The initiative is based on the belief that, “if she can see it, she can be it” and values the positive impact that increased diversity has on business growth, innovation, culture, and productivity. The celebration of the women’s event is set to take place in August 2019.
"Inspiring Fifty has proven to be a wonderful, interactive platform for professional women to engage, share opportunities, and form collaborations in their professional activities. The continuous celebration of one another and promoting visibility of our achievements and successes, has built confidence and created a new sense of sisterhood. It has been an honour serving and leading the Inspiring Fifty initiative,” said Ellen Fischat, ambassador for Inspiring Fifty South Africa and co-founder of Innocircle.
“I look forward to expanding the reach of Inspiring Fifty with not only the support of the winners, but the generous support shown by #cocreateSA, an initiative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa. With the support of progressive men who have come on board and shared our plight of promoting women in STEM, we aim to inspire every girl and woman in South Africa to join our movement and support them in their journey toward becoming our future leaders," added Fischat.
“It is an honour being part of Inspiring Fifty. It has provided me with a platform to meet and connect with like-minded women, who are all working towards helping young women in the STEM space. It does come with the responsibility of each doing their part in improving the lives of others and in that way contributing to South Africa’s future,” said Maureen Grosvenor, director and head of custom applications at Appsolve and 2018 winner.
Dr Fanelwa Ngece-Ajayi, founder of AmaQawe ngeFundo and 2018 winner, stated, “Through the initiative I met and became close to two wonderful women Dr Mmaki Jantjies and Dr Carolina Odman, who has been a source of strength and encouragement for me in all that I do. We are passionate about community work and education and this keeps us focused at all times to remain humble and continue working hard. Everyday I live by the following quote; “...talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.” ― Patrick Süskind, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.
"Inspiring fifty has brought a lot of opportunity for my company in terms of other funding models and collaboration. It's a good platform to share with other ladies on how to equip yourself with information you are not aware of. We all learn from one another and there is more is to come!” exclaimed Prof Keolebogile Shirley Motaung, Assistant Dean of Research at Tshwane University of Technology.
To meet the criteria, a nominee has to be a founder of a technology company; or hold a position in a C-Level position in a technology company; or be an influencer, academic or politician in the technology or innovation space. Inspiring Fifty encourages South Africans and the technology ecosystem to nominate their most inspiring female role models.
Inspiring Fifty is currently active in the Netherlands; Canada; DACH; Europe; France; Italy; the Nordics, the United Kingdom and South Africa.
To nominate your most inspiring women in tech, visit https://inspiringfifty.awardsplatform.com/ For more information on Inspiring Fifty, visit https://inspiringfifty.org
