Adbot wins Top Women Business in ICT and E-commerce 2025

Michelle Geere, CEO of Adbot accepting award

Adbot, South Africa's AI-powered marketing automation platform, has been named the winner of Top Women Business in ICT & E-commerce 2025 at the prestigious Standard Bank Top Women Awards, held on 2 December at the Sandton Convention Centre.

The award, sponsored by Standard Bank, recognises exceptional leadership, innovation, and vision in South Africa's private and public sectors. Adbot was selected ahead of finalists such as Vodacom and Smollan, companies with substantially larger teams and resources, for making marketing accessible to all businesses using AI.

"To win this category against corporate giants with large teams and massive marketing budgets validates everything we've been building," says Michelle Geere, CEO and co-founder of Adbot. "But this recognition truly belongs to our customers. The brave business owners and solo marketers who chose to partner with us when we were unproven. They believed there was a better way to do marketing, and together, we've found that world."

Nonkululeko Nyembezi, chairman of Standard Bank Group and Standard Bank of South Africa

Leila Fourie, CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

Solving problems industry giants can't

Adbot has served over 2,000 businesses across Africa, delivering AI-powered Google Ads optimisation that enables one-person marketing teams, including business owners, to compete with enterprise-level competitors. The platform automates the tactical execution of campaign management, freeing solo marketers to focus on strategic growth rather than daily bid management.

"We built for the solo marketer running multiple digital campaigns who have zero time for execution," explains Geere. "The difference between us and competitors offering similar services isn't our mission statement, it's our conversion rates. When an online racket store reseller spends R25,000 on Google Ads through Adbot and generates R224,000 in new orders, the ROI speaks for itself."

World first innovation

Adbot has pioneered several industry-first solutions tailored to African market realities:

• World's first USSD-based Google Ads system enabling businesses without reliable internet access to participate in online advertising, manage campaigns via basic mobile phones,

• South Africa's first industry-specific CPC and CTR benchmarks providing local businesses with accurate performance data instead of misleading international benchmarks,

• First South African built AI-powered 24/7 optimisation that delivers enterprise-grade results at a fraction of traditional agency costs.

"Most investors told us that Google will just build what you are doing," says Geere. "But Google doesn't understand the local market realities or what solo marketers need to actually use these tools effectively. There's a massive gap between Google Ads existing and a one-person marketing team being able to use it without burning through their budget in three days."

2025 winners

Pemmy Majodina, Minister of Water and Sanitation in South Africa

Recognition among exceptional women leaders

The Standard Bank Top Women Awards ceremony brought together South Africa's most influential women leaders. The evening featured addresses from Nonkululeko Nyembezi, chairman of Standard Bank, who spoke about investing in Africa's unique cultural value, and Hon Ms Pemmy Majodina, Minister of Water and Sanitation, who highlighted women's power in directing negotiations across South African society.

Other award recipients included CEOs from the JSE and Woolworths, placing Adbot among the country's most accomplished business leaders.

"This award from Standard Bank and the judging panel, which included leaders from Vodacom Foundation and the Gauteng Convention Bureau, gives us a platform to demonstrate what our first 2,000 customers already proved: you don't need enterprise budgets and knowledge to compete. You need tools built for your actual constraints," adds Geere.

Continuing the mission

Adbot has demonstrated that solving overlooked and underserved market segments can drive both social impact and commercial success. The company continues to expand its AI capabilities while maintaining its core mission: making marketing accessible and helping businesses grow.

"This recognition is fuel that will keep us moving forward," concludes Geere. "The next phase is a promise that we will keep evolving, keep making marketing accessible, and keep delivering what our customers need. We're focused on delivering measurable growth for businesses that bigger players can't serve profitably."

Try Adbot today

Solo marketers and business owners looking to transform their Google Ads performance can start with Adbot's AI-powered platform at https://adbot.co.za/pricing/. The platform offers affordable pricing designed for businesses of all sizes, with 24/7 automated optimisation that typically delivers measurable ROI within the first month.