15 Women-Led Tech Companies Changing The Face Of Africa

Yomna Saleh image

In a continent where women are in the minority as far as leadership is concerned, women-led tech companies continue to show their value. They are providing solutions to deep-rooted problems, empowering Africans, and playing their part towards a technologically advanced Africa. In this post, we highlight 15 of them. We also delve into the profiles of their outstanding founders. Read on to find out about our 15 women-led tech companies changing the face of Africa.

#15. Rebecca Enenchong (AppsTech)

Rebecca Enonchong image
Rebecca Enonchong is a leading light among females in tech.
Ms. Enonchong is regarded in the African tech ecosystem as a leading light among female techies. She is a Cameroonian-born technology entrepreneur and also the founder and CEO of AppsTech. Apart from her entrepreneurial prowess, she is recognized for her work promoting technology in Africa. In 1999, she founded AppsTech, a provider of enterprise application solutions. The company serves clients in over 40 countries spread across three continents.

#14. Nthabiseng Mosia (Easy Solar)

Nthabiseng Mosia - Global Shakers
Nthabiseng Mosia is revolutionizing electricity access for Siera Leoneans.
 Mosia is a South-African tech entrepreneur and the co-founder of Easy Solar. Easy Solar, one of Africa’s women tech-led companies based in West Africa, is an off-grid solar distribution company. It supplies electricity to communities with little or no access to the national grid. As a result of Nthabiseng Mosia’s work with Easy Solar, more than 350,000 residents of Sierra Leone’s communities have access to affordable energy. Read our feature article on Nthabiseng Mosia and Easy Solar here.

#13. Rachel Sibande (mHub) 

GDD Summit | Rachel Sibande
Rachel Sibande is empowering thousands of Malawians,
Sibande is a computer scientist. She is the founder of mHub, a technology hub for innovators and entrepreneurs. Her company, mHub, offers access to financial and investment support across five countries, mHub is a key resource for women-led tech companies in Africa. From 2018 to 2019, mHub gave $800,000 to youth and women entrepreneurs, which created 304 jobs. In addition, Sibande has established the Girls Coding Club, Children’s Coding Club, a Robotics Club, and Machine Learning community camps. These clubs encourage more girls and women to pursue careers in tech.

#12. Ola Brown (Flying Doctors Nigeria)

WCW: Dr Ola Orekunrin The {Flying Doctor}, Founder Of Nigeria's First Air Ambulance Firm 1
Dr. Ola Brown
Dr. Ola Brown is a finance and investment banking expert. She is originally a medical doctor who graduated from the University of York. However, she started Flying Doctors when she lost her sister due to delayed transport service during a sickle-cell anemia crisis as available clinics couldn’t manage the crisis.

Flying Doctors Nigeria is the first Air Ambulance Service in West Africa. It is an air ambulance service that is run by medics, to give necessary first aid on air even while en-route to hospital. It is estimated to offer its ambulance service to over 1,000 patients across Nigeria.

#11. Baratang Miya (GirlHype) 

Baratang Miya
Baratang Miya
Miya is a software developer who is creating tech and business opportunities for women in South Africa. GirlHype (Women Who Code) is a not-for-profit that provides programming and app development training for girls and young women. A self-taught programmer, Miya’s mission is to increase the percentage of African women in STEM, bringing training to those who previously had little access to technology.

GirlHype operates a Clubs Programme where 6th-12th grade girls can attend free after-school classes to explore coding in a fun and friendly environment. The organization also runs a Summer Immersion Programme for 10th-12th grade girls. This initiative runs for seven weeks and provides these older students with a more in-depth understanding of coding, in addition to tech job exposure. The company currently provides training for thousands of girls in South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.

#10.  Benji Coetzee (EmptyTrips) 

The Tech Disruptor On The Move - Forbes Africa
EmptyTrips has made the lives of South Africans easier, thanks to Benji Coetzee.
Benji has been named a Forbes Global Top60 woman in technology, a Top50 woman to watch by Entrepreneur Magazine, a trailblazer for change by CNBC Africa, and an impact challenger by Singularity University. She spent over a decade building expertise within professional services in South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, and Dubai across top-tier strategy consulting, investment banking, and insurance companies.

EmptyTrips is a South African startup that matches cargo space demand to supply for the transportation of goods. In addition to providing a superb service to its customers, EmptyTrips reduces carbon emissions by optimizing the use of trucks and trains. It is described by many in the tech ecosystem as a ‘Uber for cargo’.

#9. Judith Owigar (JuaKali) 

judith owigar
One of Kenya’s leading lights, Judith Owigar is blazing the trail.
Judith is the Co-Founder of JuaKali, a directory for Kenyan blue-collar workers. She is one of Kenya’s most famous and recognized tech leaders. She has received numerous accolades including being named one of the Top 40 Under 40 by the Business Daily newspaper and winning the Change Agent ABIE Award. This social entrepreneur also serves on the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (SPIDER) board and the Lumen Labs board.

JuaKali is Swahili for “skilled manual work”, and it is one of the women-led tech companies that help connect clients with skilled workers from the informal sector. Founded in 2012, the service allows its users to create an online profile showing their expertise, connecting them with institutional and individual clients.

#8. Leonida Mutuku (Intelipro) 

 Leonida Mutuku
Leonida Mutuku, Founder of Intelipro Kenya – Techgist Africa
Intelipro is one of the women-led tech companies that aims to make data more accessible and useful to businesses and empower them to develop new financial products, targeted digital marketing strategies, and optimized business operations. With clients that include the Bank of Africa Ghana, MTN, and Revoltura, Intelipro is making headlines in the African cloud computing space.

Leonida is experienced in data science, designing and leading research projects, and implementing financial technologies. In addition, she helps companies make intelligent, data-driven decisions, in her spare time she leads projects for Africa Open Data Network, a community of Africans who believe in the continent’s development agenda.

#7. Marly Diallo (BRT Energy)

Marly Diallo image
Marly Diallo
Diallo has over ten years of experience in renewable energy, executive sales, financial services, and fintech in emerging markets. Prior to founding BRT Energy, she served as the Africa Manager of CR2, a global banking software company, and the Head of Business Development, Africa of Ingenico, a leading fintech group with over 8,000 employees.

BRT Energy is a female-led tech company focused on providing battery regeneration and maintenance services to any institution that uses lead-acid batteries. BRT Energy reduces the carbon footprint by regenerating lead-acid batteries and by facilitating the disposal of old and dangerous batteries. They promote local employment and eco-friendly engagement with full teams of trained technicians and green energy experts in each market it operates. BRT Energy is present in Rwanda, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, with future deployments in Senegal.

#6. Nneile Nkholise (iMED Tech Group) 

women-led tech companies
Nneile Nkholise
iMED Tech Group came to be in 2015 while Nneile Nkholise was studying for her MEng in Mechanical Engineering at Central University of Technology. The company provides innovative medical solutions to impact healthcare delivery across the continent.

Nkholise has experience in 3D printing applications in the medical sector and used this technology in the development of her custom-made products. In addition, she has also won the SAB Foundation Social Innovation Award and has been selected to represent her country at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. She was featured in Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 Technology List for 2018.

#5. Judith Okonkwo (Imisi 3D) 

Judith Okonkwo, Founder Imisi 3D
Judith Okonkwo, Founder Imisi 3D
She is the founder of Imisi 3D, an Extended Reality (XR) creation lab focused on building the African XR ecosystem in Nigeria and beyond. Judith wants to leverage immersive technologies particularly, low-cost virtual reality, to boost education.

She is a technology evangelist, business psychologist, and organization development consultant, with experiences she garnered from working in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Her career has taken her through a range of sectors including, financial services, defense, education, aviation, and management consulting.

#4. Odun Eweniyi (PiggyVest)

Odun Eweniyi image
Odun Eweniyi
She is a 27-year-old first-class graduate of Computer Engineering. Odun co-founded Piggyvest in 2016 after a picture of a wooden savings box inspired her to create a digital savings and investment platform. In 2018, Odun won the Future Awards Africa Prize in Technology. In 2019, she was on Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Technology list. Also, she was named as one of 30 Quartz Africa Innovators for 2019.

PiggyVest formerly known as piggybank.ng, is an online platform that helps people save money to meet their goals. The platform also offers people the opportunity to invest their money in various ventures and get up to 25% return on investments for as little as 8 months or more. Saving money attracts up to 13% interest. It is one of the biggest online savings and investing platforms in Nigeria.

#3. Kofo Akinkugbe (SecureID)

Kofo Akinkugbe image
Kofo Akinkugbe has dominated the African smart ID economy.
Akinkugbe is a Nigerian technology entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of SecureID, Africa’s leading manufacturer of smart cards and other identity documents. Kofo Akinkugbe founded Interface Technologies Limited, a consortium of women-led tech companies specializing in security management and biometrics in 1998, SecureID Limited in 2005, and SecureCard Manufacturing in 2012.

Her group of companies owns Nigeria’s first SIM card production plant which has been in operation since December 2016. Certified by Visa, Verve, and Mastercard, the company exports SIM cards to 21 other African countries.

#2. Yomna Saleh (Scienup)

Yomna Saleh image
Yomna Saleh
Scienup is a platform for researchers and businesses that are looking to outsource experiments in the fields of science and engineering through a network of research institutes, universities, and private labs. Researchers select the type of testing device or machine they need and they are matched with a suitable laboratory for their requirements. This can range from one-time testing to frequent analysis and ongoing R&D projects.

#1. Raghda Medhat (Remoteplatz)

Raghda Medhat - Anzisha Prize
Raghda Medhat
Remoteplatz is a tech startup that enables talented and motivated developers to work remotely with leading European high-tech businesses in the German/Swiss market. The startup’s mission is to build the largest remote community in Africa and it envisions a world where entrepreneurs can easily access and hire the most qualified talents wherever they are.

Raghda is a transformative financial analyst with over two years of experience helping businesses to build sustainable financial models and driving revenue growth through innovation strategy, cost-efficiency, and meticulous project execution.

Conclusion

These women-led tech companies have put in the work, and come up with problem-solving startups which are blazing the trail. They are shattering all social restrictions and paving the way for a better Africa. If they can reach this height, surely, you too can.

Do you think there are more females who should feature on our next list? Who are they? Feel free to let us know in the comments section.

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