Lelo N Africa™, Founder & Chair of W.O.W Africa Holdings, will convene the W.O.W Africa 100 Leadership Summit and Crystal Globe Awards at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, on Saturday, 27 February 2027. The gathering will recognise 50 Extraordinary Women and 50 Rare Men whose work advances enterprise, creates opportunities and contributes to the lives of others.
Under the theme “The Spotlight Is on You”, the programme will bring founders, executives, changemakers and institutional leaders into conversation around leadership, enterprise and continental collaboration. The afternoon Summit will be followed by an evening of recognition and celebration.
Founded by Lelo N Africa™, W.O.W Africa (Workshops of Wealth) connects leadership recognition with ongoing convenings, business media and enterprise dialogue. The Africa 100 gathering builds on its 50 Women and 50 Men platforms, creating a shared setting for women and men to exchange perspectives and develop relationships across sectors.
The convening is guided by W.O.W Africa’s four pillars: Legacy, Connection, Access and Continental Impact. Its focus is on the people building enterprises, developing talent and opening doors for others across Africa and its diaspora.
The Leadership Summit will take place from 16:00 to 17:30, followed by the Crystal Globe Awards and celebration from 18:00 until late. The dress code is Green Elegance. “What makes this edition significant is the intention behind bringing them together. We want the programme to encourage genuine engagement, where people can understand one another’s work, exchange knowledge and identify possibilities for collaboration. Those relationships can become the foundation for new ventures, stronger businesses and opportunities that reach employees, suppliers and communities.”
Our theme, “The Spotlight Is on You”, places both achievement and responsibility in focus. We are recognising what people have built while inviting them to consider what their experience and influence could make possible alongside others. I want the value of this gathering to continue through the relationships and work that follow it.”
Nominations are open for founders and changemakers, including self-nominations. Event seating is reserved separately, with options starting at R950. Nominations, reservations and event information are available at www.workshopsofwealth.com.
Companies and institutions can participate through award sponsorship, Summit conversations, brand activations and media partnerships. Partnership proposals, media accreditation and interview requests for Lelo N Africa™ can be directed to partners@workshopsofwealth.com.
ENDS
We had a quick chat with Lelo N to dive a little bit deeper into the inspiration and values of these awards.
W.O.W Africa stands for Workshops of Wealth. What inspired you to establish this initiative, and what gap did you identify that you wanted to address?
“I established W.O.W Africa because I wanted to explore what it takes to build wealth that has value beyond one person’s lifetime. Access is at the heart of that. The gap I identified was the need for a space where founders could build meaningful, sustained relationships with other founders. These are people who understand the responsibility of building an enterprise, employing people, navigating failure and finding the courage to build again. There is enormous value in bringing that experience together.
What's your hot take on this story?
Our foundation phase has focused on creating those connections. We bring founders into a shared setting, with programmes that encourage them to interact, engage and learn about one another. When people spend meaningful time together, they begin to understand the person behind the business, their thinking, their values and what they are working towards. That gives a relationship far more substance than an exchanged business card. This is where social capital becomes important. Trust, shared knowledge and relationships can create the conditions for people to collaborate, pool resources, enter new markets or build something together. Financial capital can follow, but the relationship often creates the opening. Imagine a hundred founders building at scale, employing people and caring about the communities around them, developing those relationships over time. What businesses could emerge?
What could become possible when one founder’s experience meets another’s idea, resources or access? That is the potential I see in W.O.W Africa. We are building a community whose relationships continue beyond a gathering or a moment of recognition. I want the founders who come together through W.O.W to know one another well enough to see where they can build together, and how what they build can create opportunities for others.”
The initiative highlights four pillars: Legacy, Connection, Access and Continental Impact. Which of these pillars do you believe is most urgently needed in Africa today, and why?
For me, Access is the most urgent. There is an economic consequence to who has access to knowledge, markets, capital and the people who make decisions. A capable founder can have something valuable to offer and still struggle to reach the relationships that could help their enterprise grow.
That is why I place such importance on social capital. When founders engage consistently and develop trust, they become better positioned to share knowledge, make introductions, collaborate and recognise opportunities in one another’s businesses. We need to be intentional about creating the conditions for those relationships to develop.
The effect can extend well beyond the founders themselves. A collaboration that helps a business grow can create employment, bring suppliers into its value chain and develop skills that remain within a community.
This is how I see our four pillars connecting. Access creates an opening. Through sustained connection, people can turn that opening into something productive. When the value reaches others and endures, we begin to build legacy and continental impact.
You are also recognising 50 Rare Men. What qualities define a rare man in today’s society, particularly when it comes to leadership, mentorship and creating opportunities for others?
A rare man, in my view, is someone whose progress creates room for other people to progress. He understands that building a business, holding influence and employing people carry responsibilities that extend beyond his own ambitions. I value consistency, accountability and the courage to make difficult decisions with integrity. Many founders know what it means to build, lose, learn and begin again. What matters is how those experiences shape their leadership, including how they treat people when circumstances become difficult.
In mentorship, a rare man is willing to share the lessons behind his achievements, including the mistakes. He gives considered guidance, makes meaningful introductions and entrusts others with opportunities to develop. There is something powerful about a leader who helps someone grow into a position where they can lead independently.
Through the 50 Rare Men, we seek to recognise that contribution: enterprises built, livelihoods supported, people developed and opportunities created. I am interested in the lasting effect of a man’s leadership, the people who have become more capable and the possibilities that exist because he chose to invest his time, knowledge and influence in others.
