Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Meet the Founder

Tech Woman: 5 Questions with Odunayo Eweniyi of Piggyvest

In this feature, we talk about being a woman in the tech industry with Odunayo Eweniyi.

Shes is the co-founder and COO of Piggvest, the largest online savings & investment platform in Nigeria.

She previously co-founded pushcv.com, one of the largest job sites in Africa and has over the years been recognised for her solutions in the tech industry, with a lot of awards to her name.

Odunayo was named one of Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Technology in 2019 and one of 30 Quartz Africa Innovators 2019. She also made the World Women in Fintech Power List for 2017; the YNaija Most Influential People in Technology 2017 and 2018.

In 2019, she was named one of 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria by Leading Ladies Africa and one of 50 most visible women in Tech by Tech Cabal.

In this interview with Founders Africa, she answers 5 questions that take us into her journey in the tech industry and reveals a lot about being a tech woman.

1. Tell us about your journey into tech

I got into tech right out of University. I met a few friends from school who were working on a startup and joined them to build it. They are now my cofounders at Piggyvest and our other ventures today.

I also worked as a journalist at TechCabal and Techpoint, both engagements that I’ll credit with helping me plug into the tech ecosystem.

2. What’s your day like in your current role at Piggyvest?

I work as the COO so my job is a bit of everything. And it most certainly isn’t predictable. I can summarize it as ensuring that roles and tasks without headcount don’t fall through the cracks; and working with the management team to ensure that the company is growing.

So a day can be just managing a bunch of people and cranking away at work, and sometimes it is speaking to members of the team to understand pain points or happy points, or it can be an endless stream of meetings. 

3. What’s the one thing that excites you about being in the tech industry?

Driving change. One of the best things about working in tech is that the gratification isn’t really delayed.

Because of how impactful and different digital technology solutions are, you can see the change in real-time. You can see habits change, you can read the stories of people whose lives are being improved, and that is very motivating. 

4. What do you do to ensure you’re constantly up-to-date skill-wise and with happenings in the constantly evolving tech industry?

I take a lot of courses, and I read a lot.

There are so many MOOCs out there that can help you upskill and educate yourself without the grand time commitment of actually being in school. So I take full advantage of those and I encourage people to do the same.

You can also read a lot of literature – articles, books, etc – about the subject matter you’d like to be educated in. Most of these are incredibly accessible.

5. What advice will you give young women trying to build a career in tech?

Just do it. Times are changing and the involvement of women in tech is at an all-time high. We hope that it only gets better from here.

So I’d tell anyone trying to build a career in tech to start. There are so many ways to be in tech, it’s not limited to being a founder or being a programmer. All tech companies need designers, UI/UX experts, Strategists, Content Developers etc. There is a role for everyone in tech.

Christie Uzebu

Content Creator | Digital Marketer

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