Nthabi Lehohla

A South African tech entrepreneur empowering women through digital innovation

Nthabi Lehohla is a pioneering South African entrepreneur who has made significant contributions to bridging the gender gap in technology. Born in 1989 in Johannesburg, she co-founded Women in Tech SA, an organization dedicated to training and mentoring young women to pursue careers in STEM fields. Through her initiative, over 5,000 women have gained coding skills and access to tech industry networks since 2015. Lehohla's work has been recognized by the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles, and she serves as a board member for the African Union's Digital Inclusion Task Force.

In 2018, she launched Digital Ladiés, a platform providing free online courses in cybersecurity, AI, and blockchain development. The platform now operates in 14 African countries and partners with institutions like MIT Open Learning. Lehohla's advocacy led to the inclusion of digital literacy in South Africa's national education curriculum in 2021.

Her 2020 TEDx talk "Closing the Digital Divide for African Women" has been viewed over 2 million times. Lehohla's impact extends to policy-making, having advised the World Bank on gender-focused digital initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2022, she received the African Innovation Foundation's Female Pioneer Award for her work in creating Africa's first all-women blockchain developer collective.