For five years, the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award has celebrated women who refuse to accept limitations. The 2026 edition continued that legacy by honouring two South African entrepreneurs whose businesses are changing lives and creating lasting impact.

Held at the Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff in Johannesburg, the awards recognised Lindiwe Nkuna-Kgopa as the 2026 Bold Woman Award winner and Pretty Kubyane as the 2026 Bold Future Award winner. Together, they represent the courage, innovation, and resilience that have defined the awards for more than five decades.

Honouring a Global Legacy of Bold Leadership

Established in 1972 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Veuve Clicquot, the Bold Woman Award has become the world’s longest-running international award dedicated to women entrepreneurs.

Today, the programme spans 27 countries and honours women who challenge convention, grow impactful businesses, and create opportunities for others. Inspired by Madame Clicquot’s pioneering spirit, the awards celebrate leaders who turn bold ideas into lasting legacies.

Lindiwe Nkuna-Kgopa Builds an Empire with Purpose

Turning Doubt into Opportunity

When Lindiwe Nkuna-Kgopa sought investment for her business, many believed she lacked the manufacturing experience to succeed.

She proved them wrong.

Today, she leads Africa’s first large-scale sanitary pad manufacturing facility owned and operated entirely by women.

What began in a home kitchen has grown into a modern 4,000-square-metre factory in Centurion, producing 800 SABS-compliant sanitary pads every minute.

Empowering Women Beyond Manufacturing

Lindiwe’s impact extends far beyond production.

Her company now employs dozens of women and has expanded into 11 African countries through partnerships that help female entrepreneurs launch and own their own sanitary pad brands.

In 2026 alone, the business supplied more than 100,000 schoolgirls with free sanitary products, helping improve menstrual health and dignity across communities.

Her entrepreneurial journey reached another defining moment when she secured R27 million in funding without collateral, proving that belief, vision, and perseverance can overcome even the greatest obstacles.

Pretty Kubyane Uses Technology to Transform African Agriculture

Innovation Rooted in Community

As Co-founder and Tech Lead of eFama App, Pretty Kubyane is changing how African farmers connect with markets.

Raised in a farming family, she combined her passion for technology with firsthand knowledge of agriculture to build a digital marketplace that enables farmers to make smarter production decisions.

Today, eFama supports more than 40,000 farmers across South Africa and continues to attract backing from global technology leaders, including Google, Meta, and Amazon.

Breaking Barriers in Technology

Pretty’s journey was not without challenges.

Many questioned whether a woman without a formal engineering degree could lead an advanced AgriTech company.

Instead of accepting those doubts, she invested in herself.

She earned more than 40 global technology certifications, mastered cloud architecture, cybersecurity, coding, and artificial intelligence, and built a business that is helping shape Africa’s future food ecosystem.

Her story proves that expertise is built through determination, continuous learning, and unwavering self-belief.

More Than Awards—A Community of Changemakers

The Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Awards recognise more than business success.

They celebrate entrepreneurs who create opportunities, strengthen communities, and inspire future generations of women leaders.

During the ceremony, poet and author Lebo Mashile delivered a moving spoken-word tribute celebrating women whose courage continues to reshape industries.

The evening also featured reflections from Retang Phaahla, the 2025 Bold Woman Award winner, who shared how the recognition amplified not only her voice but also the voices of the rural communities her business serves.

Boldness Thrives Through Connection

The celebration also highlighted the Bold Open Database, Veuve Clicquot’s global platform connecting thousands of women entrepreneurs worldwide.

The initiative enables women-led businesses to discover new opportunities, collaborate across borders, and become part of a growing international network built on shared ambition and mutual support.

Building Legacies That Inspire

Lindiwe Nkuna-Kgopa and Pretty Kubyane remind us that bold leadership is not measured only by business growth.

It is measured by the lives transformed, the opportunities created, and the barriers broken for those who follow.

Their stories honour the enduring legacy of Madame Clicquot while inspiring a new generation of African women to lead with confidence, purpose, and courage.

As South Africa celebrates another remarkable year of the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Awards, one message stands out clearly: the future belongs to those bold enough to build it.