UNVEILING

• Ruby’s journey into data analytics was accidental; she never initially planned to enter the field. Today, Ruby is one of the most sought after Data Analysts in Nigeria.

• Ruby has trained over 18,000+ Talents across Africa and is passionate about using AI to enhance education in Africa.

• She is the founder of Digitaley Drive.

• She started Digitaley Drive as a one-woman show and has grown it into a full-fledged EdTech startup

• She has worked with global industries like KPMG, Quantum Analytics, Bright Network, and many more.

• Her favorite self-care tip? “Rest 99.9% if you want to give something 100%.”

Hi Ruby, an Icebreaker question for you:

As a founder, what self-care tips can you offer to non-founders?

The general scope, I would say, is to rest. Everyone says it, but it’s something we all overlook. We try to work and work and overwork without regard for our health. But if you’re really not taking care of your health, you won’t be able to show up for the things you want to, because you’re not in the right state of mind. In this case, you would only give half of yourself to the things that matter. If you want to give something 100%, then you have to rest 99.9%.

“If you want to give something 100%, then you have to rest 99.9%”

Introduction and Background

Can you tell me about your career path and what led you to this role you are in today?

I started off my career path in Data Analytics three years ago, and I started off with KPMG, and then a few others after. I worked with Fraser, Quantum, and Micro solutions. During these periods, I was always talking about data, data, data, and a lot of people were quite interested in what I was doing. This led to me teaching people data analytics. It wasn’t something I had planned out, so I was a one woman’s team. And as my students grew, I had to expand too. Today, I’m not just running a company; I’m running an actual ED tech startup. We move from teaching just Analytics to teaching other tech courses like Data science, and others. The plan is to close the digital gap in Africa while creating a coding platform. Everything is all tied to my career, and maybe if I didn’t have a career in Analytics, I wouldn’t have started Digitaley Drive. As my company grows, I’m also making it a note to move along. Currently, I’m moving up from Analytics to Data Science, which is just me trying to teach the core of AI to whoever needs it, and contribute more to education by ensuring that every talent across Africa and beyond is really experiencing digital education by leveraging technology.

Inspiration and Motivation

What is the Biggest Inspiration that led you to Tech?

I didn’t pick Data Analytics; it picked me. I’ll say I found myself here by mistake.

When you commit to data, you see how exciting it is and its applicability to real life scenarios. So my inspiration came from trying to solve problems always. I’m the kind of person to tell you to take this decision because I think it’s going to be great.

So we can say my inspiration came from passion. But starting off, it was quite a mistake.

“When you commit to data, you see how exciting it is and its applicability to real life scenarios.”

What is the Biggest Myth about Data Analytics?

It’s the fact that people see it as a joke.

When beginners tell you about the reason they want to be a data analyst because they think it’s the easiest part of tech and the fastest track to growth. They think it’s about learning Excel, basic SQL, Power VI, and that’s all. So it’s a lot of work and it takes grit and patience, like every other tech field. Data analysis involves a high-dimensional thought process, but that’s not all — you also have to be a critical thinker.

You have to know that you’re actually going to be solving real problems, not just playing around with Excel. The aim is to help companies grow through your skill, so it’s big stuff.

“The aim is to help companies grow through your skill”

Challenges and Overcoming Obstacles

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a founder?

For me, that would be managing different things.        

As a founder, you need to learn to manage different things. You need to learn to organize various activities and contribute across various departments.  Even if you don’t want to, it’s something you have to do. To manage my career, I have learned to manage being a founder, and then the lead data analyst, and then the finance manager, and then the general manager because you have to manage the founding team also. Asides contributing to the technical dimension of the brand, I also have to oversee the strategy and make sure it is in line with our values and see how  we are doing when it comes to scaling.

So most of the time, you get caught in between doing this and doing that, and you have to show up across all these engagements regardless of what is going on in your life. This is my own struggle – having to keep up with different things and showing up as your best self while doing it.    

What was a risky decision you made while growing your business and how did it contribute to your success?

I believe my brand is still at the forefront of growth. I have bigger dreams for it, so I won’t say that I have taken any risky decisions towards its growth. However, one of the hardest things I’ve had to do concerning the brand was expanding my team. Managing people is probably top of the most difficult things to do in life, so it’s one thing I didn’t look forward to doing. Managing things can be easy but managing people isn’t. So when I had to expand my team, it took a lot from me, and I wasn’t very confident about it but I knew that to scale the business, it was something I had to do. I had to address that fear and believe that it would turn out right.”

Mananging things can be easy, but managing people isn’t.”

Success Factors

What are the three unique skills that helped you become successful?

Having the skill to communicate.

Communication has always been one of my core values,and I always advise people to have better communication skills because you could literally have the best team and best people just by communicating right. For instance, people who work together have to commit to each other to make the products work. Personally, I know that communication has really helped me in everything that I find myself doing. That’s one thing that’s made me quite successful in everything that I did.

“You could have the best people just by communicating RIGHT”.

Another thing would be curiosity – it helps to keep you in the game. Curiosity encourages growth; when one Is curious, they can’t be stagnant. Ask questions and be thirsty for more knowledge because it adds value, and truthfully, the more value you have, the richer you get.

Also, let’s not leave out having a routine! There is no perfect routine, but you can strive to get a working system that helps you get the job done. I’m still learning about routines myself, but I have realized that following through with them helped me stay in the right state of mind, and I am more productive when I think clearly.
Routines make me much more organized and confident.

Personality and Fit

Is there a personality type that is well suited for your career?

Oh, I don’t think there’s any personality type required. Anyone can be in tech because it’s a general scoop. Anybody can be in data; you don’t really need to have a specific personality to succeed in any career path.

Lessons Learned and Plans

Can you share any upcoming projects or developments?

There are no new developments in the brand right now, but I’m working on a child education project where we are to visit a primary school for young girls and lecture them on how to make the most of technology and expose them to the endless possibilities they have, give them some resources. Our other project is starting an open scholarship initiative for young women who are looking to break into tech and data. So basically, my projects are centered around seeing how we can leverage AI to improve Education in all communities.

A Word of Advice For Aspiring Women in Tech?

Don’t wait to feel ready. Start where you are, learn as you go, and stay curious.

The industry needs diverse perspectives and voices, so bring your unique experiences to the table. Always remember that resilience is key, so embrace the challenges as opportunities for growth.

“Start where you are, learn as you go, and stay curious.”