Monsurah Alli-Oluwafuyi - The Aurora Tech Award
In Her Opportunity Story, Monsurah shares her experiences and insights on becoming a finalist at the Aurora Tech Award in 2023. Applications for the Aurora Tech Award are open until December 1, 2023. Apply here.
Monsurah Alli-Oluwafuyi
Monsurah Alli-Oluwafuyi is the CEO/ Co-founder at HerRyde - the first mobility service in Nigeria that is exclusively built for women. With 10+ years experience in Management Consulting across Technology, Banking, Enterprise Development, Education and Public Sector, she leads the HerRyde team on its growth mission by defining its strategic goals and matching the relevant resources in achieving the team’s objectives. She is additionally a spoken word artiste and screenwriter, an all round creative artiste who has published several children’s storybooks, and also recently founded a collective for female artistes in Africa called We Love Women.
Before the Award
What inspired you to start your tech startup, HerRyde and can you share a bit about the journey leading up to your decision to participate in the Aurora Tech Award?
HerRyde was born as a response to two key concerns. One is, safety concerns for women while using transportation services and two, getting more women involved in providing transport services where they can also earn a living. We decided that the most efficient way to address these problems in the shortest time is to leverage on technology. Prior to participating in the Aurora Tech Award, we had been actively fundraising for the business, which we also hadn’t had enough experience of at the time. Our major targets were Venture Capitalists, which I would say was a terrain we weren’t quite familiar with. So, when the opportunity to contest for funding arose, we initially didn’t pay it much attention. However, we were eventually sold on the vision of Aurora Tech Award especially on how it seeks to empower female tech entrepreneurs beyond access to finance.
As a woman founder in the tech industry, what are some of the challenges you have faced, and how have you overcome them?
As may be typical of any startup founder regardless of gender, we were posed with challenges of accessing the right type of data upon which our services may be built. In addition to that, running a startup in Nigeria is characterised by challenges that are unique to us including sporadic government regulations as we experienced with the hike in fuel prices; the political climate, as well as sociocultural factors. Specifically, our work in building HerRyde has far transcended beyond strictly business as usual, as we actively participate in advocating for the inclusion of women in the transport sector, and generally around challenging social and gender norms which may impede development. We have been able to partner with a few organisations that further help us to drive our mission.
The Aurora Tech Award aims to break down barriers for women in tech entrepreneurship. What did the opportunity represent for you personally and for your startup's mission?
Interestingly, the Aurora Tech Award was the first competition we participated in where HerRyde was shortlisted. It was inspiring to see our startup recognized at that level as finalists as well as providing us the opportunity to interact with a wider community. This was a win for us, as it further validated our idea and the need to solve for these real-life problems using technology.
During the Award
Could you describe your experience as a finalist in the Aurora Tech Award? What were some of the most valuable lessons you learned during this phase of the competition?
Being a finalist came as a surprise for us. As earlier mentioned, this was the first time we were being selected as a finalist in a highly competitive program. It was fulfilling for us to even be selected as finalists. Being selected further reinforced our collective belief as a team, that we are doing the work of solving real problems for real people; and that our work has the potential to impact on millions of people when we scale.
Interacting with a global community of women tech entrepreneurs is a unique aspect of the award. How did this networking opportunity influence your perspective of and experience in the tech startup landscape?
One great experience we had with networking with women tech entrepreneurs from all over the world was helping us to understand and appreciate even the role women play in solving global problems. Some of the startups had founders who had created products to address issues that were gender specific or some that solved for global issues like climate change, food production and health, leading with their experiences and realities as women.
Can you share any specific feedback or insights you received from the jury members that have since helped improve your startup?
The Aurora Tech Award granted us the opportunity to learn the importance and impact of being able to tell our story. It also equipped us with the right tools and skills needed to craft the HerRyde story differently. We are now able to do this in a way that every intended stakeholder understands the problem, our solution as well as how it directly affects them. Personally, I have learnt the method of pitching using storytelling, and this is one lesson that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.
After the Award
How has being a finalist in the Aurora Tech Award impacted your startup's growth and visibility in the tech industry?
Aurora Tech Award has through its media and publicity efforts, put HerRyde in the eyes, ears and hearts of audiences even outside our immediate environment. I would say this interview is a testament to that.
The mentorship program for finalists is an exciting aspect of the award. Can you tell us about your experience with the mentorship program and how it contributed to your personal and professional development?
The mentorship program was carefully and intentionally designed in a way that our individual and specific problems were addressed. I was paired with high-level Corporate and highly experienced executives who understood the challenges of running a startup and who were able to address my concerns within the given contexts. I have since built personal relationships with these successful individuals who I still engage when necessary.
Looking back, what advice would you offer to other women founders in tech considering the Aurora Tech Awards and similar opportunities, especially in terms of how to prepare a strong application and how to maximize their experience, whether they win or not?
The first thing I would recommend is to start early. This may include learning the award or program, understanding the requirements, vision and being able to identify how your startup can be positioned accordingly. Secondly is, be open-minded and take the application process as a learning moment for you and your organisation. Lastly, there is a lot to gain, in addition to or more than just winning the cash prizes. There is a access to a wide network of entrepreneurs like yourself, access to mentors who can help you solve pertinent challenges you may be facing with your business and post-award opportunities that further enhance your personal development, such as speaking engagements, and mentoring opportunities to others.
Resources
In your journey as a tech founder and a finalist in the Aurora Tech Awards, what resources, such as books, mentorship, online courses, or communities, have played a pivotal role in your growth and success?
As a tech founder, and as one building products for women in Nigeria and across Africa, actively participating in women-centred communities such as Women in Tech has been pivotal to both my personal and professional growth. I have access to women who have similar problems, who may have solved these problems and who are ever willing to share from their wealth of experiences. Additionally, I do not pass on opportunities in programs designed to equip women with the right skills to build sustainable and profitable businesses. I am constantly learning and referencing materials such as McKinsey reports, Tech Cabal and a host of others.
Further Insights
I believe it is first important to understand and know yourself and then identify opportunities you may leverage on to achieve your vision.
Her Opportunity Story spotlights Nigerian women who have landed transformative opportunities and provides detailed insights for other Nigerian women who would be applying for those opportunities.
Previous Edition of Her Opportunity Story: Read Precious Ozegbe’s journey to becoming a 2023 summer intern at the World Bank Treasury here. Applications are currently open!
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