Evelyn Namara

"You’ll get knocked down many times and there’ll be tears, sweat and self doubt,but dust yourself and keep moving. That’s the go-getter spirit."

"Your network is your net-worth."

"Is a quote I hear a lot and I believe it’s true."

"My strategy for everything I’m passionate about is to invest in knowing 2 to 3 people more knowledgeable than me about my area of interest and purpose to learn from them."

"Humility is knowing that there’s always someone better than you at something and that there’s always someone who wants to learn from you."

"I invest in building a strong network of people I look up to and also build a similar network of people I can help mentor."

"Through research and utilizing my networks, I create a lot of opportunities for myself."

"Technological Innovation can be a driving force in creating long term solutions for many of the issues we face in our communities today."

"My definition of innovation is finding a new way of problem solving that’s relevant, resilient and disruptive of the status quo in nature."

"When I look around me, I see many problems that need to be solved in different sectors; energy, water and sanitation, health, education."

"What’s happened over the years is that millennials are more empowered to step into the entrepreneurship and innovation space to come up with ways to solve some of the most pressing needs using enterprise and innovation."

"This space excites me a lot because the possibilities are endless."

"I’ve been involved with lots of innovations as a mentor and implementer."

"Learning that is personalized, unique and treats each child as different is key to helping children thrive."

"When children are in one big class, it’s easy for educators to treat them as equals but what you don’t realize is that each child is unique and learns differently."

"Some thrive in a group setting, some grasp the information quickly from a teacher, and others prefer to learn on their own."

"What’s important is finding unique aspects of each child’s learning ability and capitalizing on that to make them better."

"That’s why the concept of Blended learning where teaching is done partly using technology and traditional teaching methods works better for young children."

"It can be as simple as using technology and complementing that with a teacher, or adding different aspects like peer-to-peer learning, self learning and technology."

"The blended learning approach helped children learn better and retain the knowledge more easily."

"I would say the recognition from Anita Borg Institute as the Change Agent Award winner still tops my milestones."

"Helping a couple of start-ups gain a foothold and start operations."

"lending a hand in helping mentor young women in technology are other key ones."

"I was never afraid to do things."

"I did a lot of things my brothers did and choosing tech was a no brainer."

"I felt it was an open field; if boys can do it, I too can."

"I see tech as an enabler."

"I became interested in computer science around the age of eighteen when I was exposed to computers for the first time."

"But even long before that my father had always encouraged to me to study sciences."

"His dream was for me to become a doctor, but I hated chemistry and anything to do with blood so that just wasn’t going to happen."

"The two subjects I loved were physics and mathematics, so I focused on those."

"After secondary school, while waiting to decide what I would study at university, I worked at a university library which had a computer lab."

"This was where I got the opportunity to sit in front of a computer for the very first time."

"I was fascinated from day one and I remember asking the lady in charge so many questions to try and understand how computers worked."

"Every single evening after that, I found an excuse to go to the lab, sometimes not leaving until very late."

"I researched what career opportunities existed within this new world of computers that I had discovered and went on to opt for computer science at university."

"During my career I realized I loved the process of setting up new systems."

"For a while I worked for a large corporation in the telecommunications sector."

"I joined them at a time when they were doing a lot of setup work which I really enjoyed."

"When it became much more about maintenance, I grew bored."

"Having previously been with a small IT support company."

"I also found that I missed being on the front line, working directly with clients and making things happen."

"I moved on to join a startup called Solar Sister which distributes solar solutions and empowers rural women to better their livelihoods."

"This was a perfect fit because I loved the idea of using technology to make a difference in the lives of everyday people."

"I was also their first hire in Uganda and was entrusted with setting up their operations here."

"This experience made me fall in love with entrepreneurship and gave me the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of setting up a small organization from scratch. ‎*After that I knew I wanted to start my own organization."