The emergence of female techies in Africa is happening at a meteoric pace.
The narrative surrounding the tech space in Africa is that men largely dominate the industry. However, this is hardly the case, as male dominance in Africa’s tech ecosystem is rapidly dwindling.
Each year, more and more women achieve major milestones in the field, effectively ushering in an era of female leadership in Africa’s tech sector.
From the business side of tech to management, thought leadership, to the science of the field, women are breaking ground in tech. This fact, coupled with the economic emphasis placed on tech globally, creates an avenue for more groundbreaking innovations to be dreamt up.
According to Disrupt Africa, African tech startups have raised US$2.7 billion in total funding in the first three quarters of 2022, almost 30% more than the US$2.1 billion banked in 2021.
As a result, this year has seen more female founders raise capital for their startups and get accepted into reputable accelerators like Techstars Toronto Accelerator (Techstars Toronto) and Y Combinator (YC).
Below are five women doing amazing things in the tech space. They were drawn from a pool of numerous outstanding women leaders in Africa’s tech space.
Olamide Olowe: This Nigerian entrepreneur was recently named the youngest black woman ever to raise $10 million in funding. She is the founder of Topicals, a skin care line which uses tech to enhance its services. The company was founded in 2018. This Los Angeles based entrepreneur is also the co-founder of SheaGIRL, a Sundial Brands subsidiary now owned by Unilever.
Neemar Iyer: This Ugandan lady is the founder of Policy, a technology consulting firm which uses digital tools to bridge the gap between the Ugandan government and its citizens. She is a technologist who shuffles between Germany and Uganda, and her tech platform is headquartered in Uganda. Policy was founded in 2017.
Tebogo Mokwena: Tebogo Mokwena is a South African entrepreneur and tech enthusiast. She is the co-founder and CEO of Akiba Digital, a financial technology company which aids SMEs to attain funds despite their credit scores, with its alternative credit scoring infrastructure. The company was founded in 2020. A lack of credit score has created a $200 million-plus discrepancy in the industry, and Abika Digital is the fix to that.
Jihan Abass: This Kenyan tech entrepreneur founded Lami, a digital insurance platform, in 2018. Lami facilitates the procurement of its business partner’s digital insurance services to their customers via Lami’s API. Last year the company raised $1.8 million in seed funding.
Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson: With a passion for solving health problems, Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson decided in 2021 to create Healthtracka, a health platform that, in its own words, allows customers to manage their health from home, providing direct access to laboratory tests with at-home sample collection for a wide range of health conditions.
Sethebe Manake: Sethebe Manake is a Botswana real estate expert who decided to integrate tech solutions into her operations. She is the founder of GoSmartValue, an online real estate valuation platform that aids customers in making informed decisions in investing in real estate. The platform has stood the test of time, having been founded in 2008.
