Akaliza Keza Gara

Akaliza Keza Gara is a Rwandan IT activist and entrepreneur. She is active in promoting the field to girls and has been recognised for her activism by awards from the Rwandan government and the International Telecommunication Union. Gara has founded a technology consultancy and website design company and an animation studio called Shaking Sun. She has been described as "one of the few young Rwandan women who have made significant strides in changing the face of technology in the country" and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.

Quotes

• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) not only affects the way we do business on the continent, but also plays a role in supporting services including education, health, disaster management and resource management.("Itumanaho n’ikoranabuhanga (ICT) ntibigira uruhare mu buryo dukora ibijyanye n’ubucuruzi ku mugabane, ahubwo biri no kugira uruhare mu gushyigikira serivisi zirimo uburezi, ubuzima, kurwanya ibiza no mu icungamutungo.")
  • "Akariza-Keza-Gara-Umunyarwandakazi-watowe-mu-buyobozi-bwa-Microsoft-muri", Akariza Keza Gara, Umunyarwandakazi watowe mu buyobozi bwa Microsoft muri Afurika (February 20, 2014)

• Seeing my name in the credits [of the cartoon series] was a big moment for me and I am so thankful I had that opportunity,
  • "tech-entrepreneur-encourages-rwandas-young-women-to-venture-into-ict/", Tech Entrepreneur Encourages Rwanda’s Young Women to Venture into ICT (August 7, 2014)

• But there is still hope that newer developments in the field of IT can now [see] women [working] alongside men,
  • "tech-entrepreneur-encourages-rwandas-young-women-to-venture-into-ict/", Tech Entrepreneur Encourages Rwanda’s Young Women to Venture into ICT (August 7, 2014)

• If women are part of and can make up a huge part of the market for ICT products, they can also enjoy the available opportunities alongside men in the ICT industry from both developer and end-user perspective,
  • "tech-entrepreneur-encourages-rwandas-young-women-to-venture-into-ict/", Tech Entrepreneur Encourages Rwanda’s Young Women to Venture into ICT (August 7, 2014)

• My commitment is to encourage more girls and women to join the ICT sector, but I also get the feeling that by establishing an animation studio this will showcase my innovations to help Rwandan children, by creating characters and settings that they can relate to and stories to entertain and inspire them
  • "tech-entrepreneur-encourages-rwandas-young-women-to-venture-into-ict/", Tech Entrepreneur Encourages Rwanda’s Young Women to Venture into ICT (August 7, 2014)

• “I struggled with understanding the tax system. I made a lot of expensive mistakes,”
  • "built-in-africa-shaking-suns-akaliza-keza-gara-on-using-tech-to-tell-african-stories/?amp=1", Shaking Sun’s Akaliza Keza Gara on using tech to tell African stories (April 23, 2014)

• "As a child there were hardly any cartoons that were representative of my culture and I want to be part of changing that for the children growing up today,”
  • "built-in-africa-shaking-suns-akaliza-keza-gara-on-using-tech-to-tell-african-stories/?amp=1", Shaking Sun’s Akaliza Keza Gara on using tech to tell African stories (April 23, 2014)

• Innovation has become a buzzword that entrepreneurs and policy makers are fond of using. It is not enough to create something new as a business person, it needs to be valuable to your market. Therefore, at least for entrepreneurs, innovation should be focused and targeted
  • "built-in-africa-shaking-suns-akaliza-keza-gara-on-using-tech-to-tell-african-stories/?amp=1", Shaking Sun’s Akaliza Keza Gara on using tech to tell African stories (April 23, 2014)

• Technology can, and already does, play a huge role in Africa’s development,” she explains. “As is often said in Rwanda, it is cross cutting – in other words, it can come into play in all the other sectors of the economy. Technology is a tool and when used well, it improves the efficiency and impact of other development initiatives.
  • "built-in-africa-shaking-suns-akaliza-keza-gara-on-using-tech-to-tell-african-stories/?amp=1", Shaking Sun’s Akaliza Keza Gara on using tech to tell African stories (April 23, 2014)

• Many women do use technology, but we also need to be more involved in its development
  • "built-in-africa-shaking-suns-akaliza-keza-gara-on-using-tech-to-tell-african-stories/?amp=1", Shaking Sun’s Akaliza Keza Gara on using tech to tell African stories (April 23, 2014)

• I beat several other bidders to the tender. That’s when I realised that in Rwanda people don’t offer you a job based on your gender, age or financial muscle of your company.
  • "Akaliza-Keza-Gara--Rwanda-s-ICT-woman"/1433224-2235084-1v5n29/index.html, Akaliza Keza Gara, Rwanda's ICT woman (March 7, 2014)

• For my first job I even used my client’s laptop; they were only interested in my skills... It was an exciting experience
  • "Akaliza-Keza-Gara--Rwanda-s-ICT-woman"/1433224-2235084-1v5n29/index.html, Akaliza Keza Gara, Rwanda's ICT woman (March 7, 2014)

• Yes, ICT has certainly played a role in my career through a number of ways, it has allowed me gain clients outside the country and helped promote my business ideas through social media and other platforms
  • "how-women-can-leverage-ict-to-claim-the-front-seat-in-transformation", The World Economic Forum kicked off yesterday, in Kigali Rwanda. Under the theme, Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation, the forum calls for recognition of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in a journey that will see Africa develop faster. (May 11, 2016)

• This is one of the many reasons I think it is important for both women and men to be involved in using ICT to find new approaches to tackling our nation’s challenges. I would encourage girls and women of any age to take some short ICT courses online or offline which can help build their confidence.
  • "how-women-can-leverage-ict-to-claim-the-front-seat-in-transformation", The World Economic Forum kicked off yesterday, in Kigali Rwanda. Under the theme, Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation, the forum calls for recognition of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in a journey that will see Africa develop faster. (May 11, 2016)

• ICT is full of so many opportunities for everyone. If you have an analytical mind, go for programming, if you have a creative mind, go for graphic designing; find where you belong and go for it.
  • Shaking Sun’s launch and a Rwandan woman’s ICT touch The new times (May 6, 2011)

• Besides that, I wanted to give opportunity to others since I was given chance to realize my dream at the start.
  • Shaking Sun’s launch and a Rwandan woman’s ICT touch The new times (May 6, 2011)

• I especially want to promote ICT among girls and women because many think that it is a man’s world—and it still is. But if you look at the history of computing you will find that women played an integral role as well.
  • Shaking Sun’s launch and a Rwandan woman’s ICT touch The new times (May 6, 2011)