The summit welcomed Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr. Naledi Pandor, who delivered an opening address, highlighting the need to address female repression.
"The Leading Women Summit creates a platform for women’s social, political, economic, and cultural rights.
“It is important to recognize where there has been progress because if you live on the basis that nothing has been achieved, you actually reduce the energy to strive.
“So, it’s always important to give recognition to advancements.
“Despite the positive sentiments, there exists, in our country and worldwide, terrible levels of gender inequality and brutal repression of women and girls,” said Pandor.
Zikode also featured on the hit song “Jerusalema”, winning the category of best female artist at the KZN Entertainment Awards.
The song gained worldwide attention in 2019, with 85 million streams on Spotify and around 546 million views on YouTube.
The musician is the second-ever Grammy award-winning female from South Africa, taking the award alongside fellow South African musicians, Wouter Kellerman and Zakes Bantwini, for their song “Bayethe“.
“This is a career highlight for all of us. And it just goes to show that South African talent can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with talent from all around the world,” she commented about her win.
Grid Worldwide and 608 Experiences CEO Adam Byars emphasized how important it is to build music brands through collaborations like the one that brought Bayethe to life.
“Global music is the music of our time, and it’s a rush to see South African artists recognised for the authentic contribution they’re making to something so new and dynamic.
“Grid’s philosophy is, in fact, to ‘make it mean something'.
“It’s all about purpose and collaboration through all channels of entertainment.
“The success Zakes has achieved is not only extraordinary in its own right, but it also demonstrates the value of collaborating across industries, about telling stories, and about connecting with people."
The Star