Khadijah Abu

Years in Tech

11

Current Role

Products Partnerships Lead, Paystack

Core Skills

Product Management, Product Strategy, People Management and Business Operations

Interview Date

14th December, 2018

Khadijah Abu is the Product Partnerships Lead at Paystack Payments Limited, a startup that enables businesses across Africa accept payments from their customers.

She’s a seasoned professional with >10 years’ of experience in the Nigerian Fintech and Payments space working in Operations, Business Process Re-engineering and Product Management. In that time, she has managed products generating billions of dollars in revenue, and has led the design and implementation of several business automation projects.

She hopes to continue to help business grow through the efficient use of technology while participating in other ventures promoting education and community development.

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

I studied Electrical/Electronics Engineering in school and have always known that I wanted to build things. Right out of school, I was fortunate enough to join a tech startup and the rest, as they say, is history.

How has your background helped/differentiated you in the tech industry?

I think engineering helps with critical thinking and design principles. You only have to understand the basics and then they serve as building blocks for you to develop literally anything.

The people I have worked with have also inspired me to learn more and do more; being exposed to strategy development, different markets, and various aspects on how businesses work early on in my career was definitely a key differentiator for me.

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

Just do it. Yes, it seems scary, yes, you may be the only one there, yes, it may not look like you’ll succeed, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know. Take advantage of every learning opportunity you come across and always ask for help if you need it.

Any other thoughts on women in technology?

I think there are many opportunities for women to thrive in the technology space today; the barrier to entry keeps getting lower every day and there are so many options now for people to explore. From Software Development, to DevOps, Product Management, Technical Writing etc, there’s room for everyone!