Four successful African women in Tech in London share their experience and wisdom to help other women thrive in this field. The discussion organised by Women in Tech Africa is moderated by Antonia Anni, UX Consultant.
So how did they get to where they are today?
For Lola Oyelayo, Director of Strategy & UX at Head London, it all started with a series of coincidences as she couldn’t really decide what she wants when she was younger, so she focussed on what she liked, IT and English. In addition to engineering studies, she learnt human behaviour and how the brain works which was extremely valuable as she worked in diverse consulting roles.
Dr Tomi Oladepo, Digital Media expert, was obsessed to become news reader. She enrolled in mass media communication course at university in Nigeria before working for a newspaper in Nigeria. She left that job as she didn’t feel intellectually challenged to move to advertising, but the sales driven environment took a toll on her. She is more of a creative person, so Tomi enrolled in a Master’s degree in the UK, and started a blog as part of her course requirement and discover her love for social media and the potential of this new media to create change.
Kiran Yoliswa, Co-founder of Styled by Africa, comes from Academia background but her passion for fashion motivated her to move the online conversation from futile talks and celebrity spotting to discuss real issues. She is interested in the origin of these beautiful items, how they are made and the condition of production. She also wanted to give African designers access to international markets to compete on a global scale. Kiran then spotted an opportunity and turned her blog into an online store. She now has a physical store too in Brixton, London.
Nana Fatimah Ogunfemi, CEO of Techsis, didn’t fall in tech. She has always played with tech gadgets but didn’t know much about tech jobs. However, when came a time for her to find a solution to a particular problem, she turned to tech to find a way to translate emotion and answer the questions she had. Kinship app was born to help family and friends keep in touch.
Watch the part 1 of this fascinating and honest conversation where our four women also discuss the challenges of being a black woman in tech and how to navigate them.
Coming up in part 2, they will share more wisdom and how African women can become creators rather than just consumers and the skills needed to succeed in the tech world . Do not miss it.
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