6 minute read
GAME ON
GAME
ON SAFARICOM PLC IT GOVERNANCE LEAD DONNA REGE ON SUCCEEDING IN A MALE-DOMINATED FIELD BY ELLY AKOKO
he COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new emphasis on the importance of digital
Tconnectivity in our daily lives and has highlighted a newfound sense of urgency in the digital transformation agenda.
Safaricom, a trailblazer in Kenya's digital transformation, was at the forefront of the accelerated transition to digital during the pandemic, assisting many consumers to transact business online through its various innovative solutions such as Lipa na Mpesa and Pochi la Biashara. Never heard before solutions such as paying bus fares with mobile money became possible overnight thanks to the robust digital infrastructure that the telco has set up.
One of the people behind the digital agenda at Safaricom is Donna Rege. The IT Governance Lead at Safaricom PLC had a chat with the CEO Business Africa team on the sidelines of Connected Kenya Summit 2022 on the ups and downs of working in a male-dominated field.
“I am leading the IT Governance space which involves defining standards and frameworks which Safaricom IT processes can then be able to adhere and comply to make sure we give effective service to our consumers and partners,” says Donna Rege.
“My other role is that of Chair, Women in Technology at Safaricom which is a group of about 40 very passionate women who take time to volunteer, inspire and motivate young girls within the tech space to take STEM roles, and careers and then pursue them to leadership,” says Donna.
DONNA’S IT JOURNEY
Donna initially wanted to be a doctor, but then her encounter with a close family relative changed her mind. "I had an uncle, a telecoms engineer, who would come home with what he called a "digital sack” that had different kinds of phones and during that time, mobile phones were a very new concept and very exciting. He was able to use these very great gadgets, and that intrigued me, and I thought: well, I can be able to do this. So, I went to school hoping that I would become an engineer,” says Donna.
Electrical engineering is what she always thought she would pursue, but telecommunication engineering is what she ended up pursuing at the Univesity. “I really don't regret that decision because, for me, I loved working with wires.”
Engineering being a male-dominated field meant that Donna had a lot to do to excel in her course. “I had to be friends with the men because of the challenges that you face. It is only when you are with these men that you see how best to adapt and sustain yourself through the course. And this helped me quite a bit,” adds Donna.
This unfortunate reality of male dominance later manifested itself at work. “Even when I got to work, there was very, very minimal representation, but my employer has been gracious enough to put in place measures that help sustain women within the technology space.”
THE UPS AND DOWNS IN A MALEDOMINATED TECH SPACE
Being in a male-dominated sector is not easy for a young, vibrant lady like Donna Rege. "The greatest down has been that every time I have had to deliver, already people have a pre-formed notion that I can't. I've had to intentionally give 150% just to validate and get my seat at the table.”
On the flip side, Donna says that the fact that it is male-dominated has made it very satisfactory for her, as she is now intentionally present and ambitious enough to pursue her dream. For her, every milestone counts, and she has to fight to achieve it because of that notion. “I thrive in a space where I can jump hurdles and overcome new challenges, and this has propelled me to succeed and even scale to greater heights within the tech space.”
EMPOWERING WOMEN IN TECH
As Chairperson of Women in Technology in Kenya, Donna provides leadership for one of Kenya's first Women in Technology (WIT) platforms created over 8 years ago by defining, documenting, and executing the Women in technology 2020–2023 strategy. “We're trying to create a pipeline from young kids because we believe a young kid still has a tender mind and can be molded. So, when we start triggering, initiating, and inspiring them to adopt and appreciate tech from that young age, we see them embracing it throughout, thus creating a pipeline,” explains Donna.
“We have a program called Kids Go Tech, which we do during school breaks; parents pay a small fee and we
place kids within our institutions in Nairobi and the child can get an opportunity to build very simple experiments with very simple materials like hydraulics, robotics, and start learning and inspiring themselves about what technology can do in life and what they can build with their hands," she adds.
The initiative also has a program for girls in high school that involves a 'see and believe model” where girls from various regions in Kenya also go to the institutions. “We also have the Technovation challenge, which is a global event. We take part in it and are the regional ambassadors."
She adds that with these initiatives, "we have seen brilliant ideas come through and we compete regionally. We have been able to go to Silicon Valley for the final; four years in a row since we joined the program.”
Lastly, the Initiative has campus outreach, which includes boys as part of the funnel, where students in the technology field are prepared to start thinking about their potential employers and how to prepare for interviews. Students also get a chance to be enrolled in a three-month paid internship program, she reveals.
Donna adds that other than just teaching students the technical know-how, students also receive social skills on how to build their personality and communication skills and are eventually on taken through ways to gel well in the technology space
“We also have a networking forum with likeminded women, where we come together, have honest conversations, build each other and rise together through cocktails, workshops, and so on. So that's basically how we build the pipeline, right, from a tender age of six all the way to the working woman,” she tells us proudly.
DARE TO DREAM
With careers in STEM evolving, Donna believes that it can only become more interesting for women in tech. “We have new age careers like data science which are even more inclined to the woman because they are things they would like," she shares.
Finally, having thrived in a technology world where few women exist, Donna believes nothing is impossible if only you believe in your dreams. “Dare to dream, then work hard and be persistent. It is not going to be easy, but you need to be able to hang in there, and it will pay off.”
