Business
Ventures Africa Speaks With Microsoft 4Afrika Youth Council Member Akaliza Gara
In February last year, Rwandan techpreneur Akaliza Keza Gara was chosen from a list of nominees to represent her region (East Africa) at the Microsoft 4Afrika council. She was selected alongside 3 regional young influencers (Nigeria’s Chude Jideonwo, Morocco’s Tayeb Sbihi and Cameroon’s Olivia Mukam) as a member of the 4Afrika Advisory Council to make sure that the voice of Africa large youths are heard.
Akaliza is the founder of Shaking Sun, a Multimedia company which offers wide range of services including website development, video editing, graphic designs and animations. She also serves as a mentor at open technology hub “KLab” and a member of Girls in ICT Rwanda. The University of Kent Multimedia technology and Design graduate is passionate about advocating the importance of learning ICT skills to all African youths. Ventures Africa speaks with Akaliza about her life, role as a member of the council and the African ICT market:
VA: How has growing-up influenced the person you are today?
Aklaiza: I always find it difficult to answer when people ask me where I grew up – because I grew up in so many different places. Before I was 18 I had lived in 8 different countries and had visited many more. Now, at 27 I have been to at least 18 different countries. I would say that this has made me quite open to different cultures and I also easily adapt when placed in new situations. I love change and I am always on the lookout for a new adventure.
VA: You have always been interested in technology. and why the focus on Girl ICT development?
Aklaiza: I was blessed to have a family computer that I had access to from a very young age. Back then, you had to type commands into the computer to get it to load a game or any kind of program. I enjoyed experimenting with the different commands to see what I could get the computer to do. At the same time, I have always had a passion for art – I love to draw, paint and even sculpt when I had the opportunity. I saw multimedia as a means to combine my passion for art and my skill in technology.
The focus on improving the ratio of women to men in the ICT sector came much later. As a teenager I really liked being one of the only girls in class – it made me feel special. As an adult, however, as I began to understand why so few girls pursued tech careers, it began to bother me. One of the big reasons is the low number of female role models. As a member of Girls In ICT Rwanda, this is one of the issues we are tackling.
VA: Over the years, you have achieved quite a lot, sometimes it generates envy. How do you get credibility and recognition for your work as a young IT professional?
Akaliza: As is the case, I suspect, in any industry, there are those who support me and those who are not happy with my success. That said, overall, I would say that most of my peers have been very supportive. We are trying to develop a collaborative and intellectually stimulating tech community in Rwanda.
As for credibility, I think your work will speak for you. If you do good work, especially in a tightly knit community like we have in Kigali, people will hear of it. I have been blessed to receive a lot of press for my work but this does not help much with getting clients. Sometimes people will recognize me in shops or at conferences but they rarely go on to ask for my services. I would say 90 percent of the new clients I get are recommended from former or current clients, or are those who I’ve met through networking events and then sent examples of my company’s work.
