Adia Sowho: Preparing For A Future in Technology

Adia Sowho is the Managing Director, Nigeria for Mines: a machine learning-powered digital credit platform. Before Mines, she was the Director of Digital Business at 9mobile (formerly Etisalat Nigeria) where she partnered with startups to deliver mobile content, advertising, financial and API services.

As one of the women featured in Techcabal’s Tech Women Lagos, a portrait series and exhibition of fifty inspiring women in technology, we share some of Adia’s story.

Where it started…

Adia started out her career as a Radio Frequency Engineer at a mobile operator in the United States of America. “I was responsible for deploying and maintaining cell sites across several states in the Midwestern United States. After a few years and multiple technology changes, I needed a new problem to solve because essentially the core task remained the same but technology advancements made the toys to solve them better.”

She moved on to business school, then became a management consultant at Deloitte in the US, after which she returned to Nigeria in 2009 and joined 9mobile.

“Looking back over my career, I definitely couldn’t predict where I am now because that would also mean predicting what country I would be in, the state of my personal life, world events, etc. I just followed my interests and gathered knowledge along the way, and as opportunities came up, I made myself available.”

Her advice, for women approaching careers in technology (with the future in mind)

“Prepare by staying sharp on the latest business and tech trends in your favorite industries, opportunities will show up, and the future will figure itself out!”

On picking a path, Adia also advises, “figure out if a company or opportunity is big enough or important enough and resonates with you.”