Women in tech aren't a question mark anymore. They're building businesses, creating jobs, and solving problems that matter.

The Innovator Trust Women in Tech (WIT) Awards celebrate exactly that. It's become one of South Africa's leading women-in-tech platforms, spotlighting female-led ICT small businesses. On Tuesday, November 24, 2026, WIT is back with free virtual registration for women across South Africa.

This year's awards honor female-owned SMEs in South Africa's ICT sector who've gone through the Innovator Trust's incubation programs—programs designed to help them digitize, grow revenue, and scale up. WIT puts that entire journey front and center.

The event also brings in speakers with real insight on what women face in business and tech. Past speakers include Professor Thuli Madonsela, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Irene Charnley, Dr Roze Phillips, Tsatsi Mthimunye, and Charmaine Houvet. They've helped connect individual wins to larger conversations about leadership and economic participation.

That's the real power of WIT: recognizing women already leading while spotlighting emerging talent. The annual format keeps focus on progress and the barriers still standing in the way.

"WIT celebrates evidence and action. We see it in growing businesses, new jobs, and technology solving real problems. Through this year's theme, Tech Believers, we recognize women who've backed their ideas with action and ask the market to back proven ability with real opportunity," says Tashline Jooste, CEO of the Innovator Trust.

For Jooste, visibility matters commercially. It affects who gets remembered for contracts, whose business looks ready to scale, and whose expertise gets invited in. An award can't replace access to capital or support, but it builds the credibility that helps women-owned businesses reach those opportunities.

The 2026 theme, Tech Believers, pushes further. Women founders believe in their ideas before anyone else does. They invest time, take risks, and keep going while others hesitate. The wider ecosystem needs to show the same conviction—through contracts, capital, mentorship, and market access.

WIT will keep celebrating women in technology. Their businesses create jobs, solve real problems, and strengthen South Africa's digital economy. The sector moves forward because of their work, and that deserves recognition.