The technology sector in Africa is dynamic and growing rapidly. 2019 saw technology hubs in Africa grow by 50% year-over-year and today there are more than 640 tech hubs throughout the continent.
Yet, much like the global landscape, women-led startups in Africa are a fraction of the overall picture. According to Venture Capital for Africa, the number of women founders and co-founders in 2019 was 18%, up from 9% from 2016. While an improvement, there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality in leadership throughout the sector.
When it comes to funding, women fall significantly behind. According to a recent report from Briter Bridges, a data intelligence firm, in the first quarter of 2020, women-led startups accounted for just 3.2% of total funding raised by African tech ecosystem.
More broadly, women in the tech sector in Africa face a multitude of barriers to advancing their careers and growing their businesses. Challenges include longstanding male-dominated networks, a lack of role models and female mentors, entrenched cultural expectations regarding ‘women’s roles,’ lack of gender-inclusive workplace policies, and greater difficulty accessing funding.
This session from the 2020 Women Leaders in Global Health Conference features five women leaders and entrepreneurs in Africa. Each discusses their own journey, advice for young women entering tech, and the potential for technology to transform lives across the continent. The conversation also explores the role technology can play in driving social inclusion in Africa—but only if there is a greater focus on gender-intentional design.
This panel features Temie Giwa-Tubosun, Founder & CEO, LifeBank Nigeria, Cathy Mwangi, Founder & CEO, mHealth Kenya, Nneile Nkholise, Co-founder, iMed Tech, Nekesa Were, Director of Strategy, AfriLabs, and moderator, Bonita Beatrice Nanziri, Founder, AfriGal Tech.
Here are three things we learned:
- Invest in Women Founders. Temie Giwa-Tubosun points out that there are already many women in Africa’s tech sector doing important work, but they need to be provided with the necessary resources to reach their full potential. Venture capital firms must show they trust women entrepreneurs and believe in their ideas. To ensure new innovations are inclusive, women need to be at the decision-making table and women-led ventures must be valued. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” says Giwa-Tubosun.
- Create New Networking Spaces and Norms that Work for Women. Cathy Mwangi emphasizes how male business leaders in Kenya find it easy to meet “in the evenings at the golf course”— situations in which women are uninvited, unable to attend or uncomfortable. Giwa-Tubosun agrees that deals are often made in spaces where women may not feel welcome or safe, and that she has sought out opportunities to connect with other businesspeople in places that women can be more at ease (spas and coffee shops, to name a couple). Women should “build their own ecosystem” where they can support each other, she says.
- Ensure Women’s Voices are Included in the Innovation Process. Nekesa Were highlights how the conversation around technology and innovation is focused on the need for greater empathy in product design. She underscores the need to talk to diverse users to understand how they want to use the product. According to Were, “This is a great opportunity for women to become more involved in shaping the future of products to reflect the needs of women…women have a critical role to play here.”
Watch and listen to the full session here:
