My Journey

I am exceptionally passionate about female empowerment and entrepreneurship. As a woman in technology, I have always found that the effort to get myself heard is far greater than that of our male counterparts. I believe that I am now at a point where my immersion and dedication to learning and self-improvement has provided me with the confidence and knowledge to command the respect that I rightly deserve. I believe that the current status quo is imbalanced and that if women wish to be heard and taken seriously they need to Step Up. I recently presented a TEDx talk as part of TEDGlobalWomen2015 (http://bit.ly/StepUpTF) on Stepping Up and the outpouring of support that I have received from women around the globe has been nothing short of spectacular. As a young successful female business leader, I feel that I have a responsibility to use the knowledge gained from my experience and to pay it forward by helping to foster a movement of strong women entrepreneurs who will be willing to take the initiative and go out there and make things happen! South Africa as a country has undergone an incredible transformation since its peaceful transition to democracy in 1994. The one issue is that whilst it is now one of the most democratic countries in the world, it also has a youth unemployment rate of more than 50%, the second highest in the world. This shocking statistic should theoretically act as a catalyst for government supported entreprenuership programmes but unfortunately South Africa is also one of the most difficult countries globally to setup and run your own business. In addition to this, a weak economy, a corrupt government, funding being taken away from proven entrepreneurship programs, and an education system that is permanently in crisis, this is a critical situation that must change and I am passionate about creating awareness for change. Coming from an economically challenged and abusive single parent family background, I have overcome countless obstacles and developed myself into a driven activist for Women's Economic Empowerment. My abusive upbringing was not unique, with one of the highest rape rates in the world, South Africa needs to take better care of her Women and Children. By promoting entrepreneursip, you are giving these disempowered women a fighting chance and the ability to create a life for themselves.

Whilst the situation is untennable my passion lies within in the STEM space. Even given my busy schedule, I have made it a priority to motivate and inspire young women to do better with their lives.

Following my appointment as an UN Global Champion for Women's Empowerment, I have found myself on an incredible journey of discovery. As part of my role as a Champion, I have had the opportunity to interact with women from every level of society and one of the most surprising things that I have found is that no matter how successful women are, we all face the same self-confidence issues and having someone to inspire and re-assure you as a woman will go an incredibly long way to achieving your dreams. As part of my Empower Women journey, I am privileged to be offering leadership guidance to 30 women focused entrepreneurship organisations in Africa and have been focusing heavily on different segments of the community, being fortunate enough to witness an incredible level of authenticity in interacting with amazing groups of people. For example, I was recently invited to present to a group of HIV+ female entrepreneurs and found the experience to be exceptionally rewarding. I am also currently putting together the very first Female-Only Inter-University Hackathon in South Africa. One of the most stabilizing forces in my life has been that I am extremely fortunate to have had a husband and business partner who has encouraged, supported and stood by me in all these respects. Even more so since commencing my Empower Women Journey where I have constantly leaned on him for support. Given how one of the greatest issues facing many of the women that I have interacted with, is the lack of spousal support, I am very privileged to have a partner championing my cause. His incredible support together with truly remarkable female mentors has helped stretch me toward reaching my potential. Even so, as a woman, it has often been a very lonely journey navigating my way through a heavily male dominated space. As women, we have immense potential, both individually and as a group, and if we can help one another find the courage to take advantage of the gender equality transformation drive that lies ahead of us, extraordinary things will happen! I have found that what really motivates me is the knowledge that I can take my learnings and use them to help empower other female entrepreneurs to break through barriers and reach for their own dreams. The idea of reaching for your dreams was recently made even more apparent to me when I was selected as one of three finalists for the FDM #Everywomen in Technology Inspiration Award for 2016. The prize giving Gala will be held in London in February this year. In closing, my motivation lies within my belief that we are at the cusp of a Female Empowerment Revolution and there is no time like the present for women to stand together and unite in a bid to help one another reach out and acknowledge and embrace the greatness that is rightfully owed to them.