Nevertheless, she coded: Sylvia Mukasa

My name is Sylvia, Some of my friends call me Sylo.

Where do you work?

GlobalX Investments Ltd/ GlobalX Innovation Labs

What do you do?

I am Founder/CEO of GlobalX Investments/GlobalX Innovation Labs based in Nairobi, Kenya. GlobalX's vision is to drive a more diverse, inclusive and competitive digital economy with a focus on emerging technologies, that opens up equal opportunities for all. Our main purpose is to use technology to provide solutions for businesses and for social impact. GlobalX provides opportunities for children, youth, developers & entrepreneurs/businesses to learn, innovate, and scale up their knowledge in hardware and emerging technologies. In a nutshell, GlobalX feeds into the innovation pipeline by closing the skills, funding and organisational/corporate digital transformation gaps. GlobalX focuses on SDGs 4 (Quality Education);5 (Gender Equality);8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth); 9 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure; 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and 17 (Partnerships for the goals).I am also passionate about empowering Women in Tech and contributing to the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Africa and globally.

Who or what inspired you to pursue the career you have today?

I love working in tech because first, I like to make positive impact in society through innovations. Secondly, I get bored easily, so I like to do stuff that keeps me engaged and allows me to try different things, discover and keep learning. Being in tech allows me to do this. I always look forward to creating or being part of teams that create solutions for humanity.

What is your favourite music genre?

I enjoy Classical Music

what is your secret talent that no one knows about?

I am an alto choral singer.

What is the best advice you can give to someone who just started their career?

Believe in yourself and seek all the support you require to succeed, but you must be ready to knock many doors.

How do you keep yourself up to date in your field?

I read widely, speak at and also curate/hold tech events.

How would you describe your job to a bunch of 5 year olds

Have you heard of, seen, built or learnt how to build robots? Coded using scratch? Heard of, seen or built a drone or best still flown one? My work involves helping build or giving guidance/teaching individuals or companies to build or do these type of things. My work also involves helping people who create these things start/run businesses, just like the shopkeeper where you buy bread from runs their shop.

What cool thing are you working on right now?

I am working on an initiative that aims to increase the representation of women in Artificial Intelligence. This was born out of my participation in the ITCILO AI Lab between Aug-Nov 2020.

What was your first job?

I was an operations trainee with Shell/BP.

What are the toughest challenges you've had at work?

Being able to fund/get adequate resources for some initiatives I am passionate about.

What upcoming technological innovation will dramatically impact the industry in the next five years?

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-related innovations are definitely the industry game changer. It is estimated that by 2030, AI will contribute $15.7 Trillion to the global GDP, making it the biggest commercial opportunity in todays fast changing economy. AI basically refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. The term may also be applied to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a human mind such as learning and problem-solving. From disease mapping and prediction tools; song or TV show recommendations from Spotify and Netflix; conversational bots for customer support and marketing; to delivery of blood to remote locations that would be typically hard-to-reach, AI has definitely had a major contribution so far and continues to.

What skill do you think everyone should learn?

Public Speaking

Have you taken a huge leap of faith at work? Did it pay off?

Yes I have-getting into entrepreneurship. It has paid off especially in terms of impact, growing my professional brand as well as making me learn about myself.

How can we follow you?

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