In an era defined by innovation and digital transformation, Africa stands on the brink of a technological renaissance. At the forefront of this revolution are bold, brilliant women breaking barriers and reshaping narratives.
Also, the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD22): “Break the Bias” is more than a call to action—it’s a celebration of resilience, brilliance, and progress.
From tech startups to AI labs, fintech platforms to policy-making tables, African women are increasingly claiming their space and redefining what leadership looks like in the digital age.
Yet, their journey is far from easy. Deep-seated cultural norms, limited access to resources, and systemic gender gaps continue to pose challenges.
On the occasion of IWD22, Techeconomy celebrates 15 women who are confronting these biases head-on—innovating, inspiring, and building inclusive digital ecosystems that empower the next generation. It is a tribute to their courage and a blueprint for a more equitable digital future:
1. Lillian Barnard
Microsoft Africa President Lillian Barnard has spent more than two decades in the ICT industry.
In 2019 she became Microsoft South Africa’s first female chief executive since Microsoft reinvested in the country in the early 1990s and in 2023 she was promoted to Microsoft Africa president.
She has held various executive positions, both locally and abroad, and has served on numerous boards.
Before joining Microsoft, she served as chief sales officer at Vodacom and worked for IBM for 15 years, including a seven-year international assignment in France and Switzerland.
Barnard is passionate about the empowerment of women, and at Microsoft she is prompting a culture that encourages gender equality in the workplace.
She also previously worked with Duke Corporate Education to design a women-only course that helps female employees become the agents of change by amplifying feminine voices and views in the workplace.
Her advice to other women and young girls is to “be bold, be fearless and to surround themselves with people who inspire and challenge them to be their best self.”
2. Funke Opeke
Funke Opeke is the founder and CEO of MainOne, a telecommunication and networks company, and following a US$320 million acquisition in 2022, MainOne now forms part of Equinix – a US-based digital infrastructure company.
Nigerian-born Opeke spent 20 years of her career in the US – with high-profile roles like executive director of Verizon Communications Wholesale Division.
In 2005 she decided to return to Nigeria to take up the role of chief technical officer at MTN. After that, she advised Transcorp on the acquisition of the former state telecoms monopoly, NITEL, and briefly served as the interim COO post-acquisition.
Before the Equinix acquisition MainOne built West Africa’s first privately owned, open access submarine cable system – a 7,000km system with landing stations in Nigeria, Ghana and Portugal and reserved branching units in Morocco, Canary Islands, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
The $240 million project was completed in 2010 – on time and on budget.
“To even the imbalance against women in technology, there is a need for initiatives aimed at engaging, inspiring and empowering women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and math fields (STEM) at an early age,” Opeke told Connecting Africa in a previous interview.
3. Nollie Maoto
Chief Data and Analytics Officer for Merchant Services at FNB Nollie Maoto has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry and is a seasoned speaker and panelist when it comes to the data and analytics industry, not just in South Africa but also globally.
Maoto is passionate about the data and analytics industry and more so, the empowerment and advancement of women in this industry globally.
She champions a movement to train more female data scientists, as the results show that data analytics teams including women not only perform better, but women also bring diverse perspectives which help counter biases when creating algorithms in areas like artificial intelligence (AI).
Maoto has many accolades under her belt, including being crowned Data Analytics Leader of the Year 2022 by Dalebrook Media South Africa.
She was also named one of CDO Magazine’s Global Data Power Women for 2022 and was one of the 2022 Corinium Global Top 100 Leaders in Data & Analytics.
She was nominated as one of the 50 most inspiring women in the STEM sectors in South Africa by Inspiring Fifty SA in 2021 and was named the CDO Ambassador for South Africa in 2022.
4. Folasade Femi-Lawal
With over 25 years of experience, Folasade Femi-Lawal was recently appointed as Mastercard head for West Africa.
She previously led the cards and messaging business at First Bank in Nigeria, where she contributed to the bank’s mobile financial services and digital banking strategy.
Before joining First Bank, Femi-Lawal was the head of the United Bank of Africa’s loan monitoring unit and previously worked at Airtel.
Femi-Lawal is currently helping strengthen Mastercard’s partnerships with key stakeholders and aims to advance its mission of building a more connected and inclusive digital economy in West Africa.
She is eager to support the Nigerian government’s agenda for developing a powerful, inclusive and secure digital economy – including for women.
5. Velma Corcoran
Velma Corcoran is a firm believer in the potential of technology to drive inclusive growth and entrepreneurship across Africa, especially for women.
Corcoran leads Airbnb’s campaigns work across the Middle East and Africa region, including the creation of the Airbnb Africa Academy and the Africa Travel Summit.
She is obsessed with how Airbnb can redefine travel in Africa and take tourism to people and places that need it most, and the role technology will play in unlocking this potential.
She joined Airbnb in March 2016 as the regional market manager for sub-Saharan Africa.
Before this she led marketing for Cape Town Tourism, where her team won numerous awards for destination marketing leadership, including awards from the UNWTO, Travel & Leisure Smitty Awards, and Cannes Gold.
6. Maya Horgan Famodu
Maya Horgan Famodu is the founder of Ingressive Capital, a venture fund that supports African tech startups. She is also the founder of Ingressive for Good, a non-governmental organisation providing training, talent placement and scholarships to African talents. Famodu was featured in Forbes’s “Under 30 Technology” and “10 Inspiring Women Ruling Nigeria’s Tech Ecosystem” in 2019.
7. Odunayo Eweniyi
Odunayo Eweniyi is the co-founder and COO of PiggyVest, a digital investment platform in Nigeria. She is a business executive and activist with a background in Business Analysis and Operations spanning 7 years.
She has won numerous awards including the Forbes Woman Africa Technology and Innovation Award, the Future Awards Africa Prize in Technology, Forbes Africa on the 30 under 30 Technology, and many others.
8. Cynthia Duru
Cynthia’s thrives on building innovative and resilient systems that drive digital transformation across various industries.
Beyond her engineering work, Cynthia is a passionate mentor and advocate for women in technology.
She actively contributes to the growth of Africa’s tech ecosystem by mentoring and guiding the next generation of female engineers.
Many of her mentees have gone on to secure roles at leading companies such as Interswitch, Shell Nigeria, and several other prominent organizations, underscoring her commitment to lifting others as she climbs.
9. Rebecca Enonchong
Rebecca Enonchong, known as “Queen of Tech” is the founder of AppsTech, a leading provider of enterprise application solutions in Cameroon.
She is Co-founder of Cameroon Angels Network and Co-founder and vice president of African Business Angels Network (ABAN).
Rebecca currently serves as a mentor/advisor to several technology startups. She has won numerous awards as well as several recognitions. She is a serial entrepreneur and a reliable source of tech information in Africa.
10. Fatoumata Ba
Fatoumata Ba, a Senegalese tech entrepreneur, is the founder of Janngo Capital where she heads creation, growth, and investment in pan-African ‘tech for good’ champions. Janngo is Africa’s largest gender-equal tech fund, working towards proven business models and social impact.
She is the founding CEO of Jumia in Ivory Coast, managing director in Nigeria, and an Executive Committee member at the African level.
She has been the mastermind behind the success of over 130 operations across over 30 countries, generating thousands of jobs and empowering countless SMEs.
11. Eloho Omame
Eloho Omame is the co-founder of First Check Africa, a female-led startup building financial services, education, healthcare, and retail/commerce. She is an early-stage investor and a strong advocate for gender and inclusion in VC in Africa. She’s a partner at TLcom Capital, a seed-to-growth stage VC firm.
12. Jenny Daniel
Jenny Daniel is a seasoned Tech Sales Expert and currently serves as the Lead Sales Solution Expert at Gadol Finance. With a strong background in B2B technology sales and financial solutions, Jenny brings strategic insight and a customer-centric approach to driving growth and delivering tailored sales strategies.
Her expertise lies in bridging complex tech products with business value, leading high-performing sales teams, and building client relationships that fuel sustainable success.
At Gadol Finance, she plays a pivotal role in crafting innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of modern enterprises.
13. Purity Maina
Purity is a Software Engineer from Nairobi who has been instrumental in transforming the tech space by building innovative solutions, she has been a voice shaping Kenyan Tech Space and encouraging women in Tech.
Her journey from Embu to becoming a tech professional serves as an inspiration to many aspiring women in technology
14. Cecilia Caroline Nalubega
Cecilia is a Software Engineer at Andela and serves as a Global Ambassador for the WomenTech Network in Uganda. She is committed to empowering women in tech and fostering a community of support and growth.
15. Olatokunbo Ogunlade
Olatokunbo Ogunlade is recognized voice in Africa’s DevOps and cloud community, actively mentoring aspiring engineers across the continent.
Her advocacy focuses on increasing visibility, championing inclusion, and fostering technical excellence for African women navigating global tech spaces.
