The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new emphasis on the importance of digital connectivity 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. It assisted many consumers in transacting 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 Safaricom’s digital agenda is Donna Rege. The IT Governance Lead at Safaricom PLC chatted with the CEO Business Africa team on the sidelines of Connected Kenya Summit 2022 about the ups and downs of working in a male-dominated field. 

“I am leading the IT Governance space, which involves defining standards and frameworks to which Safaricom IT processes can then adhere and comply to ensure 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 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 great gadgets, which intrigued me, and I thought, well, I can do this. So, I went to school hoping to become an engineer,” says Donna. 

She always thought she would pursue electrical engineering, but she ended up pursuing telecommunication engineering at the university. “I really don’t regret that decision because I loved working with wires.” 

Engineering is a male-dominated field, so Donna had a lot to do to excel in her course. “I had to be friends with the men because of your challenges. Only when you are with these men can 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.” 

Being in a male-dominated sector is challenging 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% 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, propelling me to succeed and even scale to greater heights within the tech space.”

As Chairperson of Women in Technology in Kenya, Donna leads one of Kenya’s first Women in Technology (WIT) platforms created over eight years ago by defining, documenting, and executing the 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. The child can get an opportunity to build very simple experiments with very simple materials like hydraulics and 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 high school girls 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 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. She reveals that Students also get to be enrolled in a three-month paid internship program. 

Donna adds that besides teaching students technical know-how, students also receive social skills for building their personality and communication skills, which are eventually taken through ways to gel well in the technology space. 

“We also have a networking forum with like-minded women, where we come together, have honest conversations, build each other up, and rise together through cocktails, workshops, and so on. So that’s basically how we build the pipeline, right, from the tender age of six all the way to the working woman,” she tells us proudly. 

With careers in STEM evolving, Donna believes it can only become more attractive 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 technological world where few women exist, Donna believes nothing is impossible if you only believe in your dreams. “Dare to dream, then work hard and be persistent. It will not be easy, but you need to be able to hang in there, and it will pay off.

This feature appeared in the December 2022 edition of CEO Business Africa magazine. You can access the full digital magazine HERE.