South African women doing great things in the world

"I am woman phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that's me." These words from famed American memoirist Maya Angelou sum up what South African women in various spheres have proven themselves to be. Formidable. Unstoppable. Phenomenal. In celebration of National Women's Month, and as a salute to the 20 000+ amazing women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 to demand their freedom, 3Cube Property Solutions shines the spotlight on some of South Africa's most remarkable women.

Arlene Mulder - reimagining computer programming education

You may recognise Mulder's name from the cover of Forbes Women Africa, where she featured in 2019 as one of our continent's 20 New Wealth Creators. While working in the graduate programme at Rand Merchant Bank, Arlene began to understand how powerful coding was, and how it could be used to solve business problems. At the same time, she became passionate about finding a solution to South Africa's digital divide.

Together with co-founder Camille Agon, Arlene discovered a groundbreaking computer programming school in France and soon negotiated exclusive rights to use the system - called 42 - in Sub-Saharan Africa. By 2015, driven by her belief that while "while aptitude is equally distributed, opportunity is not", Arlene had left her promising corporate career behind her and dedicated her time to WeThinkCode - a unique tech training academy with a fresh approach to coding education.

Nicky Newton-King - advocating that women can do anything

The South African College of Applied Psychology has put together a list of 10 inspiring South African women, and well-deserving of her spot on this list - alongside the likes of Thuli Madonsela, Helen Suzman and Miriam Makeba - is Nicky Newton-King. Newton-King is the first woman to have run the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Newton-King is quoted by Matie Voices as saying that she has really enjoyed the opportunity to focus on the transformation of our capital markets...and helping transform the ownership of our economy."

Karabo Poppy Moletsane - creatively reimagining African representation

Despite growing up in a mining town, Karabo knew from a young age that her destiny lay in creativity. The South African illustrator, street artist and graphic designer has been involved in a variety of projects, including the tagging of the Soweto Towers, the design of a limited-edition KFC bucket and the design of the basketball courts in ZooLake Public Park. She is also the first South African creative to teak up with Nike for an Air Force 1 collection. She has even done a six-storey mural on a building in Geneva, Switzerland. She well-deservedly made the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 List Creative Category in 2019.

Keitumetsi Qhali - making waves in film and motion pictures

Not many people can say that they have had one of their short films bought by Showmax - but Keitumetse Qhali can. Her film, The Initiate, was bought over by Netflix in 2016. It also premiered at the Cascade Film Festival in the US. Over and above this, she has directed music videos, and had one of her documentaries, Kick It, win a SAFTA award for Best Factual and Educational Programme. According to the Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans, Qhali is one of the few black female directors working in the commercial space. As if that wasn't enough, she has also written a series called Blood and Water for Netflix.

Kiara Nirghin - helping farmers and increasing food security

Many of us dream of changing the world, but Kiara Nirghin wasted no time in doing so. At just 16 years old, she won the grand prize at the Google Science Fair with her innovative solution to drought. The unique superabsorbent polymer that she developed holds hundreds of times its weight in water when stored in soil. To make the product even more remarkable, it is made entirely from waste products. Over and above her environmental work, Kiara published a book in 2019, promoting the importance of protecting our environment.

By shining the spotlight on the remarkable achievements of South African women, 3Cube Property Solutions hopes to inspire the next generation of women to find ways to improve our country and our world. If your business needs the right premises from which to make a difference in Gauteng or the Western Cape, contact us today.