TEDxGeorge Women

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Adele Potgieter

  Professor, Nelson Mandela University

  Professor Adéle Potgieter is an academic, keynote speaker, and business consultant with a strong financial background and a passion for strategic leadership, innovation, and inclusive economic development. As a professor in Marketing at Nelson Mandela University, she bridges theory and practice to empower individuals and organisations to thrive in complex environments. Adéle also leads a business coaching and consulting practice, where she works closely with entrepreneurs and small businesses to unlock growth and build sustainable ventures. Her work focuses on digital transformation, sustainability, and entrepreneurial development, with a particular heart for SMMEs and people development. Through her research, teaching, and speaking, she brings insight, authenticity, and a forward-thinking perspective on how leadership and collaboration can drive meaningful change.

• Jacqui Chew

  TEDx Atlanta Organizer

  Jacqui Chew works at the intersection of business, technology, innovation, and impact. She is the Managing Director of iFusion, a consultancy that helps founders, executives, and purpose-driven organizations turn complex ideas into compelling narratives that inspire action. The firm has helped launch dozens of technology companies, creating thousands of jobs and helping founders raise more than $120 million in angel and venture capital. A strong advocate for inclusive entrepreneurship, Jacqui has been recognized by Spelman College, Georgia Tech, and the Technology Association of Georgia, and was named one of the 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia by the Georgia Asian Times. She also gave a 2015 TED Talk on mental health. As licensee of TEDxAtlanta, one of the region’s largest TED affiliates, she leads the annual TEDxAtlanta Mainstage conference, whose speaker videos have received more than 35 million views globally.

• Lauren Gouws

  Professional Copywriter

  Lauren Kirsty Gouws is a professional copywriter, entrepreneur, and the creator of Momapocalypse, a brand built around the honest, chaotic, and often hilarious realities of modern motherhood. With more than a decade of experience and over 19,000 projects completed for clients around the world, Lauren has built a successful copywriting career rooted in one simple belief: the most powerful stories are the honest ones. Her work helping brands find their voice has shaped the way she approaches her own storytelling as a mother. Through Momapocalypse, Lauren shares the unfiltered moments of parenting that many mothers experience but rarely say out loud. Her work resonates with millions of parents online, worldwide, by turning everyday chaos into connection.

• Lesego Tlhabi, aka Coconut Kelz

  Comedian, Writer and Performer

  Lesego Tlhabi is a South African comedian, writer, and performer whose work blends satire, social commentary, and cultural critique. Trained across Johannesburg, London, New York, and Paris, she brings a globally informed lens to conversations about race, identity, and power. She is best known for her alter ego, Coconut Kelz, a race-bending satirical character that uses humour to confront privilege and social dynamics in South Africa. Her work has sparked national dialogue and reached wide audiences through collaborations with brands such as Takealot, Capitec, Engen, and Canon. Lesego is also the host of "Convos & Cocktails", a platform for candid conversations among Black women. Her latest project, "With No Due Respect", uses political satire to make civic discourse more accessible, positioning comedy as a tool for public engagement.

• Lorenza Allan

  Founder

  Lorenza Allan is the founder of The GWEN Group—Gathering Women Entrepreneurs Network—a relationship-led business network helping women build meaningful connections, increase their visibility and create greater opportunities through community. An entrepreneur, community builder and event producer, Lorenza has worked across membership, events, content and business networking in both South Africa and the UK. Her work is grounded in a simple belief: business may be changing rapidly, but people still choose, trust and recommend people. Through GWEN, Lorenza is creating spaces where women can develop their confidence and competence, become more visible and build the relationships that help businesses grow. She is passionate about ensuring that, as the way we work and communicate continues to evolve, genuine human connection remains at the heart of business.

• Lorna Scott

  Founder, Inverroche

  Lorna Scott is the founder of Inverroche Distillery, a pioneering South African brand known for infusing gin with indigenous fynbos. Her career spans aviation, corporate leadership, and public service, including serving as Deputy Mayor of Hessequa, where her focus on sustainable development and community upliftment took shape. Inspired by the heritage of Still Bay and its deep human history, Lorna built a globally recognized brand now exported to over 25 countries. Inverroche reflects her commitment to innovation, sustainability, and inclusion, with a workforce largely made up of women from the local community. Her work demonstrates how purpose-driven entrepreneurship can honour heritage, empower people, and create lasting impact.

• Malaka Grant

  Author, Blogger

  Malaka Grant is an award-winning podcaster, independent author, and cultural curator based in George, South Africa. With a degree in Mass Media Arts from Hampton University, she co-hosts the acclaimed podcast Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women and is the executive producer of Adventures Reads, platforms celebrating storytelling, identity, and diverse African womanhood. As CEO and Managing Director of StoryYellers Corp., Malaka leads initiatives such as the Adventures Creators Program and the Adventures Too youth project. Passionate about pleasure advocacy, media equity, mental well-being, and Pan-African narrative change, she also champions mentorship, mindful work cultures, and creative agency for Black women across the African diaspora.

• Mia le Roux

  Inclusion Advocate, Miss South Africa 2024

  Mia le Roux made history in 2024 as the first hearing-impaired woman to be crowned Miss South Africa, redefining perceptions of leadership, ability, and representation. Diagnosed with profound hearing loss and fitted with a cochlear implant at a young age, Mia turned adversity into purpose. Through The Mia le Roux Movement, she champions inclusion and accessibility, partnering with organisations like the Dis-Chem Foundation to fund cochlear implants and change lives. Her work extends to creating pathways into employment, supporting learnership opportunities for people with disabilities, and leading corporate sensitisation initiatives to build more inclusive workplaces. Mia’s mission is clear: to ensure that difference is never a barrier to opportunity.

• Nikki Jackman

  Actress

  “Nikki Jackman Joy” is a Southern African Story Weaver, Performance HEARTist, Impact Producer and Joy Catalyst who has spent more than two decades UPlifting the socio-emotional wellness of people with creativity and play. Her artistic accolades include being an award-winning voice artist and one of the original lead actors in Isidingo. She’s help build The Joy-Tool Box and Facilitate Joy Training, behind the UPskiling of more than 900 facilitators and upliftment of over 54,000 people across schools, hospitals, communities, businesses and stages in 5 regions of South Africa. Nikki warmly blends storytelling, creative play and practical socio-emotional wellbeing tools to grow empathy, resilience and active kindness. Her bold mission is to help people everywhere to KINDER and to facilitate more joy for themselves, others and our world.

• Romantha Botha

  Filmmaker, Journalist, and Cultural Commentator

  Romantha is a South African documentary filmmaker, journalist, and cultural commentator whose work explores the intersection of history, identity, and power. A SAFTA-nominated producer, she uses film and digital storytelling to examine how the legacies of colonialism and apartheid continue to shape the present. Her work also explores language as a living archive of resistance and memory, highlighting the role of Black and Brown voices in shaping South Africa’s cultural future. Through her online platforms, she translates complex social and historical issues into accessible conversations that challenge assumptions and invite deeper reflection. Whether behind the camera, on stage, or in her community, Romantha’s work is driven by a clear purpose: to confront difficult truths, reclaim cultural memory, and broaden how South Africans understand themselves and each other.

• Tasha van der Watt

  Chef

  Tasha van der Watt is a chef, entrepreneur, and storyteller rooted in the Garden Route. Born and raised in George, she began her journey in hospitality before carving her own path, from home baking to building a trusted name in cakes and, eventually, founding Beyond Flavour. Alongside her husband, she co-founded Ninas Café, where they blend restaurant dining with private cheffing, catering, and food styling. Driven by a deep love for food and people, Tasha is currently working on her first cookbook, an ode to memory, nostalgia, and the flavors that shaped her. Her work reflects a belief that food is more than nourishment; it is connection, culture, and story.

• Thandy Mkhambi

  HR Professional

  Thandolwethu Thusile Mkhambi, known as Thandy has over 10 years of HR Business Partner experience in FMCG, Retail, and EdTech. Her educational roots are firmly planted in the Eastern Cape, having completed her basic education in East London; she went on to complete her Bachelor of Arts Degree at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. This led her to start her HR career as a Graduate Trainee with Unilever in Durban, and she closed her corporate chapter as a Senior HR Business Partner at GetSmarter/2U. Her love for people and policy propelled her into a consultancy career in the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) space, where she provokes a different way of thinking about the age-old conversation of transformation. She believes that 'when individuals thrive, organic growth within organizations becomes possible and sustainable, for current and future states'.

• Vandana Premchand

  Artist

  George-based artist Vandana Premchand has been painting since early 2020. Self-taught, Vandana continues to explore the evocative and mysterious poetry of colour. Through her energetic gestures and expressive application of oil paint, Vandana guides you along sunny and battered coastlines, reveals a glimpse of a soul beneath a face, and provokes you with sensual portrayals of emotion. She is an active member of both the South Cape Association for Visual Arts and the Wilderness Art Association. Vandana’s artwork has been widely exhibited in the Western Cape and has been acquired by collectors throughout the world. “I enjoy expressions of mood through paint – my way. Nuanced or gutsy, I’d like my paintings to stir something deep within the observer.”

• Yin Xiong

  Gong Ambassador

  Yin Xiong, currently living in South Africa, has been a Sacred Sound Practitioner for more than 30 years. Known as the Gong Ambassador, she has traveled globally sharing the art of gong and sound meditation. She introduced gong culture to Southern Africa in the late 1980s and later to the Middle East, becoming the first person to present gong performances and cultural programs in Saudi Arabia in 2014. A global performer and meditation practitioner, Yin presents her signature “Opera of Sounds,” immersive sound journeys known for their uplifting tonal landscapes. She is an active member of the international community of sound facilitators and has performed and lectured in many countries. Her 2024 Masterclass concert and lecture at the Portugal International Gong Camp was widely praised as a groundbreaking Gong Opera. Drawing on Eastern and Western artistic traditions, her performances demonstrate the expressive power of gong music and leave audiences with a memorable sonic experience.

• Yvette Adams Hess

  Artist

  Yvette Hess is a South African visual artist whose work explores memory, identity, and the act of meaning-making across both intimate and large-scale forms. Working across miniature painting, text, and immersive visual pieces, her practice traces how personal and collective experiences are held, fragmented, and reassembled. Her work sits at the intersection of art and healing, informed by lived encounters with altered states, psychedelics, and emotional recovery. Through both her studio practice and participatory engagements, she creates spaces where people are invited to witness, process, and translate their own stories into form. Based in the Klein Karoo, Ladismith, Yvette is part of a new generation of artists expanding the role of art as a site for reflection, connection, and transformation.