MTN celebrates woman excellence at a gala event

The awards were presented in Johannesburg at a gala event which marked the culmination of the Women in ICT – Partnership for Change Awards initiative. A woman recognition programme that celebrates and recognises the role that women have played towards the growth of the ICT sector in South Africa.

This inaugural programme is a partnership between MTN SA and Kagiso Media’s - East Coast Radio, Jacaranda and ITWeb Brainstorm.  

Prolific businesswoman, Irene Charnley was named as the winner of the Entrepreneur Recognition Award in the Women in ICT – Partnership for Change Awards. This accolade was bestowed on Charnley in recognition of the viable business she founded, Smile Communications, which is trail-blazing across the continent.

Aisha Mohamed was announced the winner in the Leadership Recognition Award category in the Women in ICT – Partnership for Change Awards. She was presented this accolade in recognition of the proven depth of experience she has showed in leading change, influencing business outcomes and leading teams that impacted positively on the organization she led. Mohamed is the Head of Bouquet 3 at SABC 3 & SABC Encore.

ALSO READ: Women In ICT Awards “Partnering for Change”

The team of adjudicators selected Stephanie Cowper as the winner of the Innovator Recognition Award. Cowper was honoured for introducing new methods, ideas that are contributing in to the delivery of a bold, new, digital world. Cowper is the Co-founder and CEO of Bespecular.com.

In the Outstanding Woman ICT Professional category, the panel of judges named Zimkhita Buwa as the winner of this category. This award recognises an extraordinary professional who has demonstrated proven results in their area of work within the ICT sector. Buwa is currently an Account Manager at Britehouse. 

Another category that was hotly contested is the Community Builder Award. Dianne Broodryk was declared the winner of this category in acknowledgement of the considerable difference she has made in her community through her usage of ICT. Broodryk is the Newscast Editor at Jacaranda 94.2 FM.

The panel of judges was unanimous regarding the important role the media has played in educating the public about the ICT sector. The Excellence in ICT Journalism Award recognizes a journalist who has contributed immensely to creating a better understanding of the ICT industry through their reporting. Thabiso Mochiko was named as the winner in the category. Mochiko is an ICT writer at Business Day/Financial Mail and has written extensively on ICT in her illustrious career.

Sharon Rao Farista from Harvard Business School (2015) was proclaimed as the winner in the Graduate Award category in the Women in ICT – Partnership for Change Awards. The Graduate Award recognises a top ICT graduate from a tertiary institution who finished top of their class. The award was open to females who graduated in the immediate year preceding the awards ceremony. 

Says Mteto Nyati, Chief Executive Officer of MTN SA: “On behalf of MTN, we wish to congratulate the winners for consistently distinguishing themselves with outstanding performance throughout their illustrious career. The winners are not only the women who stood on the winner’s podium, but the millions of women out there who are meaningfully contributing to the growth of the ICT sector in South Africa. We hope that these awards will give impetus to the advancement of women in the ICT and enhance the value proposition of the industry to aspiring female professionals.”

Mark Harris, Group CEO of Kagiso Media concurred: “As Kagiso Media, we are honoured to be associated with an initiative that is championing the noble cause of recognising and awarding excellence and driving transformation. We believe that the Women in ICT – Partnership for Change Awards will be a catalyst that puts the ICT sector on the map and remind female professionals the significant contributions they have made, and continue to make towards the growth of the sector.”

The Women in ICT – Partnership for Change Awards also featured a discretionary category called Sponsors Leadership Award category. The selection of the winner of this prize was the prerogative of both the CEOs of MTN SA and Kagiso Media. The winner of the Sponsors Leadership Award is Eileen Wilton, CEO of Gijima. The judges said the award was conferred to Wilton in recognition of the role she has played over the years as a source of great inspiration to many young professionals and in recognition of the outstanding work she has done in turning around Gijima. 

“This initiative reignited the passion I have for this sector and reminded me of the importance of forging ahead with the noble quest of creating an enabling environment that encourages and nurtures women development in this sector. I can confidently say, without fear of contradiction, that the inaugural Women in ICT – Partnership for Change Awards have been a roaring success. The event has certainly carved a place for itself as an annual calendar ICT event,” concluded Nyati. 

The awards were independently audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.