Some Nigerian women have staked a claim to a growing share of the country’s growing tech ecosystem and are shaping its future.
As the world celebrates the 2024 International Women’s Day, themed ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress,’ BusinessDay has chosen to recognise some of the women who have helped the industry grow.
Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson – Healthtracka
Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson founded Healthtracka in February 2021. Prior to this, she worked as a marketing lecturer, and consumer insights at the Chartered Institute of Marketing in 2021 and as head of marketing at SynlabNG for two years.
Since starting operations, Healthtracka has recorded huge impacts that have helped health and financial lives. The health tech company is operational in 12 African states and has expanded its team from two to 20 people.
Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti – Herconomy
Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Herconomy, a female-focused fintech startup dedicated to creating financial resources for women. Herconomy, founded in 2018, is Nigeria’s first digital platform for female entrepreneurs and professionals focusing on empowering women and connecting women and opportunities, such as grants, fellowships, scholarships and jobs.
Damilola Olokesusi – Shuttlers
Damilola Olokesusi is the co-founder and CEO of transportation startup, Shuttlers. Under her leadership, Shuttlers raised $4 million series A round in 2023 and announced plans to expand shared mobility in the country. In 2020, she launched an initiative called Shemoves Shuttles, an all-female shuttle service (sponsored by Ford Motors Company) that has impacted 600+ female professionals by turning their commute time into learning time.
Honey Ogundeyi – Edukoya
Honey Ogundeyi founded Edukoya, an examination preparation platform built in May 2021 to help students adequately prepare for their examinations.
Ogundeyi is an Internet and brand management expert and consultant with experience in banking, internet, telecoms, brand management, and business consulting. She is also skilled in web commerce and online and mobile advertising. All these skills have served as added tools in her drive to solve life problems with technology.
Fara Ashiru Jibutoh – Okra
Fara Ashiru Jituboh is a co-founder and CEO/CTO of Okra, a Nigeria-based fintech platform that enables secure, real-time financial information exchange between customers, applications, and banks.
Before founding Okra in 2019, Fara gained experience building and scaling products in emerging markets and venture-backed startups by working with organisations such as Canva, Techhustle, Sana Benefits, and Dorsata.
Tito Ovia – Helium Health
Tito Ovia is a health tech entrepreneur and public health professional driven to improve healthcare quality in Africa. She was the co-founder/head of public sector growth of Helium Health, a Nigeria-based health tech company founded in 2016.
Before Helium Health, Ovia was an assistant project manager at the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, where she worked with private and public sector stakeholders to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS within the state.
Ada Nduka Oyom – She Code Africa
Ada Nduka Oyom is the founder of She Code Africa and Developer Relations lead at Google. She Code Africa is a non-governmental organisation that helps girls and women in Africa gain technical skills. Her skills and expertise also earned her roles and positions in Interswitch and other tech companies.
Jessica Anuna – Klasha
Jessica Anuna is the founder and CEO of Klasha, a platform founded in 2018 that enables African consumers to shop online from global retailers and pay in their local currency using their preferred payment method. Klasha is based in Lagos, Nigeria, and San Francisco, USA, and is backed by Techstars.
Solape Akinpelu – Hervest
Founded by Solape Akinpelu in 2019, Hervest is a fintech company providing inclusive finance to African women through goal-oriented savings, impact investing, and credit options for smallholder women farmers and women-led small and medium enterprises. The platform boasts over 40,000 users. Akinpelu had previously worked as head of marketing and corporate communications at Meristem Nigeria.
Temie Giwa-Tubosun – LifeBank
Lifebank is a health tech startup founded in 2016 by Temie Giwa-Tubosun, who has nine years of management and health policy experience. LifeBank is digitising the supply chain for healthcare facilities in Africa. Their marketplace connects hospitals to the products they need, and their multimodal delivery gets it delivered safely and quickly.
