The world celebrates Women’s Day in appreciation of the phenomenal work that women continue to do, making great strides each day across social, economic, political and cultural fields. Women’s Day is also a call to actions to accelerate women’s equality in various sectors. We celebrate these ladies leading in technology in Uganda today.
The technology sector is a predominantly male one, however, there are women who have gone above and beyond to challenge the norms and hit milestones paving the way for future generations with their innovative ideas. These remarkable ladies leading in technology in Uganda have risen in the industry making impactful change while inspiring other ladies to do the same. Today, we shine a light on these ladies that continue to leave their mark in the IT sector as they raise the bar in STEM-based careers in Uganda.
Meet the sensational ladies leading in technology in Uganda
Alice Namuli Blazevic
Alice Namuli is a Partner and Head of Tech and Innovation at Katende, Ssempebwa & Co Advocates in Uganda. She is an award-winning lawyer, international speaker and author with over 16 years’ experience. She specializes in Technology law with a keen interest in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, FinTechs, Cyberlaw and Data Protection. She represents several Fintechs and Blockchain Technology-based businesses that are reshaping the mode of doing business in Africa.
Her Leadership roles in the tech industry include;
- Team Leader – Legal Innovation Hub
- Chairperson – Uganda Legal Tech Network
- Co-Founder – Kampala Legal Hackers
- Board Member of the Innovation Advisory Board of the Uganda National Social Security Fund
- Cybersecurity expert for the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa at the University of Stellenbosch
- Faculty Advisor – Digital Legal Exchange (A Global training institute for leaders in the digital world)
Dr. Catherine Nakalembe
Dr Nakalembe is an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Maryland. She is the NASA Harvest Africa Program Director, a member of the NASA SERVIR Applied Sciences Team on which she serves as the Agriculture and Food Security Thematic Lead. She is a 2020 Africa Food Prize Laureate for her dedication to improving the lives of smallholder farmers by using satellite technology to harness data to guide agricultural decision-making.
Her work led to the development and establishment of food security and crop monitoring bulletins that integrate satellite data including the Tanzania National Food Security Bulletin, the Uganda National Integrated Early Warning Bulletin, Kenya, Rwanda Crop Monitor reports, and the Eastern Africa Crop Monitor as well as designing the trigger mechanism of the disaster risk financing program in Uganda that has supported over 300,000 households in the Karamoja region as part of her PhD research.
Elizabeth Ntege
Elizabeth Ntege is the current Chairperson Board of Directors of the ICT Association of Uganda where she was recently appointed. She is also the CEO of NFT Consult Group which is a human resource management firm that offers services in the East African region with offices in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, South Africa and Zambia.
As an entrepreneur and investor, she believes in making a relevant contribution and impact in Africa through meaningful employment by creating an environment in which innovation and opportunity unlocks one’s potential. NFT Consult Group has worked with companies like Airtel, MTN, VodaCom, Vodafone, Tigo, Huawei Technologies, ZTE, DFCU Bank, KCB Bank and other organizations.
Joan Kirunga
Joan Kirunga is a computer scientist with 5 years of experience in data and information administration expertise. She has a strong interest in social impact analysis and gender justice and focuses on the broad interpretation of data and the implementation of successful market solutions.
She aims to contribute her technical expertise in both the private and public-sector by comprehensively interpreting data to provide strategic insight and utilizing data visualization tools to optimize statistical efficiency and quality.
Dr. Joyce Nabende
Dr. Joyce is a lecturer in the department of Computer Science at Makerere University. She is also the head of the Makerere Artificial Intelligence Lab which is a research lab under the department of Computer Science that carries out research in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Computer Vision and their application in solving problems in the world.
Her job has given her the opportunity to carry out teaching and research in technology and science-related fields like Machine Learning, Business Process Management and Software Engineering. She has a PhD in Computer Science from Eindhoven University of Technology and has supervised over 10 graduate studies in the field of Computer Science.
Brenda Katwisagye
Brenda Katwesigye is the founder and CEO of Wazi Vision a company that builds mobile technologies for the improvement of eye care and provides eyeglasses made from recycled material to school-going children in Uganda. She is passionate about creating sustainable solutions that make health care more accessible, available and affordable. Brenda is listed as one of the Forbes 20 new wealth creators, an Alumni of Vodafone’s FLANE program, a 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow and sits on the Regional Advisory Board of the Young African Leader’s Initiative (YALI) and the Board of the STARTS Prize of the Ars Electronica.
Read also: 8 e-health startups in Uganda increasing access to better health care
Priscillah Nalubega
Priscillah’s zeal and enthusiasm for what she does is one of the most captivating factors about this young lady. Inspired by the low rate of innovation in Uganda, she combined her love for Sciences and the need to find ways that Uganda quits lagging behind when it comes to innovation.
Pursuing Geology at Makerere University in second year, Priscillah works with an Edu tech startup called Inove-Labs that educates students in the STEM field and also teaches them how to do things like building robots. Priscillah is the current Software Developer at Inove-Labs. At Inove-Labs, they aim at teaching students the basic physic principles through fun ways that will ensure these students can grow in the field.
Read more: The best e-learning platforms in Uganda
Sherifah Tumusiime
Tumusiime is the CEO and co-founder of Zimba Women, a social enterprise that specialises in providing IT and software solutions for small and medium scale enterprises. It doesn’t end there for this IT solution driven entrepreneur, Tumusiime is the founder of the Baby Store, the first dedicated retail e-commerce website that sells baby products and clothing in Uganda.
Her IT expertise was granted to her through the International Trade Center on cross-border IT and ITES. She is a Mandela Washington fellow and a member of the Cherie Blair Foundation mentorship program that considers women to be economically empowered.
Isabel Odida
Isabel Odida is the Director of Fontes Foundation Uganda. She is also the Founder and Convener of Uganda Network Operators Group (UGNOG). She is an Online Course Moderator for the Internet Society (ISOC) where she teaches Network Operations and is a Trainer for the African Network Operations Group (AfNOG) where she delivers the Scalable Internet Services course.
Isabel is a Fellow of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). She is an avid supporter of free and open-source software (FOSS) and bases all her trainings on these platforms. Her passion is knowledge sharing ad evangelizing the potential of the internet and ICTs in advancing and empowering the talented minds involved in the African technical community.
Peace Kuteesa
Kuteesa is a computer programmer at the United Nations in the Communications Department and Chief of Operations for Zimba Women’s tech products. At Zimba Women she is also the manager of the online business of Zimba Mart, which guarantees safety for online transactions. Her purpose is to inspire the future women’s generation to pursue more STEM-based careers.
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