DCA Trust celebrated the Women’s Day by launching the 2019 Miss.Africa Digital Seed Fund Application Drive. Parallel to my advocacy on the philosophy of positive “tech disruption”, and how it has the ability to create a welcome change in our societies, if we regularly engage in doing something out of our comfort zone for our mind, body and spirit, I’m a great believer that we will find ourselves in a much better space as human beings, as well as be more effective in our work.” 2019: Year of work-life-balance, –…
Read MoreCategory: Women
Andela Secures New $100M Series D Funding.
Andela the company building distributed engineering teams with Africa’s top software developers, today announced the completion of a $100M Series D funding. The round was led by Generation Investment Management with participation from existing investors including Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, GV, Spark Capital, and CRE Venture Capital. The most recent financing brings Andela’s total venture funding to $180M. Andela was founded in 2014 to connect Africa’s engineering talent with the demand for software developers worldwide. With the Series D funding, Andela will accelerate the development of its technology platform to identify,…
Read MoreNew: Sophia Bekele, wins for monumental court case.
Photo: DCA Founder and CEO Sophia Bekele speaking during the African Women’s Forum Special Program, Crans Montana Forum, #CMF17 Barcelona (Spain). Sophia Bekele, an Ethiopian native with American nationality has won a milestone legal battle against Ethiopia’s Central Bank – that is the National Bank of Ethiopia – whose decision led her to lose shares she inherited from her late father, the Founder of both United Bank and United Insurance, at an undervalued rate at both institutions. Ms. Bekele, a global entrepreneur and the CEO of DotConnectAfrica (DCA) Group – one…
Read MoreWhy has sexism festered for so long in Silicon Valley?
Silicon Valley and the wider tech industry have a problem with women. At least, that is what you might conclude after a week that has seen a leading tech investor resign after admitting his involvement in sexual harassment. In just two weeks, two powerful Silicon Valley investors have resigned from the firms they cofounded after women accused them of sexual harassment according to CNN. The men, 500 Startups cofounder Dave McClure and Binary Capital cofounder Justin Caldbeck, didn’t just cross the line once, according to the allegations. Multiple women —…
Read More#SheTechsAfrica: Miss.Africa Seed Fund Announces its 2016/17 Prize Winners
Closing the global digital gender divide is a pressing concern. Women are yet to reach their full potential as participants in all aspects of society. Closing this digital gender gap can help empower women and girls to actively participate in governance as civil society members and political leaders. The Miss.Africa digital Program, a Pan-African trust program of DotConnectAfrica (DCA) , is aimed in attracting more young girls and women to the Internet platform to enable them form a sizable demographic of Internet users in Africa, thereby involving them in complementary…
Read MoreCIO Names Founder & CEO of DotConnectAfrica Sophia Bekele “Industry Trailblazer and Internet-Governance Pioneer”
CIO East Africa has been following Bekele’s work for many years now and so did we, at ITBusinessdirect. No wonder the influential Business and Tech News Magazine in its May Issue 2017 decided to lay out a two page spread and a cover note on this impressive Women-In-Tech and “her significant contribution to her field” entitled “MEET SOPHIA BEKELE – Industry Trailblazer and Internet Governance Pioneer”. True enough, Bekele’s career reads as one that simply picks up and champion the most challenging causes that society has neglected or that have…
Read MoreIn 2017, 17% of startups have a female founders
The percentage of startups that have at least one female founder was flat in the first quarter of 2017. From 2009 to 2012, the percent of venture-funded companies with women founders increased by nearly 8 percent; however, the percentage of women-founded venture-backed companies has plateaued at approximately 17 percent since 2012. And as we look at Q1 2017 data, that percent doesn’t appear to have changed. For those who are keeping track, that’s nearly five years with no percentage growth in women-founded venture-backed startups. The absolute number of companies (along…
Read MoreEight most influential Women in the Tech Scene
Its still considered a man’s world, a Male dominated arena. However, the global technology industry has plenty of women in leading roles. Many of the influential women have invested in innovate companies both locally and abroad in a bid to change the several perceptions on women in technology. As of now, Women are playing some major roles in the tech scene as opposed the previous perceptions. From roles in the financial and HR departments, women have taken senior posts in tech giant companies and have as well created a voice…
Read MoreMicrosoft steps up media campaign urging girls to pursue STEM careers
For the next phase of its “Make What’s Next” campaign, which encourages girls to enter tech and science fields, Microsoft is launching a spot that shows girls the steps they have to take to make their STEM goals a reality. The campaign was introduced last year and highlighted today with a video of young girls talking about they would do change the world. The girls who appear to be tweens and teens are resolute and confidant about the challenges they want to tackle: climate change, making sure there’s enough water…
Read MoreLeveling the playing field for women in tech is vital for emerging industries
The Technological industry’s playing field is devised and maintained mostly by men leaving women at an inherent disadvantage. This is simply not a fight for equality but a reality that the industry should acknowledge to improve consumer adoption. The bias is hardwired into the very building blocks of the system, making it hard for men, who enjoy the upside of that same bias, to see the problem. Tech Crunch reports that it’s not a conspiracy, but an error on the part of the architects who don’t realize that diversity has…
Read More