Barbara Mallinson is the Founder and CEO of Obami; which means 'Mine' in Zulu. She is married to Ennis Jones. Barbara is a graduate of University of Capetown where she earned a B.Sc. in Marketing and Economics. Barbara is an advisory board member for Mobile World Capital, a global initiative driven by the city of Barcelona and GSMA. She is the only sitting African.

She has received several awards in the Tech space such as: -

• IS labs recipient in Internet Solution.
• In 2011, Barbara’s organisation was recognised as one of the 10 Most Innovative Technology in the World by Netexplorateur, UNESCO, Deloitte & others.
• In 2012, Mallinson was one of Africa’s Marissa Meyers (CNN). She also won the top Female Entrepreneur in Africa awarded by IT News Africa. She was awarded as the 20 Best Start-up in Africa by Forbes Africa.
• In 2013, Barbara was one of the Top 40 African Start-up recognized by DemoAfrica. She was also acknowledged as one of the Top 21 Most Innovative African Organisations by the French Government and Google Africa.

Her Work:

She founded Obami in 2007; a community learning platform that combines social networking tools. These social networking tools include profiles, profile pictures and news feeds. It helps to bring pupils, teachers and parents together to connect and exchange ideas. It also provide school administrators with a comprehensive platform to make school management easy and effective. The platform features digital assignments, worksheets, quizzes, tests, exams and questionnaires.

In 2010, she took part in Old Mutual’s “Do Great Things” campaign. She was also identified as one of the Mail & Guardian’s “Top 200 Young People to Take to Lunch” after spearheading successful innovative companies. These companies set a new standard on the local and international front.

From 2004-2005, she was the marketing Executive for Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc. She worked as a marketing manager at Axicom Limited from 2005-2006.

Why TechHer Loves Her:

Technology is a great enabler that can transform lives and  society. However a successful one for us is when someone is able to use such medium to change or improve the way things are being done. Barbara has utilized the social networking space to enhance and enrich the education sector of her country which is such an amazing innovation.