Lindiwe Nkuna-Kgopa's journey from rejection to success as she pioneers Africa's first large-scale sanitary pad manufacturing facility owned and operated entirely by women, creating opportunities and redefining the future of women's leadership in manufacturing.
After being told she "did not fit the profile" for manufacturing, Lindiwe Nkuna-Kgopa transformed rejection into one of South Africa's most inspiring entrepreneurial success stories by building a business that changed the face of women-led manufacturing in Africa.
More than a decade ago, one passing remark at a women's event changed the course of Nkuna-Kgopa's life.
Today, the founder and chief executive of Lindiwe Sanitary Pads (LSP) has been recognised with the 2026 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award for redefining what women can achieve in African manufacturing.
She recalled that a speaker at the event observed that South Africa had never had a female president and that no woman had ever owned a sanitary pad manufacturing factory at an industrial scale. While the audience moved on, Nkuna-Kgopa did not. She left determined to change that.
