The Information Technology (IT) sector is booming globally and Nigeria is not exempted, as Nigerians of all ages are solving problems and creating solutions with their various IT skills.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that the information and communication technology (ICT) sector contributed 19.54% to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2023.
While the IT sector is mostly male dominated, women like Ekwutosi Cynthia Okeh, founder of Digital Witch are making their mark by training and equipping Nigerians with relevant in-demand IT skills in order to transform them into tech professionals.
Ms. Okeh who started the platform Digital Witch Support Community in 2020, in this interview, narrated how she navigated her way from a job which was not giving her the desired fulfillment into tech which she has come to love so much.
According to her, being a female in tech comes with its own responsibilities, the most important of which, is to be well equipped to stay afloat and stay confident.
<<<<<See excerpt of the Interview below >>>>
What school did you first attend? A brief introduction into your academics.
Firstly I attended Nursery school at Okpuje, then Primary school at Makurdi International in Makurdi. For my secondary education, I attended Junior secondary school at my village community school, then Completed secondary education at St. Catherine’s Comprehensive college Nsukka.
For Higher Institution, I attended University of Nigeria Nsukka where I studied Art Education with a specialty in English and Literature.
As a child, what dreams did you have?
As a child I admired and loved Lawyers. Although I was known as someone that talks a lot and so, I was always teased to put my arguments to use by becoming a Lawyer. But, as time went on and with all the discouragements that came from people about how Lawyers were, I ended up changing my mind about ever wanting to be a Lawyer
What motivated you to switch into Tech?
Nothing motivated me into tech. I can say that I just stumbled on it and liked it.I initially had no idea about tech. After losing my dad and relocating, with the help of a friend to Lagos, I got this job where I just showed up at work daily and did little or no meaningful thing and I didn’t get any fulfillment from that.
On this fateful day, I stumbled over a video at work and the host was talking about cloud computing. I had no idea cloud computing was a tech skill. I honestly thought it was about weather forecasting. I had to take time to watch till the end of the video. I enjoyed it and even went further to watch more videos, as it seemed interesting and I was excited to know more.
This went on for a while, after which I felt it was time to do something else. I reached out to a friend who worked with Jobberman requesting a job in the IT field. This was despite being unsure about myself because I was self-taught, but I was lucky enough to get a job with a company working for Microsoft as a Support Engineer and that was it.
As a woman in Tech, how has life been? What have been the challenges faced and your winning strategy?
As a woman in tech surrounded by men, if you’re unsure about yourself there’s little or nothing you can achieve. You have this compelling need to get approval from the men. There’s an unforeseen pressure to prove what you’re capable of doing, but it’s important to equip yourself well enough to always stay afloat and always stay confident.
What is your take on the stereotype surrounding Remote Workers in Africa?
Personally, I think the state of stereotypes is getting better by the day. I feel like Nigerians are really talented and productive but they’re not always able to meet up to certain remote standards as they’re poorly skilled in taking up responsibilities and always giving excuses.
What do you intend to achieve with Digital Witch?
The first intent at establishing Digital Witch is to empower more people to be like me. The motivation was to help women get empowered and be productive despite having a family but along the line it began to expand as men were clamoring to be a part of it.
I want to be able to financially empower individuals with everything they need to succeed, and to also train people who are globally inclined to work in and with global companies.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years and what are the future plans for Digital Witch?
In the next 5 years, my goal is for digital witch to become a Known brand, to have an academy to train and equip more and more people; to have a community to help these people interact with one another and help others achieve goals and finally to run an agency to help recruiters meet job seekers.
What is your recipe for success ?
My recipe for success is simply doing things with passion. I’m a passionate trainer. When you’re passionate about what you do, it is very difficult for you to fail. You’d always look forward to meeting and adding value to people.
Although it can get lonely and discouraging sometimes, it’s fun.
What advice do you have for women and young girls seeking a career path in tech?
Firstly, I think a lot of people go into tech for the wrong reasons. The first thing to do to get into tech is to research about likely roles you can easily connect to and you can enjoy doing. Not running between courses, otherwise you’ll end up confused and broke.
Find your Niche and constantly upgrade yourself in that area, shut your ears to other people’s successes and work hard on yourself.
If you were not an IT expert, what other job would you have taken up?
If I weren’t an IT expert, I think I would probably have ventured into fashion designing or real estates and properties.
