Join the Sowetan Women’s Club and Toi Moi as we celebrate 40 fabulous years of female strength, resilience and beauty by giving you the opportunity to connect with some of SA’s most-admired women.

To share the anniversary love, we want you – our valued reader – to help Sowetan reward your three favourite influencers with R8,000 each to fuel their ambitions. The Influencer with most votes in each category, will receive the cash prize and three lucky readers will each stand a chance to walk away with R 2,000 – just for voting!

Vote for the women who inspire you as trendsetters in Beauty & Fashion, Art & Culture, and Media & Entertainment and stand a chance to also join them – and us!

At this special live-streamed event, you’ll also get inspiration from some of SA’s most brilliant and iconic women. If you can’t be there in person, you can still experience the magic from the comfort of your home.

So put on your face beat and throw on some drip to be part of this exciting celebration.

Date: September 18 2021

Time: 12.30pm

Click here to register for your online viewing ticket.

Siyamthanda Ndube a former local womens’ glossy print magazine Fashion Editor, whose magazine footprints stem as far back as 2010 starting at Cleo magazine, then Glamour and GQ, Cosmopolitan magazine, Woman & Home magazine, Real magazine and finally ending her print media journey at legacy brand True Love, serves up tips, tricks, style hacks and ensembles to look, live and play in, with her weekly perfectly curated content on various social media platforms.

TV/Radio and social media personality, brand ambassador, and award-winning beauty and fashion stylist Tshiamo Modisane is no stranger to the spotlight. With over 10 years in the entertainment and magazine industries, branching over True Love, Move and Drum magazines as well as the Citizen newspaper as fashion, beauty and lifestyle writer; as well as cameo appearances on local drama telenovela The River; this Feather Award 2019 recipient has made a name for herself among the social media streets. She is also the host and producer of podcast, The Transcript on Your Media SA and beauty editor of Bloss Africa Mag.

Omila Gqoboka is a passionate founder of Royal Couture Fashion House, an image consulting and upcoming clothing boutique that helps women in South Africa discover their personal style. She is a fashion influencer; teaching her followers style using their everyday wardrobe pieces. She is a co-founder of the Gqoboka foundation, an organisation dedicated to exposing young South Africans to opportunities through sport and education. Before devoting herself to her passion which is fashion, she graduated with an Economics and Finance degree and has practiced for 5 years. Omila is married to the Blue Bulls and Springbok prop Lizo Gqoboka. She is a mother to two boys and is very passionate about women empowerment. In addition to being a fashion stylist, she is also a fashion writer and has a growing YouTube channel that provides fashion and faith-related content.

Media and Entertainment

This category is for personalities in the field of media and entertainment who utilise social media to educate, inspire, entertain and influence.

Olwethu Leshabane is a media entrepreneur, wife, mom of three boys and doula. Olwethu is a speaker, MC, TV presenter, blogger, podcaster and social media content creator and strategic creative producer. Olwethu is also a maternal health and women advancement advocate and the founder of Art of Superwoman (AoS). At its core, AoS is a content development and distribution multimedia platform which sets out to educate, inspire, entertain and influence its audience (predominantly women and mothers) to make sound and wholesome parenting, career, wellness, financial and lifestyle choices. AoS is also a marketing platform and online retail channel (marketplace) for various women-owned brands.

Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku, better known as Nirvana Nokwe, is a performance artist of varied disciplines. 24-year-old Nirvana is a trained singer, songwriter, producer, filmmaker and actress. While she is Johannesburg born, she identifies more with her years in KwaMashu and Lamtonville, eThekwini. Her family is rooted in the arts, making it possible for Nirvana to have participated in the entertainment industry at four years old as a professional.

Since her start in the industry, Nirvana contributed to music for advertisements, in addition to background music for films, and has participated in voice-over work. Nirvana’s vocal contributions can be found in productions alongside SA musicians such as the late great Hugh Masekela, Shaluza Max and Busi Mhlongo. As a solo artist, she began her career on SoundCloud with the release of The Travel Playlist. In addition to singing and writing her music, she also produces most of her music, a legacy of her time at the Academy of Sound Engineering.

Michelle Mosalakae is a South African theatre, film and television actress. Mosalakae moved to Grahamstown in 2013 where she attended Rhodes University and continued to further her studies in drama. She obtained her Honours in Dramatic Arts (specialising in acting, directing and applied theatre) with Cum Laude in 2016. While at Rhodes, Mosalakae was extremely active in the drama department, writing and staging various original plays.

In 2017 she moved to Johannesburg to officially begin working towards making her creative and artistic dreams come true. Initially, she had enrolled to Wits to further her studies by doing her Masters in Drama. After a week of classes she received a call to star in her first production in the industry. As a result, Mosalakae has gone to play a number of significant characters on shows such as Isibaya and the Queen. The success of her role on Isibaya got her nominated for a Mzansi Magic Viewers' Choice Award for Best Rising Star.

Arts and Culture

From sharp cultural influencers to passionate creatives – movers and shakers in the field of arts and culture must be both creators and game changers.

Kwena Baloyi is a trailblazer and cultural ambassador who has the skills, experience and knowledge to represent the voices of marginalised communities. She aims to reshape narratives with brands to shift perspectives that generally precede Africa and ultimately make an impact to uplift the continent to greater heights. She prides herself on building long-lasting and authentic relationships with her audience, brands and organisations, by initiating honest and thought-provoking conversations.

Kwena has worked with several national and international brands and believes that the bravest brands are those that are not afraid to deliver impactful results. As such, she only aligns herself with organisations and individuals that are driven by the purpose to serve. Her work with organisations such as FixHouse, FixBrunch, FixKonversations, Areyegaelenna Experiences and Berekisanang Agency, attest to this passion.

Twenty-six-year-old, Mthatha-born, ex-celebrity make-up artist and now celebrity chef and businesswoman Neo Nontso is the owner of Dine With Neo which has close to 300k followers. She has recently launched her own Spice range called DWN herbs and spices and her very own Dark kitchen on Uber Eats. Nontso has also partnered with Flying Fish as the head chef of Flying Dish kitchens based in Johannesburg.

Yaya Mavundla is an award-winning transgender activist, a recipient of a Feather Award, Reality Star on Mzansi Magic's Becoming, currently streaming on Showmax. She's the curator and the brains behind Layers of a Transgender Woman exhibition currently on show at Constitution Hill's Woman's Jail.

Mavundla is a publicist by profession and has worked with award winning designers Quiteria & George, media personality Lerato Kganyago & world renowned photographer/visual activist Prof. Sir. Zanele Muholi to name a few.

She is a board member at Wits RHI Transgender clinic and the first Transgender Woman in Africa to wear The Amsterdam Rainbow Dress photographed at Constitution Hill.

Vote for your favourite here

Terms and conditions

These terms and conditions apply to the competition titled 'Sowetan turns the big 4-0!, organised by Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd (“the Organiser”) and TOI MOI ("Sponsor"), which runs from 1st September 2021 until 5pm on 15th September 2021. 

By entering the Competition, you confirm that you have read and agree to be legally bound to these Terms and Conditions.

All persons resident in South Africa, including South African citizens and foreign nationals, who are older than 18 years and in possession of a valid South African identity document or valid foreign passport (“the Entrants”) are eligible to enter this Competition.

Winners will be contacted by email and/or telephonically. Prizes must be taken up as awarded and cannot be transferred to any other person or third party, or sold or converted in any way. Prizes will be transferred to a Winner’s verified bank account or a verified bank account nominated in writing by the Winner.

The Organiser's choice of Winners will remain final. The Organisers will enter into no further correspondence in this regard.

By entering the Competition, Entrants agree that their Entries can be published in full or in edited form by the Organiser in the context of this Competition in any of the Organiser's newspapers (including the Sunday Times and Sowetan); on any of the Organiser's digital news platforms (including the Sunday Times, TimesLIVE and SowetanLIVE); on any of the Organiser's associated social media and television platforms; or used in a documentary film that may be produced by the Organiser after the Competition, without any compensation (monetary or otherwise) paid to the Entrants unless such compensation is offered at the Organiser's discretion.

The Organiser may also publish a Winner’s name on any of the Organiser's print or digital news platforms, including the Sunday Times, TimesLIVE and SowetanLIVE, and on any of its associated social media platforms, unless the Winner expressly indicated in his or her Entry that the Organiser does not have permission to do so.