When we trust African visionaries and give them space to deliver on their vision, we stand a better chance at attaining the Sustainable Development Goals but also there is a renewed belief that we, Africans, hold solutions to our own problems. This would lead to more of us stepping up and charting better paths for future generations.”
As a naturally curious and confident person, Linda Kamau is no stranger to trailblazing. She is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of AkiraChix, an organization that provides practical, hands-on skills training to young women and prepares them for existing opportunities in the labor market. For 10 years working as a software engineer, she found herself being the only woman of color in a leadership position working with people from over 10 different countries and it’s with this inspiration that she co-founded AkiraChix whose mission is to provide hands-on technical training and mentorship to young women and girls to increase the number of skilled women in technology. She holds a Bsc. in Business Information Technology from Limkokwing University and Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship through the Executive Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. With her passion of championing diversity and inclusion as well as advocating for girls and women, she sits on the advisory board of WISER Girls School, a high school that empowers girls to overcome poverty, HIV/AIDS, and gender-based violence through education and health. Linda is part of the Inaugural class of Obama Leaders: Africa as well as a returning leader 2019. She is also a Segal Family Foundation African Visionary Fellow and a 2019 Builders of Africa’s Future Awardee. As the leader of an organization at the forefront of getting more women in technology, Linda continues to champion the inclusion of women in the technical workforce. With skilled women, you are assured not only of economic changes, but also a shift in societal norms. When she’s not donor-mapping, developing strategy or trying out the latest technology, you can find her watching a Manchester United game or watching Formula 1, she is an avid Mercedes AMG and Lewis Hamilton fan.