Why telling success stories in tech is key to growth
What you need to know:
- Telling success stories of key players in tech is about celebrating what Tanzania has been able to achieve and opening doors for growth and investment
Dar es Salaam. As the second season of Tanzania's Top Techpreneurs comes to an end, the tales that have been revealed are a testament of resilience and growth in Tanzania.
What sets apart good leaders is skill, grit, hard work and a lot of empathy. The ability to take adversity and use it as a propelling force for growth and learning is key.
These women shared glimpses of their wins and challenges. What began as a quest to find female voices in the tech space and understand where the gaps were, bore an opportunity to take a peek into more than just existing challenges that face them.
Why tell these stories? Why women? The answer should be simple 'because it is only fair'.
Unfortunately, women do not yet have the luxury of fairness. Many fight twice as hard and still end up with the short end of the stick.
Many were sold the idea that balancing is all it takes, but as Shule Direct’s CEO, Faraja Nyalandu said, it is not a mere balancing act. It is being present to do that which is required at each given moment.
Also read: Faraja: Start building, tech grows with you
At home, she must learn to be fully present for her children and family and when she is at work, the responsibility to that which she needs to innovate and build must be held in high regard.
This makes her a hero and as such, her story must be told and her accolades sung. She must be allowed to own her accolades and when she does, she stands tall, a beacon of hope for the many coming up behind her.
The many nuances that individuals face in their career paths should often be considered, as we have come to learn, when looking to give someone a fighting chance.
According to Khalila Mbowe, the founder of Unleashed Africa Social Ventures, the challenges and situations she faced growing up and finding her footing in her sphere of influence taught her the importance of understanding the different nuances that people go through in their individual journeys.
“We must remember that people do not share the same journey, challenges and struggles and do not necessarily have the same socio-economic background and it is cruel to compare and expect the same level of work and growth,” she shared.
For women, keeping these nuances in mind and, as Binary Labs CEO, Catherinerose Barretto puts it, opening doors for them to walk into a space that has created bespoke regulations to cover them is going to help so many of them hit milestones that those who came before could only have dreamt of.
Additionally, opening doors is not always enough. We must be able to look in on those we open doors for to see if they need help navigating the room and if not, help keep them anchored.
The diversity that technology has makes it a space ripe for the picking but requires the ability to make fast decisions as Hashtech Tanzania CEO, Zena Msonde explained, simply because the playing field is always evolving.
How can we level the playing field so we can have more stories to celebrate?
1. Create opportunities for each other - Khalila's Rise Up and Catherinerose's goal to be a door opener are some of the best examples for creating opportunities. With the different challenges that are unique to women in the space, having an avenue to connect with like-minded individuals, mentor and coach those in need of coaching and share opportunities is a step up for women in the space.
Creating these communities of support means women can begin to be each other’s champions as well.
2. Leverage on the relationships that are built - As the Grants and Partnerships Manager at Mojaloop, Desire Kachenje had stated that fostering the right type of relationships as you grow in your space is key to propelling your growth and you should be bold enough to use them.
Leveraging relationships does not just end at those professional connections that one builds. As Zena and Hashtech Tanzania demonstrated, familial relationships are equally as important as they can be a powerful and necessary grounding force when things get shaky.
3. Don't be afraid to use your voice - Be it in protest of injustice, to ask for help or to celebrate yourself or others, your voice is a powerful weapon. Together with the platform you choose to use, you have the power to effect change around you.
4. Share knowledge - In following the advice that both IT Specialist at Sanku and Google Developers Group Lead, Georgia Rwechungura and Faraja shared, knowledge must always be passed on. Tech as an ever changing space means nothing should be held back if we are to advance.
Also read: Georgia: No story is too small to tell
Sharing knowledge stretches all the way to information on policies and where to find necessary information as one is setting up.
Techy8's CEO, Upendo Fatukubonye had mentioned that sometimes, those in the tech space find themselves heavily focused on the product development that paperwork may be overlooked and left to the last minute.
Also read: Upendo: Your word is your bond
Sharing information in these networks helps one begin a journey with a road map from those behind them to avoid unnecessary hurdles.
5. Bank on the talent you have – One of the most commonly echoed sentiments by individuals working in the tech space is the need to bank on the talent that already exists.
This can be done through curated grooming of young talent in mentorship and coaching programmes, accelerator programmes, boot camps and creating an amended educational curriculum that takes into account the changing dynamics of the future these young ones face.
Banking on talent also means being courageous enough to take an idea, work with that innovator to develop it and if in a position to do so, help them understand the business development aspect of their product and how to make it sustainable.
Banking on talent also means making use of it to demonstrate that confidence in their ability. This may mean working with them to develop a product that one may have otherwise sourced on the international market or opening them up to a wider workspace away from the comfort of what they know.
6. Understand the laws that govern - Guiding frameworks are already in place to help innovators work within legal limits. While these are still a work in progress, Tanzania has made great strides in pushing to have policies that can benefit start-ups.
In the meantime, policy specialists like Aneth Kasebele continue to work on tailored regulations that are geared towards Tanzania. This means creating policies that make entering the tech space as fair as possible, without comparison to those already growing and leaving their mark.
7. Celebrate growth - "We already have people in the arena who are doing amazing things. It is up to us to celebrate one another," shared Khalila. This rings true as we have seen thirteen stories of successful women in the tech space.
Their stories have shed hope and encouragement to many others in the arena who may feel unseen or struggle to find inspiration.
Today, one graduate knows to sign up on Niajiri, while a young girl looking for opportunities and support knows to look for Rise Up. That artisan with an inspirational story can go to KiAfrika to get training and aspiring girls can look to Georgia and hope to someday be able to code for Google.
Telling stories of tech not only highlights the challenges available in the space, challenges will always arise.
Telling success stories of key players in tech is about celebrating what Tanzania has been able to achieve and opening doors for growth and investment.
Telling success stories means Tanzania is able to own her narrative and stand proud of the talent and brilliant resources she has.
Telling success stories means that as we have a chance to own our narrative, we also have a chance to pit ourselves against some of the best in the world and hold our ground.
Telling success stories is a testament of what proudly made in Tanzania truly means and it is possible when each success is given the ovation it deserves.
Supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
