Excellence Recognised. Integrity Assured.
The Women of Worth Awards celebrate exceptional women who are transforming industries, creating employment, driving innovation, and making a lasting impact on South Africa’s economy and communities. Every award is assessed through a rigorous, transparent and independent judging process designed to recognise genuine excellence across entrepreneurship, leadership, business performance and social impact.
Our comprehensive Judging Framework has been developed to ensure every submission is evaluated consistently, fairly and objectively. Each award category includes clearly defined eligibility requirements, purpose statements and assessment criteria, allowing every entrant to understand exactly what our independent judging panel will be looking for.
A Comprehensive Awards Programme
The 2026 Women of Worth Awards recognise excellence across a diverse range of categories grouped into eight prestigious award bundles:
Celebrating outstanding women entrepreneurs, startups, family businesses, high-growth SMEs, township and rural enterprises.
Recognising women creating meaningful social impact through leadership, mentorship, empowerment and community development.
Honouring organisations demonstrating excellence in innovation, customer experience, financial performance, digital transformation and brand leadership.
Celebrating exceptional women-led SMEs across Southern Africa, recognising business excellence beyond South Africa’s borders.
Showcasing outstanding achievement across sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, construction, technology, healthcare, education, tourism, finance, media, sustainability and many more.
Our highest honours, recognising the SME Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and recipients of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
Celebrating organisations, institutions and partners that actively support and strengthen the women-owned SME ecosystem.
How Entries Are Evaluated
While each category has its own specific criteria, judges assess entries using a consistent framework that focuses on several core areas, including:
- Leadership and entrepreneurial vision
- Business growth and financial performance
- Innovation and creativity
- Sustainability and long-term viability
- Community and economic impact
- Governance and ethical business practices
- Industry contribution
- Future potential and scalability
Entrants are encouraged to support their submissions with measurable evidence, achievements, financial performance where applicable, testimonials, case studies and other documentation that demonstrates the impact of their work.
Our Commitment to Fairness
Every submission is treated with the highest level of confidentiality and professionalism. Independent judges evaluate entries objectively against the published criteria, ensuring a transparent and credible awards process that recognises genuine achievement and celebrates excellence.
For detailed eligibility requirements, category descriptions, scoring criteria and submission guidelines, please download the official Women of Worth Awards 2026 Judging Framework.