Welcome to One Young World: Nomzamo Mbatha
Actress, Executive Producer, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and TIME100 Next honouree Nomzamo Mbatha opens the Summit, reflecting on what it means to gather in South Africa at this moment in history and preparing delegates for three days of dialogue, accountability and action that lie ahead.
Speakers
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Nomzamo MbathaActress, Executive Producer, Humanitarian, and Qualified AccountantNomzamo Mbatha
Actress, Executive Producer, Humanitarian, and Qualified Accountant
Few voices carry the weight of lived experience and global platform the way Nomzamo Mbatha’s does — an Actress, Executive Producer, Humanitarian, and Qualified Accountant whose work moves between storytelling and systemic change.
Nomzamo first captivated South African audiences through her breakthrough role in Isibaya, which became the launchpad for a global career. She rose to international prominence with her role in Paramount/Amazon Studios’ Coming 2 America, which premiered in over 240 countries on Amazon Prime Video and became the platform’s most-watched film.
She currently stars as Queen Nandi in Shaka iLembe, where she also serves as Executive Producer. The series shattered viewership records and earned her a SAFTA for Best Drama as Executive Producer, a Best Actress nomination, the 2024 Septimius Award for Best Actress, Forbes Women Africa Entertainer of the Year, and GQ Woman of the Year.
In 2019, Nomzamo was appointed a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador and later an Earthshot Prize Ambassador.
In 2025, she was named to the TIME100 Next List, selected as a TIME Women of the Year Speaker, recognised as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and honoured as GLAMOUR Woman of the Year.
Through her partnership with Global Citizen and the Nomzamo Lighthouse Foundation, she drives transformation across underserved South African communities through literacy programmes, support for women-owned businesses, scholarships, funding graduates, and providing school uniforms and supplies to more than 8,000 learners.
In addition to her humanitarian and creative work, Nomzamo is a global brand ambassador for Neutrogena, Levi’s, Inverroche, Creme of Nature, African Bank, and Shell Africa. Guided by the conviction that African stories deserve to be told on the world’s biggest stages, Nomzamo Mbatha is a movement.