Rising woman: Walking the talk in ending gender inequality

Dar es Salaam. Gender equality and getting more women into leadership roles have been trending lately.

It is a fact that women remain underrated in many sectors in Tanzania and although these sectors have been trying to push for women’s participation in male-dominated sectors, the number is still low.

Government statistics show that only one in four tech jobs are held by a woman in Tanzania. Even more shocking is the fact that women and girls comprise just 10 percent of students earning degrees in computer science.

But one man is already walking the talk in breaking this status quo by pushing inclusivity in his workplace. By creating executive positions and a team of strong, resilient women representing his company in the tech-space, he is already one-step ahead in closing the diversity gap.

Meet Sameer Hirji, the executive director of Selcom - the largest payment services provider operating in Tanzania. He talks about shifting perspectives on how we look at women empowerment in any sector.

Mr Hirji believes that the focus should not only be on empowering women in tech but redefining the industry so that women are equally represented in the decision-making positions in the sector.

Question: Many people have struggled finding a mentor or support to help them in their careers. Did you receive any form of support or mentoring as you moved along?

Answer: From an early age, my mother became my life concept for leadership. She taught me things that I needed to learn to become a successful adult. Back in those days, my mother was a home-maker. When we decided to open a grocery store on Jamhuri street in the year 1984, she wanted to contribute to the business. Although life was not always easy, I learned many leadership lessons from my mother as she worked, led the path at home, and raised us. I picked invaluable lessons and fundamental principles whenever I accompanied her to the shop and saw her run the show. And today, that still guides me to better my business.

Till date, my parents are my biggest support system, encouraging me to take risks, learn and do.

What’s the story behind establishing Selcom?

Selcom, a family-inspired name, was founded in 2001 as a prepaid airtime distributor for Celtel (now Airtel). Within a few years we became the first SMS lottery-operator on the African continent, the first company, in the world possibly, to vend LUKU (prepaid electricity) and many other government utility payments electronically, to enable bank-2-wallet and wallet-2-bank movement of funds, and numerous other firsts that the industry today takes for granted.

Our business has since not only expanded but also pivoted into many areas of opportunity as the sector has evolved under extremely enabling regulatory frameworks under the BOT and TCRA. Today, Selcom works with every single bank in the country, every single mobile-wallet-provider, all major card schemes, hundreds of SMEs and thousands of agents and merchants in Tanzania and beyond, and the next three to five years will see us expand our physical presence into at least ten more countries across Africa.

In your own definition what’s women empowerment in connection to the technology industry in Tanzania?

Whether it was growing up or running a business, I have personally and professionally always believed that there shouldn’t any barriers to consciously push women to be equally exposed to opportunities in various demanding roles across all levels of the organization. In fact, in filling positions at Selcom, when it comes down to two equally suitable candidates, and if one of them is a woman, then the woman almost always gets the nod.

My professional support system is very important to me, and that means to be surrounded by people who compliment my strengths and supplement my areas weakness, to get things done with minimal handholding, and because of that, venturing into seemingly challenging and out-of-reach areas of business, growth and expansion has been seamlessly achievable for a family-owned company like ours.

How have the conditions for women technology leaders changed in your two-decade journey in the technology and innovation industry? Any example you can provide?

The former Chief Technology Officer at Tanesco, Mama Salome Nkondola, and the current Chief Operating Officer, Sabiha Gulam, at Absa Bank Tanzania are two personalities who have broken the glass ceiling when it comes to women technology leaders in Tanzania.

Both Mama Salome and Sabiha have been exemplary leaders in the tech sector, both being focused, confident, determined and unfazed by their role in their respective organisations. Their journeys are stark examples of what young girls and women can achieve in tech in both the public and private sectors.

You are a brilliant example of women pushing to do more in the tech field. Your definition of ‘strong’ is having a team of resilient women representing Selcom. What has nurtured this concept in you and how has your role as an executive director helped break women in tech stereotypes in Tanzania?

We’ve always had phenomenal women key positions within the organization who get things done, improve productivity, inspire, adapt and respond to change better, and instill a sense of calm and stability in the workforce.

Women are non-stop. It’s beyond amazing how they can juggle to get things done at work while running a household, taking care of the kids, coordinating family affairs, and the list literally goes on. I’ve seen my mother, my sister, my wife, the women without our organisation multi-task and it is something I respect and admire.

Societies continue to expect less from women in tech and this stems from the fact that when it comes to the science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) workforce, only a small percentage are represented by women as compared to men, in Tanzania. What are some of the challenges that stand as obstacles according to your experience?

Yes, this exists, many parents still push their daughters to opt for conventional careers, something that I condemn.

I do know that when my mother was growing up in Shinyanga, opportunities such as travelling outside the region or away from home for advanced education were not an option and instead she was pushed to opt for safer, closer-to-home careers for women such as secretarial courses or teaching Montessori, etc. However, as I was growing up, my parents never had those prejudices and in fact, my sister was encouraged to pick a career of her choice in engineering or technology to maximise her professional marketability and career.

With aforementioned answers, how can this change?

I believe the tech and payments space in Tanzania is changing and one with equal opportunity for both sexes. I often say that tech is a logic-driven domain and since women operate more logically, then why shy away from directly participating in what is probably the world’s fastest growing sector that has a guaranteed future.

It’s absolutely key for us to find ways of influencing the legacy thinking and changing the mindsets of parents and students to increasingly consider unconventional career choices for women. Companies like Selcom are willing to engage in early-access programs and internships that expose these opportunities to students so that they can make informed career choices to shape their futures.

8. What are some of the decisions or activities that have helped you achieve gender parity at your workplace and in ensuring women are heard and pushed to represent in the tech sector?

It’s not a conscious effort to be honest, but when you give a woman an executive or decision-making position, you know you are already ahead because women know what needs to be done and more importantly how to get it done, without compromising priorities.

We have some exceptionally talented women at Selcom and they are the ones asking the tough questions, pushing boundaries, building bridges, crossing cultures, experimenting and moving Selcom along our extremely ambitious roadmap.

9. What is your message to the girls or women who shun away from science subjects or building a career in science respectively?

There are unlimited opportunities in the tech, financial services and payments space. It has been repeatedly said that “software is eating the world”, and this means that, for the foreseeable future, the world will need a constant supply of skilled coders and tech grads.

Every business today is a tech business with a “digital-first” agenda high up on the list of priorities. It’s our responsibility as parents, employers to work towards exposing these opportunities to close the gender gap as rapidly as possible by changing the basic ground rules to make technology a more attractive, inclusive, career choice for everyone at a young age.