WOMAN OF THE FUTURE
The women eligible for this award are 30 or older and have been in business for at least 1 000 days. They’re inspiring, innovative and creative!
WHO: Nisha Maharaj COMPANY: Niche Integrated Solutions WEBSITE: www. nicheintegrated. com
During her career, Nisha Maharaj became increasingly concerned that the senior positions at most of the companies she’d worked at seemed to be held only by men. She wanted to be part of a company that was not only staffed mainly by women but owned by them, yet was shocked to find this didn’t exist in corporate SA. So Nisha created her own.
Today Niche Integrated Solutions is a 100 percent black womenowned company that specialises in information and communications technology (ICT). ‘Our aim is to have more women at the forefront of emerging and disruptive technology in Africa,’ Nisha says.
She started Niche in 2013 with one consultant and no funding. Now Nisha has a team of 10, has launched ICT masterclass event Techx Africa, was named International Businesswoman of the Year at the UK Women4Africa Awards 2018 and much more. Nisha believes that each employee at Niche should have equity in the company.
WHO: Kathryn Main
COMPANY: Money Savvy Kids WEBSITE: www.moneysavvykids.co.za
At 30, with two kids and another on the way, Kathryn Main had to start her life over again with only R17 to her name. She learnt to be savvier with her money and in just four years, she and her family were back on their feet and doing better than ever. ‘It was purely lack of financial education that led me to where I was,’ she says.
It isn’t a problem unique to her: the National Credit Regulator announced last year that nearly 25 million people in SA are in debt, and 40 percent of them are behind
with repayments.
Today, Kathryn is making managing money easier for kids. Money
Savvy Kids teaches children as young as four crucial financial skills so they can become financially independent adults.
Launched in 2014, the business offers school training programmes and workshops that teach young people the skills, knowledge and behaviour to make informed financial decisions, that will in turn shape South Africa’s economy.
WHO: Phillipa Geard COMPANY: RecruitMyMom WEBSITE: www.recruitmymom.co.za
As a mother, Phillipa Geard knew how important it was for moms to find meaningful, flexible part-time work opportunities in order to manage their family and work lives.
So in 2012 she started RecruitMyMom, a user-friendly online recruitment platform that links skilled moms to potential employers. The concept proved so popular, they added RecruitAGraduate this year. An answer to the rising concerns of youth unemployment, this
platform connects employers to graduates, interns and apprentices.
‘Both platforms are about making a difference in the lives of millions of women and children,’ says Phillipa. In 2018 she was awarded Job Creator of the Year at the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, in recognition of her work to create significant job opportunities for women in South Africa.