women in tech – Africa Tech Digest

Meet Abake Adenle, who developed a unique speech recognition software for African languages

28Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa

Meet Abake Adenle, who developed a unique speech recognition software for African languages

In July 2021, a Nigerian-American was recognised for her innovative work advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in voice. The attraction came from building a voice recognition and speech synthesis software for five African languages, which was innovative. As of the time she founded the startup, the market was pretty undefined and unrefined, with no known player in the space focused on native African languages. To get an idea of how it feels to get the attention of an organisation like Women in Voice (WiV) — an international non-profit based in Seattle — and her plans for it, we had a chat, albeit briefly. I did get an idea, but I only scratched the surface. I would come to realise that what seemed like a big deal was only a bit of the life of a hard-working woman with a ...

Meet Ruth Iselema, the Bitmama of the African blockchain space

7Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, Telecommunications

Meet Ruth Iselema, the Bitmama of the African blockchain space

In 2016, after Ruth Iselema got scammed of ₦250,000 (~ $1200 at the time) trying to sell bitcoin, she saw an opportunity to solve a problem. At the time, there were hardly any structured crypto-trading platforms in Africa, just WhatsApp and Telegram communities, many of which she was a member of. “Even though I did my due diligence, I still got scammed, she recalls, “so I decided this has to stop”. Enlisting a couple of trader friends, she set out to build a crypto exchange platform but things didn’t work out. “Everyone just had different views on how things should work, so we eventually went our separate ways.” Undeterred, Ruth set out on her own. The first major step? Leaving her hometown and comfort zone — Port Harcourt — for Lagos with barely any validation for what she was...

Tech Events this Week: World Financial Innovation, Fundraising in Africa and others

9Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Events

Tech Events this Week: World Financial Innovation, Fundraising in Africa and others

Hi guys, welcome to another great week. To help you get the week rolling on a smooth note, we have curated a list of interesting events in the tech scene just for you. These events are scheduled to hold between August 9th – 14th, 2021. On Thursday, Raise simple will be hosting an online workshop on fundraising in Africa. The theme of the event is Fundraising in Africa: Why is Cap Table Important? It will focus on the importance of a clean cap table and equity for African Startups. The workshop will host Conrad, Managing partner at Adili Corporate Services and Fane Kemuwa, Legal Engineer at Raise amongst others Date: Thursday, August 12, 2021Time: 10:00 AM WAT Continue reading (Image Credits: technext.ng)

Are We Grooming Women Leaders in Africa’s Technology Ecosystem?

9Apr

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Opinion, Trends

Are We Grooming Women Leaders in Africa’s Technology Ecosystem?

Women in technology in Africa do not have the same leadership opportunities as their male counterparts. While there has been an increase in the number of women stepping into technology careers as a result of several training and mentorship initiatives, they are finding it difficult to rise through the ranks. Only three out of ten senior managers in the telecoms, media and technology industry in Africa are women, according to a 2016 report by McKinsey & Company. According to the report, women are less likely to get a promotion. Only about four in ten promotions in private businesses go to women across Africa. There are fewer women as one moves from non-management roles to senior management roles. Women across Africa are defying the odds and taking a seat at the table in the bu...