Finalists Announced For RMB’s Africa’s Fearless Thinker Award
Finalists Announced For RMB’s Africa’s Fearless Thinker Award. RMB is delighted to, for a second time, be a category sponsor for the Accenture Gender Mainstreaming Awards (GMAs). The awards were developed by Business Engage to acknowledge and celebrate instances where women are represented meaningfully in mainstream business across Africa.
The RMB Africa’s Fearless Thinker Award is a prestigious accolade that celebrates and honours individuals across the African continent who have demonstrated exceptional creativity, innovation and courage in addressing pressing societal challenges. The top 5 finalists for the category this year are:
- Dr Ntombizodwa Mhangwani, Executive Head of Marketing at Vodacom Business, is an influential advocate for gender equality and inclusion. In addition to her corporate role, she is a founding member of the Voices of Change (VOC) Movement, promoting workplace gender equality globally through collaboration among women, men and the LGBTQ+ community. Under her leadership VOC has grown significantly, with an expanding annual conference and innovative virtual Leadership Coffee Sessions that engage diverse participants including business leaders.
- During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Leila Fourie and her fellow Johannesburg Stock Exchange Board Directors seized the opportunity to help marginalised and vulnerable communities and those hit hardest by the crisis. They donated 30% of their earnings for three months to the national Solidarity Fund, which provided much-needed support to those in need. She also initiated the #trade4solidarity campaign, rallying market participants to pledge trading fees which resulted in a further R34 million in contributions to the Fund, uniting the financial services sector in a display of national solidarity.
- Bertina Engelbrecht is an outstanding leader who has achieved ground-breaking work in the sphere of gender mainstreaming. As the CEO of Clicks Group, she achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Black woman to lead a listed retail group in South Africa.
- Avesh Singh, Vice President of Global Operations at TransUnion, is a catalyst for transformative change in gender mainstreaming. He has successfully created a 100% female leadership team at TransUnion’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Africa, where women comprise 68% of the overall workforce. He has also led the establishment of a female-led global Business Process Reengineering (BPR) team.
- Anne K Waweru, an accomplished educator, technology expert and advocate for gender equality, has over two decades of experience that make her a standout candidate for the RMB Africa’s Fearless Thinker Award. Her unwavering dedication to improving the lives of women and girls through education and technology is evident through her many contributions.
Alison Badenhorst, Chief Marketing Officer at RMB and also a category judge said: “The RMB Africa’s Fearless Thinker Award seeks to highlight people who have made a significant impact through their ground-breaking ideas and initiatives, spanning fields such as technology, entrepreneurship, social innovation and more. By acknowledging these exceptional minds, RMB aims to inspire a new generation of leaders and change-makers committed to shaping a brighter future for Africa, and we can confidently say that all our finalists live up to achieving this vision in their own right.”
