Adeola Layade is the CEO and Creative Director of Exqisito Confectionaries in Ibadan. She has been working in the tech sector and aspires to be one of the best site reliability engineers. In this interview by KANGMWA GOFWEN, she speaks about why she transitioned from the confectionary business into tech, opportunities for women in tech, among others.
You had a flourishing confectionary business. Why did you leave that for tech?
I’m still an entrepreneur on the side even as I’m transitioning into tech. Improving my processing is one of the things that motivates me. So, I looked at how I can improve my process by doing something different. People asked if I was going through a midlife crisis or something. People that know me know that I love being creative and trying new things. I also consider myself as some sort of serial entrepreneur. With my tech knowledge, we are working on building one of the best learning management systems for Exquisito.
Anytime I say I’m tired of baking, people laugh because they know I can never leave baking. Through baking, I have been able to train a lot of people − the majority of the bakers in Oyo State have passed through Exquisito. I’ve laid the foundation for many bakers, so there is no way I can say that I’m not doing the business again. Instead, I find new ways of doing things. So, now I’m working on a massive learning management system for Exquisito and also helping other bakers infuse tech into their brands. We just want to exploit the tech way of doing business and proffering solutions. So, basically, Exquisitor is still there. That is the foundation for my moving to tech.
How has the tech journey been?
Being in tech, so far, has been sweet and a little rocky because I didn’t have a degree in Computer Science but in Psychology. Transitioning into tech was hard at the beginning because I had to do a lot of learning. But with persistence and the tenacity to learn, I was able to get the needed skills to forge ahead in tech. One thing about tech is you can’t be lazy if you want to be successful. You have to be consistent. My area of tech is cloud engineering and I want to become a site reliability engineer in the future. So, I had a lot of things to learn like coding in Python, JavaScript, and Linux scripting. I also needed to know about IT infrastructure, cyber security, operations, network administration system and more. Tech is huge.
I’ll say it has been sweet and a little rocky. But it’s something I enjoy, so it became easy for me to learn.
What are the challenges you face in tech and how did you overcome them?
The first was moving from a non-tech background. I had to learn and study to build experience. I had to do some projects so that I could do more. The second challenge was the imposter syndrome – which, for me, was age. Most people feel you should be in your twenties to get into tech − and there was me, a 40-year-old lady with a non-tech background and a cake-maker/entrepreneur transitioning into tech. The fear of entering this unfamiliar ecosystem gripped me and I was confused. I asked myself many questions, did a lot of research and found out that you could transition to tech at any age. I even found people who had made their transition to tech at an older age, as far as at age 60, 75, and they are doing fine. Of course, there are people of younger ages which makes it perfect. I realised that, in tech, if you do your learning well and you are confident enough, then age should not be a barrier. As long as you have your skill sets and you can get the job done, nobody cares about your age. I had to get that in my head and once I did, I was able to do more.
Another challenge was joining relevant networks and meeting appropriate people. In tech, you have to be in appropriate networks and systems so that you can learn more, and I was able to do that. I have learnt a lot from them and still learning from them. There are opportunities that I’ve been able to benefit from by joining the right networks. One of those opportunities helped me to win a scholarship with Google Africa Developers in 2022 and that changed my life and career in tech. I was able to meet people, take on new challenges and also face my fears.
I also found ways to transfer the previous skills from my entrepreneurial journey and from previous jobs to solve problems, and it has helped me.
As a woman in tech, do you think you need to work harder than your male counterparts?
I’ll say yes. Statistically, we’ve lesser women in tech than men. So, there is that gender gap. Women hold less than 20 per cent of tech leadership roles. We need more women in tech. I think the major cause of this is society. When we were younger, we used to think tech engineering clubs were for boys alone and the girls were to engage in things like sewing and the like. But that has changed now because there are many STEM programmes for young girls, and schools are encouraging girls to join more.
Most adults are scared of navigating the sector. You need to put in the work in tech, it’s not for lazy people. There are days I cry when I get stuck and ask myself why do I like challenging problems, and why do I want to get involved in things like this? And also, sometimes, there’s discrimination during the hiring process − most people want to hire more males than females. So, a woman has to work twice as hard as a man. We need more than inclusion. When women see other women in tech thriving more, they would want to join. Thankfully, we have many women thriving in the sector. But we need more.
Have you ever faced any form of discrimination in the tech space because of your gender?
Personally, no. There are many opportunities for women in tech because of inclusion. There are many female groups and there are people that would want you to work on certain projects as long as you have the skills. I think most of us are taking a step back because we are scared of what people would think, and that makes it seem as if we’re being discriminated against. In tech, one thing I’ve realised is that sometimes your time is not your time. When you’re working on a project and you have a deadline you need to work a longer time. I think that managing a work-life balance is what is giving most women the problem. Again, there are many free certification programmes and training for women. It’s to align oneself with these opportunities.
Sometimes, when I talk to male counterparts in tech, they are jealous because women have a lot of opportunities. I’ll say managing time is one of the issues. The work-life balance is what we should learn more about. Tech is time-consuming − once you infuse yourself in it, getting out is hard. You may not be able to do other things except you manage your time well.
What other endeavours or interests are you involved/interested in?
I still have an interest in confectionary, movies, climate change, and the fashion industry. There is no industry that does not need tech. So, the opportunities are endless. There are numerous ideas and numerous people to work with. I want to build a channel like Amazon prime or Netflix but indigenous to the movie industry. I’m also working on an idea for the entertainment or movie industry, but can’t share it now.
What motivates you?
The world is changing, and to stay relevant, you have to acquire new skills. That’s one of my motivations. I would love to be part of a team that solves problems and impacts lives. Another one is having a lot of creative ideas that I feel would work in the tech ecosystem. Also, learning how to improve processes is an important motivation. I’ve been an entrepreneur for years and one of the things I remember having issues with was improving my process. We also see it in the banking and fintech sectors. This is why I’ve decided to be one of the best site reliability engineers, and part of the work of a site reliability engineer is reducing downtime through certain processes. This is a motivation for me too.
What would you advise women who desire to venture into tech?
My advice is: If you want to do anything just do it, don’t let anything hold you back. Because you are a woman doesn’t mean you can’t excel, doesn’t mean you can’t take up leadership roles or can’t do certain things. Women have that innate ability to be good analysts and to see things the way the other gender can’t see them.
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