Mpumi Madisa

Mpumi Madisa heads up Bidvest, one of South Africa's largest conglomerates, where she has spent most of her career. Born in Mohlakeng in 1979 under apartheid, she is the first black woman to head a Johannesburg Stock Exchange top 40 company. Since March 2019, she has been at the helm of this giant with 130,000 employees and a market value of $5.3 billion, operating in finance, logistics and healthcare. Her rise, which began in 2003, is the result of unwavering ambition and formidable strategic intelligence. Despite the country's macroeconomic difficulties, the group remains profitable. In 2023, Forbes ranked her 88th among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women. She is paving the way for a new generation of black female leaders, proving that excellence has no gender or colour. She is not only at the helm of an economic empire: she is a symbol of change in a South Africa seeking equity and representation.