Meet the 2026 Wired4Women Awards finalists
The shortlists across 13 award categories have been selected. The shortlists for the 2026 Wired4Women Awards have been announced.
This initiative of the Wired4Women Forum and ITWeb Brainstorm, with Telkom as lead sponsor, recognises excellence and outstanding achievements of women across the tech industry – from C-level execs, to rising stars and students − and promotes gender inclusion in South Africa’s technology sector.
There’s only a week left until the much-awaited 2026 Wired4Women Awards programme reaches its conclusion – the announcement of winners at a gala ceremony on Thursday, 16 April.
This initiative of the Wired4Women Forum and ITWeb Brainstorm, with Telkom as lead sponsor, is now in its third year and recognises the trailblazing women transforming the South African ICT industry, from top-level leaders, founders and innovators, to rising stars and those excelling in using tech for the greater good.
“The Wired4Women Awards have become so much more than a recognition programme; they have become a catalyst for visibility, affirmation and systemic change in South Africa’s technology sector,” says Nomonde White-Ndlovu, CIO of Bidvest Bank and chairperson of Wired4Women.
“What continues to inspire us as an advisory board is the profound ripple effect these awards create. Our past finalists and winners have gone on to expand their influence, lead transformative programmes, champion inclusion within their organisations, mentor the next generation and redefine what leadership looks like across the technology ecosystem.”
The 2026 awards attracted hundreds of nominations across 13 categories, reflecting the scale and diversity of female talent in the sector.
The multi-stage adjudication process is conducted by a carefully selected judging panel, which includes Wired4Women Forum board members, ITWeb senior editors, past Wired4Women Award winners, academics and industry experts. All the shortlisted candidates were interviewed as part of the final round of judging, after which winners will be selected.
2026 Wired4Women Awards finalists
The finalists across the 13 award categories, listed in alphabetical order by first name, are:
Trailblazing Career in ICT
- Elmarie Biermann – director and founder, Cyber Security Institute
- Portia Matsena – divisional executive: hyper automation, Nedbank
- Stella Bvuma – director of school of consumer intelligence and information systems, University of Johannesburg
- Sylvia Sathekge – CIO, National Health Laboratory Service
CIO of the Year
- Hanlie de Bod-Leaf, CIO, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator
- Kim Sim, CIO, Mr Price Group
- Mandi Scott, CIO: digital, data and e-commerce, Standard Bank Group
- Pragashani Reddy, business banking exco: executive director: digital, Absa
- Sylvia Sathekge, CIO, National Health Laboratory Service
- Tsebeletso Mashau, CIO: Africa regions, Standard Bank South Africa
Rising star: AI and data innovation
- Gloria Pucoe – master’s student, Sol Plaatje University
- Jacqui Muller – industry coordinator, Belgium Campus iTversity
- Kutlwano Ngwarati – head of AI and intelligent automation, Exxaro Resources
- Leanri Marais – data engineer: single view of customer, Standard Bank
- Riselle Rawthee – AI/ML customer engineer for Sub-Saharan Africa, Google
Announcement of winners
The Wired4Women Awards programme is audited by Nolands JHB.
The next phase of the adjudication process includes interviews with shortlisted finalists, after which the judges will select the ultimate winners.
