Engineering a brighter future: Naadiya Moosajee's quest to make engineering accessible to girls across Africa

Pictured: Naadiya Moosajee. Image supplied.

Moosajee holds a BSc from the University of Cape Town, as well as an MBA from the University of Edinburgh. 

She possesses an extensive résumé that includes positions such as project engineer for GIBB Engineering, VIP and media transport coordinator during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Global leadership fellow at Youth Action Network (a UK-based non-profit organisation), and engagement manager at Pegasys Strategy & Development (an advisory group focusing on the impact of development in emerging economies). 

In 2014, Moosajee was named one of Forbes Magazine’s “20 Youngest Power Women in Africa”. She has also been the recipient of a special award at the BRICS Summit by the Government of China for her work with girls’ STEM education in Africa. 

I sat down with her recently to find out more about her professional journey and the motivation behind Womhub, ​an incubator and co-working space for female founders in STEM.

Briefly describe your career so far.

I would describe my career as convoluted. 

I have had many careers, starting out as an engineer, then a social entrepreneur, then an entrepreneur, and now in tech.

I have had multiple career shifts, based on opportunity, passion and where I could make the most impact.

What drew you to this line of work?

Everything I do has a deeply personal mission and meaning to me. 

Although I got into engineering by accident, I stayed in engineering to make an impact on the lives of people. 

When I started WomEng and Womhub it was around creating a more diverse and equal world. 

With the tech company, it is around how we create safer virtual worlds.

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What motivated you to create Womhub?

We often say we build out of pain. 

We started Womhub based on the challenges and gaps we saw as women entrepreneurs and wanted to create a company that solved the challenges of diversity, equity and inclusion that companies were facing, while supporting women all along the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mining and manufacturing) value chains, from attracting more women and girls into the sector to supporting female founders to own the sector.

In your opinion, what are the three key aspects of successful leadership?

Successful leadership is around resilience, the art of listening and persuasion.

How important is it to you that women receive equal opportunities in male-dominated fields?

Women bring a very different lens through which we view the world. 

We are faced with what I call “wicked challenges” which can be summarised by the SGDs. 

In order to achieve them we’re going to need all hands on deck and we can’t not have women at the design and decision table. 

In engineering, engineers literally create the worlds around us, so if we want an inclusive and equal world, we need an inclusive and diverse engineering workforce to design it.

Are there any instances where you were overlooked/underestimated professionally because of your gender?

This happens a lot.

As a visibly Muslim woman (I wear a hijab), people make assumptions about me (that I am conservative).

I have been to events with a plus one and they assumed my guest was the main invitee and I was “just the partner.”

What are the unique obstacles women in South Africa are facing in the STEM industries?

Besides being underestimated, there is still a lot of bias towards women in STEM. 

I always think about this quote ”There are no glass ceilings, only brick walls and men let us in one at a time.” 

There are still cases of harassment, but it is changing and we have this theory at Womhub called “the 20% tipping point”, where you see an industry change because it has more than 20% women. 

In engineering it's 14%, so we are getting there.

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What are three ways to motivate the youth to invest in their professional lives?

The world is changing, and Genz works very differently compared to us millennials. We see this on a daily basis. 

• Genz are motivated by purpose, and so creating this link between a purpose in their professional lives is important. 
• Eye on the prize – in the world of instant gratification, we need to take time to build a solid career. 
• The world of work and access to opportunity has fundamentally changed, especially with tech, so take every opportunity because we live in a globally connected world.

Who inspires you?

So many incredible people. 

Start with my co-founder Hema Vallabh, who is an incredible woman. Our CEO Anj, who has shown so much grit and resilience. My mom who is my biggest champion, and my dad, who became an entrepreneur late in life but I have learnt so much from. 

There is a Muslim woman named Khadija who lived hundreds of years ago. They called her the Princess of Arabia because she traded from Arabia to Persia. 

She got married, then divorced and she married a man younger than her (after asking him to marry her). She had four incredible daughters. 

She inspires me as a Muslim businesswoman.

Is there anything you would have done differently at the beginning of your entrepreneurial career?

I wouldn’t have started a non-profit, I would have straight out started a business first. 

I also would have set better boundaries and negotiated better for myself.

What are the most significant challenges South African entrepreneurs are currently facing?

The challenges for entrepreneurs have always been twofold: Access to the market and access to financing. 

I think the economic situation in South Africa continues to be a challenge in certain sectors for entrepreneurs and they need to show a large amount of grit and resilience to overcome it.

What do you hope to have accomplished at the end of your career?

I want to leave the world better and easier for those who come after me.