Zithande Emmanuel Mbala, 35

Zithande Emmanuel Mbala, 35

Zithande Mbala’s inquisitive nature led him from a career in accounting to the world of invention. Not one to shy away from dreaming big, his first venture, iWipe, looks to innovate an everyday product: toilet paper. Mbala describes iWipe as “smart toilet paper”. It...
Zolani Metu, 28

Zolani Metu, 28

Zolani Metu is the founder and director of Decolonial Mental Health (DMH). Established after Metu completed his master’s in social work at the University of Cape Town, DMH provides Afro-inspired solutions to psychosocial challenges in South Africa. Metu distinguishes...
Zoë Mahopo, 34

Zoë Mahopo, 34

When Zoë Mahopo made the switch from journalism to public relations, the same success wasn’t certain. “In 2016, I was awarded the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Award for a feature that exposed the poor condition of school toilets in Gauteng township schools,” she...
Noluvuyo Gqadu, 34

Noluvuyo Gqadu, 34

Technology is the key to unlocking all sorts of opportunities for the youth, and no one knows that better than Noluvuyo Gqadu, founder of CodeNgwana, which teaches children from disadvantaged areas how to code. “I’ve also written stories about technology for kids and...
Lana Crowster, 33

Lana Crowster, 33

The biggest surprise of Lana Crowster’s 20-year plus career as a musician is quite simply that she has a career in an industry that is not often welcoming to women. In 2018 the songwriter, vocalist, educator, band leader and record label owner founded The Lady Day Big...