ALX Africa brought together over 50 women entrepreneurs, learners and industry leaders at its Johannesburg hub for the inaugural HER AFRICA event in August, closing off Women's Month in South Africa. Conceptualised and facilitated by Aisha Jackson, Regional General Manager for ALX South Africa, the event converged around the ideas of AI as a practical tool for African agency, the key building-blocks for successful start-ups, and the practicalities of fostering financial independence.

The day combined keynote presentations with a hands-on masterclass on AI agents, fireside chat conversations, and networking designed to move participants from inspiration to action.

The new African narrative

HER AFRICA kicked off with a high-octane presentation by Nozipho McLean, an actress and founder of Long Story Long, a platform that seeks to amplify African and diaspora narratives. This interactive session strongly positioned the day as one of exploration and connection, highlighting the power of young women as change-makers and innovators, who have the confidence to tell their unique stories.

AI as a tool for African agency

The centrepiece of the day was a masterclass delivered by AI solutions consultant Lisle Jenneke, who framed artificial intelligence not as a distant threat or Silicon Valley product, but as an accessible lever for African women to reclaim agency. Jenneke, who has trained more than 2,500 entrepreneurs across the continent on moving ideas to market at speed, stressed that the technology only becomes powerful when people use it on their own terms.

“Be skeptical of what I say, and of what the market and institutions are saying, because they’re only telling you what they want you to know,” she told the room. “The best way to move from what you’ve been told, to what you know, is to do it yourself. My advice is to roll up your sleeves and use the tools.”

Lisle Jenneke, AI solutions consultant
Jenneke demonstrated how agents, systems given a clear goal and the ability to take multi-step actions, can handle repetitive tasks such as drafting e-mail responses, summarising long content or supporting daily workflows. She repeatedly returned to a simple principle: start with yourself. “I started with me, in terms of what I need, what I know and what I need to do, and I’m ending with me, as the final gatekeeper and approval process.” The goal, Jenneke argued, is augmentation rather than replacement. AI processes information rapidly. Human judgement, creativity and values remain the decision-makers.

She positioned AI as a moment of genuine access that previous technologies have not fully delivered. “AI used to be behind the systems that we use, and now it’s literally in our hands. This is a moment of access that we haven’t actually seen in our lifetimes.” Jenneke’s call to participants was to move from being consumers to builders, take the tools into African homes and contexts, and use them to address local realities rather than imported narratives. She said, “We have an opportunity to use AI to create an African century.”

Shana-Michelle Rabonda, Chief Operating Officer of ALX Africa; Amina Patterson, founder of Solve4x; Aisha Jackson, Regional General Manager for ALX South Africa
Building businesses that last

The programme then shifted to practical business-building. Shana-Michelle Rabonda, Chief Operating Officer of ALX Africa, and Amina Patterson, founder of Solve4x and a venture growth strategist, examined what separates businesses that merely prove an idea from those that scale with durable foundations. Rabonda, reflecting on ALX’s continental operations, emphasised local leadership, contextual problem-solving and ethical entrepreneurial leadership. Patterson stressed systems, founder alignment, distribution, and the discipline of translating what is in a founder’s head into documented processes that others can execute.

Zanele Zungu, Advisory Partner, Citadel
A financial literacy segment with Zanele Zungu of Citadel reinforced the same theme of agency. Zungu outlined practical steps such as budgeting by giving every Rand a job, distinguishing good from bad debt, building emergency buffers, and using the power of compounding. She argued that financial health is less about becoming rich than about having enough financial independence to keep moving when life changes.

Voices from the room

Participant voices reflected the impact of the combined sessions. ALX learner Isa Omama, who is establishing a foundation focused on community support including soup kitchens and book drives for children, described the day as one of the strongest networking events she has attended. “I am very much inspired. There are so many women who are in a space where I aspire to be, and they provided me with a roadmap of how to get there. They made me realise that I’m on the right track when it comes to business, in terms of what I’m doing, who I’m helping, and what problems I’m solving.”

Bertha Chauke, invited to the celebration of women, highlighted the immediate practical gains: “This event has had an immediate impact on me, because I got to learn how to use AI to my advantage. Not only that, but I was able to explore how to use my business skills and my eyes were opened to how to leverage financial skills.”

Entrepreneur Kilewochile Mujidwani said she came specifically to absorb energy from like-minded women. “I found the session to be very informative. I found that speaking to women entrepreneurs who have built things and been successful, and just seeing that we all go through the hardships was so important. The takeaway for me was to keep going and to be consistent.”

Aisha Jackson noted the purposeful design behind the day. “We created this space so that women can leave not only inspired, but equipped with practical tools, real conversations and a community that holds them accountable to building. When women gather with clear purpose, the impact ripples outwards far beyond the room.”

Looking ahead

The gathering formed part of ALX Africa’s ongoing effort to equip young Africans, particularly women, with the skills, networks and mindset required for the digital economy. With more than 347,000 graduates to date across Africa and a majority of them women, the organisation continues to pair technical training with community gatherings that turn abstract tools into personal roadmaps.

For participants, the takeaway was consistent across the technical, business and financial sessions: the tools exist, the gaps are real, and the agency to close them sits with the people in the room. As Jenneke put it, the work begins and ends with the individual and then multiplies outward.

Explore ALX programmes at www.alxafrica.com