Influencers have existed as a to-go marketing channel since the turn of the 2000s. But what used to be a term reserved for the Kylie Jenners and David Beckhams of the world has changed. Influencers are now much more specific to audiences, industries, and communities. There is a greater focus on brand alignment, which makes influencer marketing more authentic and impactful - for the influencer, the brand, and the audience.
Table of Contents
The List of the Top 10 South African Female Influencers
The Rise of South African Female Influencers
How To Connect With South African Female Influencers
Measuring The Success of South African Female Influencer-Led Campaigns
Collaborate with South African Female Influencers with Meltwater
The List of the Top 10 South African Female Influencers
Using the Meltwater Influencer Marketing Tool, we identified the top 10 South African female influencers based on an influence score. These influencers are:
1. Mihlali Ndamase
3. Ama Qamata
5. Boity Thulo
9. Linda Mtoba
10. Natasha Thahane
1. Mihlali Ndamase
Mihlali Ndamase’s influencer stats:
Fans: 4.9M
True reach: 834K
Instagram followers: 2.3M
Instagram engagement rate: 2.2%
Active on: Instagram, X, Meta, YouTube
Mihlali Ndamase’s content:
A certified makeup artist and a titan of the influencer industry, Mihlali Ndamase focuses on beauty, lifestyle and travel. Her content is created mainly for YouTube and Instagram, empowering young women to pursue their dreams and ambitions no matter how many times they’re told ‘no’. Ndamase is the face of Johnson & Johnson’s Fresh Hydration range, and the first South African selected as the face of Swedish brand Daniel Wellington.
2. Zozibini Tunzi
Zozibini Tunzi’s influencer stats:
Fans: 4.1M
True reach: 336K
Instagram followers: 2.9M
Instagram engagement rate: 3%
Active on: Instagram, X, Meta
Zozibini Tunzi’s content:
Zozibini Tunzi was Miss South Africa in 2018, and Miss Universe in 2019. With her exceptional sense of style and history in television, Tunzi creates high-quality content without losing her authenticity. This approachable aesthetic makes Tunzi the perfect influencer for cosmetic, skincare and make up brands. Her influencer campaign with Dark and Lovely ranges from product shots to detailed video content and captions.
3. Ama Qamata
Ama Qamata’s influencer stats:
Fans: 1.8M
True reach: 1.4M
Instagram followers: 1.3M
Instagram engagement rate: 7.6%
Active on: Instagram, X
Ama Qamata’s content:
Style icon Ama Qamata rose to popularity as the leading actress in Netflix’s, ‘Blood & Water’. Her range of looks, from dressed down to styled up, make her an ideal fashion influencer, with her Instagram account awash with colour and style. Qamata’s caring nature has garnered her millions of followers. Her philanthropic efforts include covering the tuition fees for 20 South African students to attend high school.
4. Bontle MaAfrika
Bontle MaAfrika’s influencer stats:
Fans: 9.7M
True reach: 4.1M
Instagram followers: 4M
Instagram engagement rate: 1.6%
Active on: Instagram, X, Meta
Bontle MaAfrika’s content:
Bontle MaAfrika has a career as an actress, television presenter, dancer, choreographer and model. MaAfrika has been creating content for social platforms for over 17 years. Her unique style and charismatic personality allow MaAfrika to partner with brands from fashion and cosmetics to alcohol brands. As a flagship South African content creator, MaAfrika accredits the growth of female influencers in South Africa to efforts like the DStv Content Creator Awards.
5. Boity Thulo
Boity Thulo’s influencer stats:
Fans: 11.4M
True reach: 1.1M
Instagram followers: 6.4M
Instagram engagement rate: 1.2%
Active on: Instagram, X, Meta
Boity Thulo’s content:
Boity Thulo is an award-winning rapper and television personality, with content that expresses her individual style and impeccable eye for fashion. Thulo is the owner of Be You, a hair extensions brand, and has previously partnered with auto brand, Omoda, alcohol brand, BT Signature and tech heavyweight, Huawei.
6. Minnie Dlamini
Minnie Dlamini’s influencer stats:
Fans: 11M
True reach: 597K
Instagram followers: 5.3M
Instagram engagement rate: 0.5%
Active on: Instagram, X, Meta
Minnie Dlamini’s content:
TV Presenter and actress Minnie Dlamini is as much an entrepreneur as she is an influencer. Her high-fashion content has led to the creation of her own line of clothes, and she has launched her own skincare range, MD by Minnie Dlamini. Dlamini also founded Beautiful Day Productions, a commercial agency with brands like MultiChoice, Jaguar, Disney and Huawei.
7. Pearl Modiadie
Pearl Modiadie’s influencer stats:
Fans: 5.5M
True reach: 783K
Instagram followers: 3.8M
Instagram engagement rate: 0.6%
Active on: Instagram, X
Pearl Modiadie’s content:
Fashion megastar Pearl Modiadie is an award-winning TV host, actress and event MC. Modiadie’s style and personal approach to content creation have amassed her over 3.5 million Instagram followers, and she has worked with brands like Standard Bank, Ponds, Always, Shoprite, Woolworths, Ackermans, Lux, Edgars and PEP.
8. Nomzamo Mbatha
Nomzamo Mbatha’s influencer stats:
Fans: 9.1M
True reach: 621K
Instagram followers: 4.8M
Instagram engagement rate: 0.6%
Active on: Instagram, X, Meta
Nomzamo Mbatha’s content:
Skincare and fashion expert Nomzamo Mbatha rose to fame as an actress on Isibaya in 2013. Her style focuses on skin care, including beauty tips and routines. In 2015, Mbatha was the first South African to represent Neutrogena, and she was the face of Levi’s Love Your Curves campaign in 2024.
9. Linda Mtoba
Linda Mtoba’s influencer stats:
Fans: 5.4M
True reach: 762K
Instagram followers: 2M
Instagram engagement rate: 2.4%
Active on: Instagram, X
Linda Mtoba’s content:
Another South African female influencer that broke onto the scene as an actress on Isibaya, Linda Mtoba is a travel, lifestyle and skincare content creator. Her long-standing partnership with Vaseline lends credibility to both the brand and Mtoba’s dedication to skincare. She has also partnered with Nescafe, DStv and Showmax.
10. Natasha Thahane
Natasha Thahane’s influencer stats:
Fans: 8.9M
True reach: 810K
Instagram followers: 6.2M
Instagram engagement rate: 1.2%
Active on: Instagram, X
Natasha Thahane’s content:
Actress, model and media personality Natasha Thahane is a fashion, food and skincare influencer. Her content is authentic and relatable, with unfiltered lifestyle shots that resonate with her millions of followers. Thahane has created campaigns for brands such as Garnier and Coca Cola.
The Rise of South African Female Influencers
Influencer marketing has evolved from simple product placement to a much more established partnership between brand and influencer. This has meant that brands have begun to find influencers that are well-suited to their products and values, and influencers have a better opportunity to create meaningful partnerships.
In South Africa, the potential for female content creators is on the rise. The lean towards authenticity in content allows creators to express their genuine selves. This in turn means that viewers are able to relate and align with influencer content. It’s a cyclic updraft that is growing the South African influencer space.
How To Connect With South African Female Influencers
While influencer campaigns can be extremely effective, this is reliant on a strong strategy and excellent audience understanding. It is easy to become starry-eyed at the idea of millions of people seeing your product, but the long-term outcome will succeed or fail based on an authentic relationship between content creator and brand. Whether aligned on values or the performance of the product, genuine influencer buy-in will drive audience buy-in.
To discover, vet and effectively collaborate with the right South African female influencers, making use of an influencer marketing tool is essential. You can connect with influencers that are correctly aligned with your brand values and goals and convert top creators into long-term partners, streamlining tasks for impactful results that amplify your brand.
Measuring The Success of South African Female Influencer-Led Campaigns
In order to prove the value of your influencer marketing efforts, being able to correctly measure ROI from each campaign is key. An influencer marketing tool allows you to make data-driven decisions with real-time campaign insights based on the metrics that matter to you.
Collaborate with South African Female Influencers with Meltwater
Meltwater makes it easy to discover, vet and track influencer performance with end-to-end influencer management. Find influencers and gain real-time insights into campaign content directly within the platform. Get essential insights at a glance, and watch as their contributions to your brand grow over time.
Our latest Guide To Influencer Marketing will help you unlock everything you need to establish and scale an effective Influencer Marketing program.
If you would like to find out more about how to scale your influencer marketing campaigns as well as effectively measure the ROI from your influencer marketing efforts, get in touch with our experts below.
