From haircare to connecting farmers to consumers, women entrepreneurs in Africa are taking the tech scene by storm and changing the digital landscape. 

Africa’s tech companies are mostly male-dominated, and women remain largely under-represented. However, we have some incredible women challenging these stereotypes; who are working to make their communities better, upending industries, holding center stage and basically more than earning their place at the leadership table. 

As an Africa-based digital marketing agency founded and run by an enterprising team of women that aim to bring the best of Africa to you, Tribe of Brands believes that gender diversity in the tech industry can create a dynamic business environment and lead to more versatile economies. So, here we have 10 of the brightest women in African tech that everyone should know about: 

• Nneka Mobisson
  Company: mDoc (Nigeria)
  
  Helping people lead healthier and happier lives in sub-Saharan Africa, mDoc gives people suffering from chronic illness a virtual ecosystem where all their healthcare information is saved and allows them to connect around-the-clock with medical and nutritional experts. It integrates medical methods and behavioral sciences to help change lives across the continent, especially from illnesses like diabetes, PCOD, and hypertension. 

• Baratang Miya
  Company: GirlHype (South Africa)
  
  Creating business opportunities for women in Africa, GirlHype gives programming and app development training to young women in classes 6-12. A self-taught coder, Miya wants women to develop an interest in the STEM fields in after-school classes and get tech job exposure.

• Esther Olatunde, Priscilla Hazel, Cassandra Sarfo 
  Company: Tress (Ghana)
  
  If you’re looking for a variety of hairstyles to try out and can’t find one that fits your hair texture, Tress is a social haircare app that helps people discover new styles, products, and maintenance techniques, as well as share styles and secrets on the app’s community. 

• Linda Kwamboka, Susan Oguya, Jamila Abass
  Company: mFarm (Kenya)
  
  This is a mobile software solution that connects Kenyan farmers to consumers via SMS, both in urban and import markets. It gives farmers the most recent retail prices, consumers can compare prices and place bids. mFarm acts as a digital marketplace where both buyers and sellers can find what they’re looking for; no middleman.

• Judith Owigar
  Company: JuaKali (Kenya)
  
  As the founder of Kenya’s online directory for blue-collar workers, Owigar is one of the country’s most popular tech leaders. JuaKali connects informal sector service providers with individual and institutional clients and allows people to create a job profile displaying their experience.

• Anne Amuzu
  Company: Nandimobile (Ghana)
  
  With 20+ corporate clients in Ghana, Amuzu’s Nandimobile is a software development company that helps companies deliver customer support and information services to their clients.

• Odunayo Eweniyi
  Company: PushCV + Piggybank (Nigeria)
  
  PushCV is a job website, pre-screening, and CV writing all in one. Eweniyi is also the head of the automated savings platform Piggybank, which helps Nigerian debit cardholders to save small amounts of money often with minimal worry.

• Barbara Mallinson
  Company: Obami (South Africa)  
  
  For edtech lovers, Obami is a social e-learning platform created to be used by African, American and European school students and organisations. It uses its technology to link teachers, learners, NGOs (Non-governmental organisations) and governments through assessment modules and educational resources.

• Rebecca Enonchong
  Company: AppsTech (Cameroon)
  
  Enonchong is the brains behind AppsTech, the global provider of enterprise application solutions in 50+ countries. It offers various software services, from training and application management to implementation for all kinds and sizes of organisations.

• Clarisse Iribagiza
  Company: Hehe Ltd. (Rwanda)
  
  A mobile technologies company, Hehe Ltd. develops ways for businesses to reach out to their customers on time, and in an affordable way. In addition, it builds custom mobile apps for businesses, offers 24×7 online + offline support, as well as cloud-based storage services. Within five years of entering the tech scene, Iribagiza has become a pioneer and inspiration for women-led enterprises in Rwanda.   

On the surface, sub-Saharan Africa appears to boast of some of the highest rates of women entrepreneurs, but digging a little deeper uncovers the limited opportunities for business growth of small businesses. However, with the right incentives, we can bolster and unleash African women’s potential in the continent’s expanding tech sector. This includes reversing the cultural conditioning that women are “high-risk customers” to lend to, and that women can’t aspire high in male-dominated spaces – and be superheroes in their own right. 

Overcoming these cultural barriers means teaching future women entrepreneurs about health, education and financial security. 

Tribe of Brands can help you stay on top of trends to effectively navigate the complex waters of the internet. Our marketing agency can help you with further ideas on how to design world-class websites, seamless user journeys, and digital marketing campaigns.