Renowned singer-songwriter Nomcebo Zikode is one of the leading women who were honoured at the 2023 Forbes Woman Africa Awards.
These awards recognise the remarkable work of women on the continent, and for each category, the judging panel and the editorial team adopted a set of well-entrenched criteria to shortlist deserving nominees.
This year's ceremony followed the theme "Women 3.0: The Icons and Ideas Shaping Africa" across the public sector, business, finance, entertainment, society, and more.
A thrilled Zikode said: "For me, as a woman, to be recognised by Forbes Africa is great."
Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Dr Naledi Pandor, delivered the opening address of the summit, highlighting the need to address female repression.
"The Leading Women Summit creates a platform for women's social, political, economic and cultural rights. It is important to recognise where there has been progress because if you live on the basis that nothing has been achieved, you actually reduce the energy to strive.
"So, it's always important to give recognition to advancements."
Zikode also featured on the hit song Jerusalema, winning the category of best female artist at the KZN Entertainment Awards.
The song gained worldwide attention in 2019, with 85 million streams on Spotify and around 546 million views on YouTube.
The musician is the second Grammy award-winning female from South Africa, taking the award alongside fellow South African musicians, Wouter Kellerman and Zakes Bantwini for their song Bayethe.