Women in Tech "Our Time is Now - Our Rights, Our Future"

When Caroline Masibo was a teenage girl, she did not see herself entering the tech space. But after completing her KSCEs, and during the long holiday in between, she started gaining interest in watching criminal drama. Her attention was drawn to one show in particular, namely ‘Criminal Minds’. In this show, an eccentric tech-savvy female character really intrigued her.

“There was one lady I felt I related to very strongly because she embodied a lot of things, I believed I could be. She was bubbly, bright, and very colorful… she was the tech wizard in the team, she would hack into systems, figure things out, and write code. And to me, that seemed so amazing” says Caroline Masibo a youthful enthusiasm.

In January, the year after her KCSE Caroline went on to start her Diploma in IT. Today, she is the Principal Engineer in, Core Networks Support Service at Safaricom PLC.

Caroline alongside Tima Ali (Core Networks Design Engineer) are part of the Women in Technology (WIT) Initiative in Safaricom which was started by the ladies in the technology domain. The initiative works to champion having more ladies in the technology space and to have more ladies taking leadership positions in Safaricom.

Through the WIT Initiative, the ladies go out into the community to encourage the girl child to take up STEM (Science, Technology, Economics, and Mathematics) subjects and consider careers in technology as they believe the girl child are the leaders of tomorrow.

In celebration of International Day of the Girl Child, which happens annually on the 11th of October, we sit down with Caroline and Tima to discuss the ladies’ journeys in the tech industry, what Safaricom is doing to offer more opportunities for girls in tech, and what the national outlook is for girls in Tech.

Listen to the podcast below: