Valentine Saasa, 31

Valentine Saasa, 31

“When I started university, I thought I’ll go there and after three years, I will be working — only to be fascinated by the world of science, curiosity and discovery,” says Valentine Saasa. Saasa’s research focuses on ways of diagnosing diseases using only the human...
Vann van Staden, 35

Vann van Staden, 35

Vann van Staden is a motor and lifestyle journalist who wants to build a team of enthusiasts who — on paper — wouldn’t stand a chance to write their own success stories. In 2021, Van Staden decided to take a leap of faith and launch an independently owned...
Vhahangwele Tsotetsi, 24

Vhahangwele Tsotetsi, 24

With an ever-increasing list of socioeconomic and political problems to contend with, youth participation in civil society and politics is more critical than ever. Vhahangwele Tsotetsi has created the nongovernmental organisation Project Youth South Africa to both...
Viwe Jingqi, 17

Viwe Jingqi, 17

Viwe Jingqi is the fastest girl in the world in her age group over 200m and second-fastest for over 100m. TuksSport High School offered her a full athletics scholarship after watching her at the SA Schools tournament in Gqeberha in 2019. When she moved to Pretoria...
Vusi Africa, 33

Vusi Africa, 33

Stretching a R6 000 budget for an Afrikaans-medium short film marked the birth of Vusi Africa’s filmmaking career. The successful penny-pinching paid off: the rudimentary project eventually premiered at the Silicon Valley Film Festival in California and was nominated...