Nurture Female Techblazers, Johnson, Opeke, Others Advocate
…As TLcom Convene Top Female Tech Leaders To Boost
Female Representation
By pelumi Olaleye
Nigeria’s former Minister of Information and Communications, Mrs Omobola Johnson said now is the time for Nigeria to nurture more female technology trailblazers.
Johnson who is also the Senior Partner at TLcom said, “While female participation in technology has generally improved, female tech founders are still a rare breed. However, there is a growing number of female trailblazers in African tech and we at TLcom believe this is a critical network to nurture and support”.
She made this disclosure recently during the inaugural Africa Tech Female Founder Summit held in Lagos.
The event ,which was organized by TLcom Capital, the Africa-focussed venture capital firm was launched to build a collaborative network of Africa’s female tech founders.
The keynote speaker , Managing Director, MainOne Funke Opeke, said, “A clear message that should be taken away from the Summit is that the glass ceiling on female leadership can and will be broken. For incoming and incumbent women in our sector, today is a powerful display of what is possible throughout Africa’s tech scene. We had entrepreneurs from a variety of fields but what we all shared were common experiences and a shared vision for change. However, its critical we take our learnings back into our respective networks and share them with the next generation. It’s only then that we will begin to see real transformation.”
Partner at TLcom, Andreata Muforo maintained that “With our senior team currently 50 percent female, supporting diversity is already part of our DNA and with events such as the Africa Tech Female Founder Summit, our team does and will continue to dedicate resources to mentoring female founders.”
With plans in place to hold the Summit on an annual basis, TLcom gave a heads on to support their portfolio companies to boost female representation in their organisations.
With over 50 female founders from across Africa including, Odunayo Eweniyi of Piggyvest, Isis Nyong’o of Mum’s Village, Vivien Nwakah of Medsaf and Miishe Addy of Jet Stream, shared insights on achieving massive value generation and scale in Africa.
Other Senior female executives from TLcom’s portfolio companies include Twiga Foods, Kobo360, Terragon, Andela, and Ajua were also in attendance.
