Palesa Nombula, 29

Palesa Nombula, 29

Although the phrase “to reach for the stars” is overused, it is inspirational when it comes to Palesa Nombula, who is completing her master’s in astrophysics with the Centre for Radio Cosmology at the University of the Western Cape. Having initially been excluded at...
Doreen Mokoena, 32

Doreen Mokoena, 32

Bridging gender divides by creating an environment in which more women-led start-ups thrive in tech is the force that drives internet governance specialist, Doreen Mokoena. In her work, she administers the .za namespace and arms the end-user with compliance...
Siwela Jeffrey Baloyi, 31

Siwela Jeffrey Baloyi, 31

Science researcher Jeffrey Baloyi says it’s his moral obligation to find innovative solutions that aid South Africa and the world in reducing poverty, inequality and unemployment. Growing up in a village where there wasn’t much in terms of inspiration, he never...
Mondli Magagula, 30

Mondli Magagula, 30

Part of a new generation of black professionals in the mining industry, Mondli Magagula is the principal geologist and geotechnical engineer for Exxaro Resources, one of South Africa’s largest black-empowered resource companies, and the youngest head of...
Thulile Khanyile, 32

Thulile Khanyile, 32

Thulile Khanyile has three aspects to her professional life: as a lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, as a scientist doing research towards developing an HIV vaccine and as the co-founder and co-director at Nka’Thuto EduPropeller. While for most,...