2023 – Nomusa Keninda (E-learning Specialist and Founder of the Mpumalanga ICT Club – Mpumalanga ICT Club)

Nomusa Keninda is an e-Learning Specialist for the Mpumalanga Department of education and the Founder of the Mpumalanga ICT Club. Within the club, she launched the DigiGirlz Initiative aimed at empowering and mentoring young girls from rural villages to pursue Stem- related careers. She completed her Master degree in ICT in Education at University of Johannesburg and the title of her master’s dissertation was “Grade 8 and 9 girls’ perceptions of coding and robotics in a DigiGirlz workshop in the Nkangala District”. She also studied Online Journalism and Development Communication at Wits University. She has been a Council Member of the Nkangala TVET College for two terms and a Deputy Chairperson of Council and a Chairperson of the ICT steering Committee respectively. Her coding initiatives with youth have earned her prestigious accolades, including the Inspiring Fifty 2020, a Trailblazer award winner 2021 by the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI). She recently participated in the five weeks mentorship programme in the San Francisco and Washington DC as a Techwomen Emerging Leader 2023. She is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and Fellow since 2016 recognised by Microsoft. Her motto “It’s never too late to start a journey of success, just start”