WITA – Ireland Meetup event  – July, 2016

On Tuesday 12 July, Women in Tech Africa held its very first meetup event in Ireland in Dublin centre, under the theme: “Women in tech: Leveraging off our potential to make a meaningful impact“. Sponsored and hosted by DogPatch Labs, an organisation which serves as a hub for technology meetups and a co-working space for growing tech startups, the event was organised in partnership with House of Akina, a social-enterprise that uses its profits to empower and support migrant women in Ireland.

The event was attended by professionals as well as students, coming from a range of technology and non technology-related backgrounds, comprised of data analysts, network & telecom engineers, software developers as well as people from a tech background who evolved their careers into business management.

Sessions began with a presentation of Women in tech Africa which highlighted the organisation’s mission and vision, and ongoing activities to empower women in tech in Africa involving also women in tech in the Diaspora to contribute to Africa’s advancement through technology.

Round table discussions on the main theme followed, seeking to address the following questions:

  • What is our potential as women in tech in the African Diaspora?
  • What is holding us back to bring in our contribution?
  • How can we make a difference ?
  • How technology can assist in achieving that?

Inspiring and impactful comments came from the discussions, including the following:

  • The Diaspora contribution should not be limited to financial remittances. Our experiences in tech and skills can be used to complement ongoing actions by people in Africa.
  • Working together is the key, together we are stronger and we can achieve great things. Meetups are an opportunity to make connections and be complementary in our potential actions.
  • Technology being one of the key drivers of Africa’s growth currently, leveraging off our expertise as women in tech to make a contribution through technology is essential.
  • The challenge for African Diaspora women in tech is to be aware of the changes ongoing in Africa when we are not physically present there. It is essential to initiate collaboration and partnerships with local organisations/tech innovators/women in tech to understand the needs and how our contribution can come in support is essential.

Discussions continued during a networking session around food and drinks kindly offered by the event sponsor.

The meetup enabled women in tech who attended:

  • To share their experiences in tech
  • To be inspired by panellists inputs and other attendees’ comments is on the main discussion
  • To network with other attendees and develop connections for potential partnership projects

The event was a great fun and the participants’ feedback were positive and encouraging. As noted one contributor : ” tomorrow starts now” for the women in tech Africa chapter in Ireland.

A coding workshop is being organised in the weeks to come, and another meetup in the last week of September during the Women in tech Africa week.

By Nicaise Ishimwe

Women In Tech Twitter chat on Career Growth

On the 15th July, we had the honors of having the CEO of Digicel Haiti Selorm Adadevoh to be our resource person for our very first  twitter chat on leadership. In case you missed the live chat. Below are the questioned we asked him and his answers. Enjoy!

  1. Tell us about your career journey and how you became the CEO of Digicel Haiti

Answer

Very long story. I started my career in the UK in 1998 for a Construction co. called Taylor Woodrow.

At the time I was a Civil Engineer but had an interest to be part of the emerging economy in IT.

I joined Tigo in Ghana to pursue my dream to be CEO.

Getting to CEO was really about delivering results as a COO

I believe strong leadership and building teams was the main driver to get to CEO.

After 3 years at Tigo I got an opportunity to join Digicel.

At Wharton, My life changed and my dream was to become CEO.

After several years building solutions for TelCos mainly, I decided to go to go do an MBA.

My career as a Technology Consultant at HP was the start of something special.

So, I quit and started looking at Technology opportunities. After a few bumps, I joined HP.

 

  1. What can one do to ensure career growth?

Answers

Tricky question I have to say

Firstly, I believe understanding the specific skills needed to move up. Not as easy as it sounds

Secondly, having a great mentor who can give you sound and objective feedback regularly.

It’s too easy to fall when obstacles show up. They will, but the more determined one finds a way.

Lastly, it’s about the individual. You have to want it enough to be determined to put in the effort.

 

  1. What opportunities or resources can one take advantage of to grow a career?

Answers

I’ve relied a lot on listening to personal stories on TedX and Harvard Business Reviews…

I’ve only invested a lot of time mtg people who have overcome similar challenges to learn from them.

A lot actually. I find that today, in trying to build teams I rely a lot on my network.

Most of my last few roles have been because I got a call from someone in my network.

 

  1. What is your take on asking for new roles in your organisation?

Answers

Personally, I don’t ask for new roles but I ask for new challenges.

To go up, you need to demonstrate capability – asking for new challenges & delivering paves the way

 

  1. How does volunteering roles help with career growth? Does it help atall

Answers

Volunteering roles could be anything you want them to be and that’s the beauty of it.

I volunteered for 3 months at an IT shop when I was determined to move into Technology

My goal was clear to learn a new trade to drive my career. I’ve also volunteered to give back

My motivation then was to contribute to the development of others. Both have played a role

Personally, I don’t ask for new roles but I ask for new challenges.

 

  1. How can one quickly become a strong contributor within an organization?

Answer

It really starts with understanding what the organization needs but also what is valued.

I find that what is valued is not always what is needed. When I have been a strong contributor

I have found that what I believe and what is valued tends to be aligned.

 

On considering values and aligning

Answer

I will agree. The alignment though depends on whether your values will support that

I have walked away a few times because I refused to align

My values were conflicted with what the organization valued

 

  1. How can one effectively take diverse roles while sticking to their career paths?

Answers

I have a concept called “optionality”. Meaning developing multiple skills to always remain relevant.

Taking diverse roles where one is developing complementary skill set prepares one for career growth.

 

  1. What is your take on the number of years one can serve in an organisation before moving on to a new job?

Answer

I’m the wrong person I think. I’ve worked for 18 years and my longest role has been 2 years

I think it will be wrong to stipulate an ideal number of years. To me, it’s about continued growth

I’ve changed roles or moved organizations to move up, never only for financial benefits.

Once you stop learning, plus you stop contributing to the growth of others, then it’s time to move on

Finally go in with no expectation and put in a lot of effort to demonstrate relevance

 

  1. Tell Us about your Leadership style and how that has helped on the journey

Answer

Personally I tend to be a development focused leader which shapes my leadership interaction

However, I’ve learnt over the years that I’m more of a visionary leader based on leadership style

That involves leading by inspiring and challenging the status quo

It also means getting people to perform close to their best through development and coaching

Leadership is something I continue to develop in, I read a lot and try out new things everyday.

In my world, leadership is dynamic and my style somewhat adapts depending on what is needed.

 

 

“To end, I will say, be sure what you believe and never compromise on it” – Selorm Adadevoh

 

 

WITA Kenya Event: How to Make the Perfect Pitch

thepitch

Women In Tech Africa Kenya Chapter Quarterly Event was held on the 30th June 2016 under the theme “Supporting our Girls and Female entrepreneurs” at the Women’s Entrepreneurial Center of Resources, Education, Access, Training for Economic Empowerment (WECREATE) Center in Nairobi which serves as an entrepreneurial community centre for women interested in starting or expanding an existing business. We partnered with NEST, an early stage venture capital firm specialising in startups developing technologies in industries such as HealthTech, FinTech and SmartCity/IoT.

 

We brought in a team of experienced panellists:

 

Jaki  Mebur : Senior Core Networks Support Engineer at Safaricom Limited and is part of Safaricom Women In Tech

 

Mary Mwangi: Co-founder, entrepreneur and CEO of Data Integrated Limited an ICT company that specializes in automating payment processing systems.

 

Melizsa Mugyenyi:  is an international development practitioner specialized in fundraising and partnership building and Director of Partnerships at Ongeza Fund. Ongeza Fund unlocks liquidity for early stage shareholders of high impact ventures in emerging markets

Caren Kakai: Project Manager at Nest.

 

 

 

Panellists: (Left-Right) Jaki Mebur, Melizsa Mugyenyi, Caren Kakai, Mary Mwangi, Sylvia Mukasa WITA Kenya Chapter Lead

The focus of the discussions was how to make a “Perfect Pitch” to attract funding from potential investors. It was a great evening of learning and engaging with the panellists.

 

You can pick a few tips on what a good pitch entails by watching this video:

https://youtu.be/CUladd6ZktE