Damilola Teidi-Ayoola

Years in Tech

8

Current Role

Director, Incubation Unit, CcHub

Core Skills

Innovation management, Business analysis, Project management, Business advisory.

Interview Date

14th December, 2018

Damilola Teidi has 8 years experience working in the technology space in Nigeria with most of that time spent working with tech startups in various capacities.

As Director of Incubation at Co-creation Hub, she manages all start-up related programs at the innovation center and works with entrepreneurs from various sectors to build and/or scale solutions that meet a real need.

Prior to re-joining CcHUB as Director of incubation, she worked as Chief Executive Officer of GoMyWay Africa, the carpooling platform for intracity and interstate trips; where she led the growth of the start-up to 12,000 members up by 150% from 4000 members in 2016. She also worked closely with technology start-ups as a Business Analyst for Co-Creation Hub’s pre-incubation and incubation programme, and started her career journey as a software developer for Socketworks Nigeria Ltd.

She is passionate about using technology to solve problems and interested in the entire process involved in bringing new technology solutions to market.

Damilola holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology from Eastern Mediterranean University, Northern Cyprus and a Masters’ Degree in Strategy and Innovation management from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom.

What experiences led you to technology and how did you develop the skills to compete in the industry?

I stumbled on the course “Information Technology” on the week of resumption at the university. Prior to this, I had no intention of being in technology and wanted to become a medical doctor. One thing led to another and I was in university studying a course I was not exactly prepared for. In that year, I had to quickly learn and deeply understand the basics of the course. In the process, I fell in love with it and my interest in technology grew from there.

“Learning by doing” is is a concept that resonates with how I have gone about developing my skills. Whenever I’m presented with an opportunity to gain experience in something, I take it. For example, when I was studying for a masters in innovation management, I worked as a programme management intern for the IT department at the university and a market research analyst. I did not have to do it, in fact, a lecturer had advised against combining writing our dissertation with taking up a job. For some, studying the course would have been enough but for me, gaining practical experience was important.

Also in 2015, I took up the opportunity to run a startup as its CEO and that experience has influenced the way I support entrepreneurs today.

What advice would you give to women considering a career in technology? What do you wish you had known?

Being in technology is beyond software development, there are tons of opportunities. Do a thorough research on the areas in technology that are available so you can make an informed decision as to where you want to be.

No, technology is not for men alone and it’s not any more difficult than studying law, a management course or any other course they claim is “women-friendly”. So, if you want to go for it, don’t listen to people that say otherwise.

Any other thoughts on women in technology?

It will be great to have more women leverage technology in their businesses especially in the way they serve their customers. Technology offers the opportunity for your business to scale faster and makes it easier to serve your customers better.

Furthermore, there are so many opportunities for female led tech companies globally and it’s sad not to see enough women taking advantage of it. So leverage technology in your business and be on the lookout for every opportunity not just the ones tailored to women alone.