About Her:

Viola Nuwaha is an Ugandan Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) expert, a programmer and a rural development enthusiast. Many caps on this lady! She attended the Mary Hills High School in Uganda and graduated with a B.Sc in Computer Science from the prestigious Makerere University in Uganda in 2013.

Viola Nuwaha has always loved computers starting the age of 10. She would play with them on frequent trips to her mother's office. There’s no doubt about the fact that an early exposure to computers and her sheer determination really helped in broadening her horizons and shaping her career in the field of Information and Communications Technology.

Her Work:

Viola is passionate about using technology to provide solutions that would improve and impact on the lives of rural dwellers in Uganda. This shines through the roles she has taken;

• Between June 2012–September 2012, she worked as an Intern at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda.

• Between November 2013–April 2014, she worked as Programs Assistant at Women In Technology Uganda (WITU). She helped co-ordinate various activities and implemented well tailored technological programs.
• She also spent some time at Hive Co-Lab; an incubation space that midwived WITU (Women in Technology Uganda). The sister firms operate in the same hub.

• She is currently the social media manager at Techjaja; a position she has held since 2nd December 2013.

• Since May 2014, she has been working at Farm Radio International - Radios Rurales Internationales as a Junior ICT officer/developer. Her role includes assisting Farm Radio International  in the designing of modern ICT approaches and strategies. She has also helped in training and empowering broadcasters on the best possible methods to fuse technology in the presentation of radio shows and other programs to ensure an efficient dual conversational framework.

• Viola Nuwaha is proficient with the Ubuntu operating system, graphic designing, web development, computer & network security, social media and blogging. She strives for opportunities to inspire young females to aspire and achieve more in technology.

• In 2014, Viola worked with Flavia Tumusiime, Dr Consolata Kabonesa, Dr Ruth Nsibarano and a few others to counsel and mentor a team of female students for the Technovation Challenge. This is a platform which motivates girls to become creators of technology instead of  just being users.

Viola Nuwaha has also mentored young programmers and organized series of Ubuntu workshop classes for young girls in Uganda who are keen on knowing more about how technology works. She is also a regular at Hackathon events where she contributes knowledge, skill and tons of support!

Why TechHer Loves Her:

She is an amazing embodiment of both talent and motivation to women, especially to young girls. She has been able to prove that nothing is impossible for women to achieve. The geographical location or where we come from have nothing on a strong will to excel. On several occasions, via the blog site of Farm Radio International; Viola Nuwaha discusses the challenges women in technology face, but goes beyond that to provide solutions.

Information gleaned from the Internet

#TechHer held her inaugural event on Friday, 28th August at the Exhibition Hall of the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre. The bi-monthly event was conceived and organized by CC Consulting Services Limited. It aims to involve more women actively and productively in the ever-growing technology space in Nigeria and even the world at large.

“Women still need a solid support base in order to help them get a foothold in the tech industry”, said Huffington Post about #TechHer, and the event did that and more. It provided a platform for women to connect, interact and share experiences about how technology positively influences their everyday lives. The women who attended were enlightened by the topics from the various speakers Nana Nwachukwu on the marriage between law and technology, Florist Doreen Aninyei on growing her business via digital, Anna Egbagbe on effective digital marketing, etc. The ladies also got to speed date 'TechHer style', with the most effective networker winning N10, 000.

The serious discussions were balanced by moments of great fun such as the fishbowl raffle, which saw attendees going home with gifts and prizes including free coding classes, thousands of naira worth of airtime and data, vouchers for beauty treatments, and more.

Jackie Farris, host of the event and Director-General of the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Foundation gave the welcome speech. She welcomed attendees to the event, reminding them of the “knowledge transfer workshop the Foundation in partnership with some organizations has planned”. There was also a greeting from a representative of the Swedish Government, which is keenly interested in the concept of #TechHer.

#TechHer’s attendees ranged from women who are expert in technology, women with moderate knowledge, to novices with an interest or curiosity about the field. The event was free to attend, even though interested participants registered via email before the day. Chioma Agwuegbo, convener of the event, explained the vision for #TechHer, saying, “We are more powerful as a collective than as individual units struggling on our various levels of knowledge”

Those unable to attend were not left out as there was an audio and audiovisual live-stream provided by Amplified Radio and HolyHill Church respectively. Attendees were treated to light refreshments and branded souvenirs.

#TechHer was organized by CC Consulting Services Limited and hosted by the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Foundation. The event was supported by SocialGood NG, Amplified Radio, iBlend Services, Global Shapers Abuja Hub, Blazing Images, LearnCode, PlayHouse Communication, Zahara Spa and Salon, TechNigeria, and Holyhill Church.

For more information, contact:

Chioma Agwuegbo

Mobile: +234 (0) 803-845-8900

Email: chioma@chiomachuka.com

Twitter: @chiomachuka

TechHerNG

Phone: +234 (0) 908-304-1940

Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/YouTube: TechHerNG

techherng.com

Live stream account of the inaugural TechHer event held at the Shehu Musa Yar Adua Center in Abuja, Nigeria on the 28th of August 2015. #TechHer #TechHerNG

#TechHer was born out of a need to see women in Abuja come together to work, support each, and learn together. We realized there was no platform for women working in and around digital (especially in Abuja) to share ideas, experiences, challenges etc. for a number of reasons including the perception that technology is the exclusive preserve of male folk.

Where others saw a deficiency, we saw an opportunity and the product of that idea shared with friends, family, and partners, is this website, the inaugural event holding in Abuja on the 28^th of August 2015, and hopefully, the birth of a true support group for young girls currently hoping to get into technology or STEM.

We are super excited about #TechHer because it was borne out of a need and is (and will always be) driven by passion. Initiating a community, nurturing a dream and seeing it come to reality is something we cannot but be thankful for.

What we are most amazed at however are the responses we’ve gotten! When we started planning, our modest expectations didn’t exceed 30 – 40 people at most. Imagine our surprise when we had over 50 people register on the first day! That number has since grown to over 110, and we now have the pleasant problem of space! Let’s not even talk about having to reopen registration because we had too many requests for that!

Another thing. All our speakers have been drawn from the attendees, and we’re excited at the knowledge in the room! They are

• Blessing Orazulume: She is a programmer and software developer at Andela and is proficient with building web apps, mobile apps and also website. Blessing will be teaching software development.
• Nana Nwachukwu: She is an Information Technology and intellectual property lawyer. She successfully completed a project on standards for ICT in Holograms and Barcodes for Nigeria. Nana will discuss the marriage between law and technology.
• Anna Egbagbe: Anna is a digital marketing consultant and trainer with experience that cuts across various industries such as financial, real estate and Non-Profits. She has extensive marketing/PR experience and consumer engagement with brands on digital platforms. Anna will give insights on Digital Marketing.
• Dumebi Chukwuka: A confident, highly driven IT Project Manager with years of experience in managing Federal, State and private projects that have varied from hardware to software implementation. Dumebi will focus on Digital Storytelling.

We’re looking forward to a goodwill message from the Swedish government, and a welcome address by Jackie W. Farris, Executive Director of the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation.

If you can’t be in the room, don’t worry! We’ll be live streaming both for screens and for radio, thanks to the guys at HolyHill Church and Amplified Radio.

We’re also grateful to all our partners and supporters, where would we be without you?

Here’s to women, to technology, and the birth of great things.

#TechHer is powered by CC Consulting Services.