Five South Africans made the cut as some of the continent’s most influential roleplayers in business and other spheres at the Forbes Woman Africa gala dinner awards held earlier in March. 

The awards celebrate Africa’s most influential women in business, sports, science, entertainment and leadership.

The inaugural gala dinner was held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC Complex in Durban.

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Having a blast sharing the stage with my mom and then listening to the most incredible women share their stories and insights at @forbeswomanafrica #forbeswomenafrica

A post shared by Aisha R Pandor (@aisharpandor) on Mar 6, 2020 at 5:13am PST

The South Africans who were included are Dr Aisha Pandor, co-founder of SweepSouth; DJ Zinhle;  Bafana Khumalo, co-founder of Sonke Gender Justice; Charmaine Mabuza, co-founder of Zamani Holdings;  and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

“I’d like to extend congratulations to all the 2020 award winners for truly embodying this year’s summit theme – The Ceiling Crashers 2.0- Power with Purpose.”  

Renuka Methil, managing editor, Forbes Woman Africa

Here’s the full list of Forbes Woman Africa 2020 award winners:

Technology and Innovation Award:
Dr Aisha Pandor, co-founder of SweepSouth, South Africa 

Gen Y Award:
Nthabiseng Mosia, founder of Easy Solar, Sierra Leone

Entertainer Award:
DJ Zinhle, DJ and entertainer, South Africa

DJ Zinhle spoke of the hard work required to receive an award such as this one and thanked the team behind her:

💃🏽 @DJZinhle wins Forbes Woman Africa Entertainer award #LWS2020KZN pic.twitter.com/uBYbthSI68

— Soomeya Moosa (@SoomeyaMoosa) March 6, 2020

Entrepreneur Award:
Olajumoke Adenowo, founder of Ad Consulting, Nigeria

Male Gender Advocate Award:
Bafana Khumalo, co-founder of Sonke Gender Justice, South Africa

Social Impact Award:
Charmaine Mabuza, co-founder of Zamani Holdings, South Africa

Mabuza inspires leaders to live by this practice:

“We are the leaders in our own organisations and we need to practice what we preach”. – Charmaine Mabuza #LWS2020KZN pic.twitter.com/jo1p2f3tDq

— Forbes Africa (@forbesafrica) March 6, 2020

Pioneer Award:
Irene Charnley, founder and deputy chair of Smile Telecoms Holdings

Chairperson Award:
Ibukun Awosika, chair of First Bank of Nigeria

Legacy Award:
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, South Africa

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma receiving her award:

🏆 And the Forbes Woman Africa Legacy Award 2020 goes to Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from South Africa. 👏🏼👏🏾👏🏿 Congratulations!! #LWS2020KZN pic.twitter.com/bd1fG76Nya

— Forbes Africa (@forbesafrica) March 6, 2020