Darlene Menzies is the winner of the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Five Top Female Tech Entrepreneurs in Africa. Darlene is a technology innovator and serial entrepreneur who has established several successful Fintech businesses, she has firsthand experience in what it takes to start and grow a businesses in Africa. She understands the difficulties entrepreneurs encounter in trying to raise finance and the enormous challenges they have to overcome to establish a successful enterprise.

Over the past ten years Darlene has used this experience to develop practical, easy-to-use mobile solutions for the startup and small business market. Some of these include the award-winning online accounting system SMEasy, currently being rolled out in Africa by MTN Business; and Finfind, an online access to finance solution for SMMEs which is sponsored by the Department of Small Business Development in South Africa and supported by USAID, the Banking Association of South Africa and Business Leadership South Africa. Darlene has successfully raised over R35,000,000 in venture capital for her technology innovations.

Darlene has also won a South Africa Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year Award and one of her Fintech innovations won the Country Award for Best Business Product at the 2013 World Summit Awards. Darlene was a top five Finalist for SA ICT Person of the Year alongside the MD’s of EOH and Microsoft SA and has been recognised by Zurich-based STARS Group as a future Global Leader.

Darlene believes that business should play a leading role in the fight against poverty in Africa. Locally, she works alongside Government and Corporate South Africa to combat youth unemployment and promote small business development in the country. Her personal motto is “to live an extraordinary life you must resist an ordinary approach”.

Darlene is a radio spokesperson for the SME sector and is quoted in the national press on matters of entrepreneurship and small business development.