Mzwakhe Xulu, 27

Mzwakhe Xulu, 27

Mzwakhe Xulu is the cofounder of Calibrating Minds Society, a non-profit organisation that advances academic excellence high schools in Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal. As the organisation’s chairperson, Xulu oversees tutoring, career expo and interschool debating...
Nabeelah Kolia, 30

Nabeelah Kolia, 30

Nabeelah Kolia’s proudest moment was when she became a fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa. “It felt like all the countless hours of studying and 16 board exams had culminated in that very moment,” she says. From winning awards to becoming the newly...
Nadia Fisher, 35

Nadia Fisher, 35

Nadia Fisher, known as Nardstar*, is a street artist based in Cape Town who works throughout the country and across the world. “Every time I am invited to paint abroad I am surprised,” she says. Fisher has taken several international residencies and earned a Mbokodo...
Nandisa Mpanza, 27

Nandisa Mpanza, 27

Nandisa Mpanza is a business owner and founder. Now the chief executive of her own company, Rock, she’s a farmer first and foremost. “I take part in the planning, researching, marketing and running of the business,” Mpanza says. Mpanza completed her degree in...
Avis Anya Nowbuth, 28

Avis Anya Nowbuth, 28

Medical researcher Avis Anya Nowbuth is inspiring a new generation of health workers to tackle the issue of antimicrobial resistance. After studying medicine in Lusaka, Nowbuth joined the Pan-African Organisation for Health, Education and Research, and her “entire...