10 female techpreneurs revolutionizing Africa's tech space
We are highlighting 10 female techpreneurs in solidarity with the zealous women tackling issues through tech in Africa.
This story features 10 female techpreneurs who are revolutionizing the African tech space.
In our previous stories here and here, we established the many hurdles female entrepreneurs in Africa had to scale to succeed. We highlighted poor access to funding, cultural barriers, minimal access to the internet, and limited digital skills as some of the hurdles.
However, despite these challenges, female entrepreneurs have soldiered on to build tech-enabled businesses that solves issues in Africa. In solidarity to these zealous women, we are highlighting 10 African female techpreneurs.
10 African female techpreneurs
The techpreneurs include; Maya Horgan Famodu, Folayemi Agusto, Judith Okonkwo, Funke Onafuye, Tomilola Adejana, Chikodili Udeh, Nkechi Oguchi, Tobi Otokiti, Fara Ashiru Jituboh, and Jumoke Dada.
1. Maya Horgan Famodu
She is the founder of Ingressive and Ingressive Capital, a venture firm that provides early-stage funding for startups in Africa.
Before founding Ingressive and Ingressive Capital, Maya worked at JP Morgan Chase bank. She later founded the venture firm to fight the funding challenges some of her friends faced.
Maya is also the founder of the High Growth Africa Summit and Tech Meets Entertainment Summit.
2. Folayemi Agusto
She is the Co-Founder and CEO of tix.africa, a self-service ticketing platform for event creators.
She is also the co-founder of EatDrink media, the publishers of eatdrinklagos.com--- the first guide for dining in Lagos.
Before tix.africa, Folayemi worked at Andela as the Travel Experience Manager for West Africa.
3. Judith Okonkwo
She is the founder of Imisi 3D, an Extended Reality (XR) creation lab focused on building the African XR ecosystem in Nigeria and beyond. Judith wants to leverage immersive technologies particularly, low-cost virtual reality, to boost education.
She is Technology Evangelist, Business Psychologist, and Organisation Development Consultant, with experiences she garnered from working in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Her career has taken her through a range of sectors including, financial services, defense, education, aviation, and management consulting.
Judith has worked in various organizations including, British Airways and Andela, as the Director of Professional Development. She sits on the Board of the European Organization Design Forum, and she's a guest lecturer at the Lagos Business School and the University of Westminster.
In 2018, through AR/VR Africa, she held the largest XR event on the continent. The event hosted the first AR/VR hackathon across seven African countries.
Currently, Judith is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council for Augmented and Virtual Reality.
4. Funke Onafuye
She is a personal development enthusiast who leveraged her social media platform for job promotions and resumes services. The services later morphed into what stands as CVLoft, an innovative employment agency.
Funke’s career has taken her through different roles and organizations including, IPI Solutions Nigeria Limited and Terragon Group as a Digital Marketing Executive on Research, Strategy, and Execution Planning.
5. Tomilola Adejana
She is the co-founder and CEO of Bankly, an online savings platform that digitizes customer savings into a secure and decentralized mobile wallet.
Tomilola is a business strategist and startup expert with hands-on experience in Africa’s fintech sector. She demonstrated her expertise in the financial industry through her roles as an investment manager in Nigeria and a research analyst in Australia and Singapore.
She also volunteers for recognized institutions in a bid to drive growth in local and global communities. She has volunteered for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Utiva.
6. Chikodili Udeh
She is the Cybersecurity Consultant and CEO of Hacktales, a startup that offers programs specialized in Cybersecurity foundations, Ethical hacking, and User security awareness training to professionals and colleges.
Chikodili is an IT security consultant with over five years’ experience in developing IT systems security architecture and design, performing security assessments, and coordinating IT security projects.
7. Nkechi Oguchi
She is the CEO of Ventures Park, a co-working space that provides startups and creatives alike access to enabling infrastructure, supporting communities, mentorship, and other support systems they need to build flourishing businesses.
Nkechi is a business strategist passionate about driving innovation in Africa. She aims to help organizations and startups create and implement sustainable strategies. She has demonstrated her expertise in leadership through her roles as Managing Partner, Microhub Innovations, and General Manager, Ventures Park.
8. Tobi Otokiti
She is the Founder of ProductDive, a product school that helps product managers and aspiring product managers obtain the right skills needed to build tech products that serve customers better.
Tobi is an experienced product manager who has managed products from discovery to development and launch. She has over seven years of experience in building products across multiple industries like; fintech, edtech, logistics, and event management.
Her work portfolio spans across Interswitch, Andela, and Flutterwave.
9. Fara Ashiru Jituboh
She is the co-founder and CEO/CTO of Okra, Inc, a fintech startup platform that allows users to connect bank accounts and financial data directly to third-party applications.
Fara is a software engineer fluent in over 20 programming languages. She garnered experience from building and scaling products in emerging markets by working with organizations like; JP Morgan Chase, Fidelity Investments, Daimler Mercedes Benz Canva, Techhustle, Sana Benefits, and Dorsata.
10. Jumoke Dada
She is the founder and CEO of Taeillo, a start-up brand that produces urban furniture and leverages mixed reality to sell it.
Jumoke’s passion to brand Africa’s cultural identity in modern furniture spurred Taeillo’s launch.
Before Taeillo, Jumoke worked in top Architectural and interior design and furniture manufacturing companies in Nigeria including, Interstate Architects Limited and IO Furniture Limited.
