In every part of the world, SMEs operating in the agricultural and food industry are required to undergo sometimes complex compliance audits before exporting their products. In South Africa, Nneile Nkholise streamlines the process, providing expert guidance and access to all biosafety audit and verification needs. 

Nneile Nkholise (photo) is a distinguished South African entrepreneur and engineer who serves as the founder and CEO of Thola, a B2B trading platform dedicated to facilitating the global export of African agricultural products. A native of South Africa, Nneile Nkholise pursued her academic journey at the University of the Witwatersrand, earning a Bachelor's degree in Physics and Computer Science. She later earned a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Central University of Technology.

Established in 2021, her trading platform, Thola, offers small and medium-sized enterprises compliance automation in the agricultural and food industry, to accelerate their access to affordable compliance certification enabling seamless access to global trade and export of goods.

A serial entrepreneur, she is either the founder or co-founder of several other startups. In 2015, Nneile Nkholise founded iMed Tech, a company that uses computer-aided design (CAD) to manufacture external dental and breast prostheses, particularly for women who have undergone mastectomy(s) after breast cancer. In 2018, she co-founded 3DIMO, a company that specializes in data analysis and tracking farm animals to monitor their health.

Currently an Atlantic Council Millennium Program Fellow and Northeastern University Founder-in-Residence, the former Dihlase Consulting Engineers Mechanical Engineering Technologist (2015-2016) was a member of the Harambe Entrepreneurship Class of 2018.

Nneile Nkholise has received several awards and honors during her entrepreneurial career. In 2016, she was recognized as Africa's Best Woman Innovator by the World Economic Forum. In 2017, she was named Young South African of the Year by the Office of the President. The following year, she made it to Forbes Africa's 30 under 30, recognized as one of Africa's top 100 young people by the Africa Youth Council, and was awarded Southern Africa's Industrialist of the Year at the All Africa Business Leaders Awards. In 2021, during the Digital Women's Days, she was awarded the Margaret Entrepreneur Africa award.

Melchior Koba