FORBES WOMAN AFRICA set to announce prestigious award winners for women in business and society

Renowned for attracting the continent’s most influential role players across Africa’s industries, the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit presented by Mastercard honours these influential women through its annual awards ceremony. This year’s highly-anticipated #ForbesWomanAfrica awards ceremony will continue the event’s digital format with the announcement set to take place at 5pm on Tuesday, 9 March 2021 as the two-day summit finale. 

“The selection process for the annual #ForbesWomanAfrica awards is always a rigorous undertaking that considers the individual’s body of work and her impact and influence within a particular field,” said Renuka Methil, Managing Editor of FORBES AFRICA & FORBES WOMAN AFRICA. “Following a year of incredible challenge and upheaval, the nominees for this year have all exceeded in their fields, making the final choice incredibly tough for the judges! We’re looking forward to an engaging and inspiring awards’ ceremony for the 6th edition.”

This year’s highly-contested categories include:

–        FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Young Achievers Award

–        FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Social Impact Award

–        FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Technology and Innovation Award

–        FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Academic Excellence Award

–        FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Entertainer Award

–        FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Sports Award

–        FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Businesswoman Award

–        FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Lifetime Achievement Award

“African women are a vital source of innovation, prosperity, and economic growth,” said Suzanne Morel, Mastercard Country Manager for South Africa. “As firm supporters of diversity and inclusion, we are proud to partner with the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit to champion the women who are transforming how our world works and are making a real impact.”

The awards’ ceremony will conclude the two-day virtual summit – both of which are completely free to attend – set to focus on this year’s theme, Africa Reloaded: The Power of The Collective. The 6th annual FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit presented by Mastercard – which coincides with the celebration of International Women’s Day, is welcoming a top line-up of the continent’s most inspiring women.

Among them are Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, newly-elected Director-General of the World Trade Organization; Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe 2019; Gugu Mbatha-Raw, British actor and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador; Alek Wek, British-Sudanese supermodel and designer; Piwo Nyanda, South African women’s rugby player and Mastercard Ambassador; Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary-General; Natasha Muhoza, poet/storyteller and lawyer; and Ilwad Elman, Somali-Canadian activist and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize nominee…among many others!

The 2021 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit (LWS) presented by Mastercard, is a free-to-attend virtual event, expected to draw more than 2 000 attendees from across the globe on 8 and 9 March 2021. Don’t miss out on the summit or prestigious awards ceremony by following the link below.

How to get involved:                                                   

Become part of the change by registering to attend the summit at https://hopin.com/events/forbes-woman-africa-leading-women-summit​ or visit 

www.leadingwomensummit.co.za for more info. Alternatively, follow the conversation on social media @LWSummit #LWS2021 #LeadingWomanSummit.