Saray Khumalo is a Zambian-born South African mountaineer, explorer, author, and motivational speaker who is best known for becoming the first Black African woman to summit Mount Everest, which she achieved in May 2019 after multiple attempts.

She was born in 1972 in Zambia and later became a South African citizen. Beyond Mount Everest, she has completed the Seven Summits challenge - climbing the highest peak on each continent—and also reached the South Pole on skis, making her one of the few explorers with such achievements.

In addition to her mountaineering feats, Khumalo is an experienced business executive in e-commerce and customer loyalty, an author (her memoir is My Journey to the Top of the World), and a leadership and transformation coach who speaks about resilience and personal growth.

She founded Summits With a Purpose, a nonprofit initiative that uses climbing expeditions to raise funds and awareness for education and literacy projects in disadvantaged African communities, helping build physical and digital libraries.

Khumalo has also received national recognition, such as the Order of Ikhamanga, a South African honor awarded for contributions to arts, culture, literature, journalism, and sport.

According to the internet