A few words
About Us
OUR STORY
We are all about cyber security for development. A stereotype has long been held—that the STEM space is a man’s world. This can be seen in academia, at the work place, in the c-suite. As part of the special programs within Africa Cyber Defense Forum, CyberHeroines would love to change this narrative. In order to contribute towards enhancing Africa’s growth and sustainability, CyberHeroines seeks to create an environment of inclusivity, purpose, commitment and excellence that will encourage more women to embrace cyber security and STEM for cyber security, build confidence in their abilities and enable them to excel in academia and at work. We seek to provide:
- An equal opportunity for women to embrace and excel in cyber security;
- A safe place where women can fall but not stay down; and
- A place where women’s wins are celebrated.
Find out more about our projects here.
OUR OBJECTIVES
Advancing inclusivity
Enhancing leadership
Enhancing employability
Enhancing capacity
Advancing research
Advancing career growth
Enhancing entreprenuership
Bridging the skills gap
Increasing community awareness
Increasing opportunities
OUR BOARD
Aprielle Oichoe
BSc. Computer Science, MSc. Cyber Security
Managing Director Infosphere Limited
Oichoe is a seasoned professional with over 12 years’ experience in IT and cyber security with a passion for mentorship. She is the founder and Managing Director, Infosphere Limited which is an Information Security Consulting company in Kenya, the Research and special programs Director at Africa Cyber Defense Forum (ACDF) and cofounder of SheLegend, a cyber security mentorship initiative by Infosphere and the President and of the East Africa Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) affiliate chapter.
CyberHeroines is one of Oichoe’s first initiatives as the Director of special programs ACDF. Oichoe would love to see a world where more young women are confident that they have where it takes to get into cyber security, stay and excel. She would love to see more women in cyber security occupy top management seats in the work place.
Having missed the opportunity to take up her place at the University of Oxford PHD cyber security program due to lack of funds, Oichoe would also love to see a world where young people from economically challenged homes are given the opportunity to pursue cyber security education.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Africa Nazarene University and an master’s degree in from the University of Bradford (UK), and various certification –CISA, ISO 27001 LI/LA, ISO 31000, ISO 22301
Noureen Njoroge
BSc. IT, MSc. Cyber Security
Cybersecurity Consulting Engineer at Cisco Systems
Noureen Njoroge is a passionate cyber security specialist, a global keynote speaker, award winner of Cisco 2019 cyber security Champion and is listed among the Top 30 Most Admired Minority Professionals in Cybersecurity by SeQure World Magazine, UK.
Njoroge is a people’s leader and very passionate in mentoring others. She is the founder of the Mentor & Mentee women in cyber security group on LinkedIn, Founder of the Global mentoring program at Cisco and the president of North Carolina Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) Affiliate chapter. Noureen Njoroge has continued to be the advocate for many women in the IT industry.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from University of Massachusetts (UMASS) and a graduate of the cyber security program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Anna Collard
SVP of Content Strategy & Evangelist for KnowBe4 Africa
Anna Collard is currently SVP of Content Strategy & Evangelist for KnowBe4 Africa where she drives security awareness across the African continent. She has been working in the cyber security field for 18 years: as KnowBe4 Africa’s Managing Director and before that as security architect and consultant for 18 years, where she has assisted organizations across South Africa, Europe and the U.S.
Collard founded security content publisher Popcorn Training, now part of KnowBe4, which is a South African company that promotes cyber security awareness by using innovative, story-based techniques and gamification to make complex content simple to understand and easy to remember. She won the Women in Tech Innovations Throughout Africa 2020 Award for Southern and Central Africa and featured in the Top 50 Women in Cybersecurity – Africa 2020.
Collard holds various security certifications, such as CISSP, CISA, ISO 27001 lead auditor, CIPP/IT and used to be a Visa/Mastercard PCI DSS QSA
Renee Mwamakamba
BSc. Computer Science
Director at Infosphere Limited
Mwamakamba is the cofounder Infosphere Limited –an Information Security Consulting company in Kenya and cofounder SheLegend which is a women in cyber security initiative by Infosphere.
She is currently serving in the IT department at the Southern Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists and looking to start her Masters in Computer Science (Cybersecurity) at the Adventist University of Africa. Mwamakamba has a passion for programming, cyber security and an innate capacity for Mathematics. She loves working with children and is a mentor to youth across various ages. Mwamakamba also has an artistic and creative side to her which she expresses through graphics design, content development and coding.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Africa Nazarene University.
Christine Dikongue
MSc. Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Consultant in innovative projects, diversity & inclusion
Dikongue is a motivational speaker who draws on her personal experience and cross-cultural knowledge to raise awareness of issues related to access to quality education (SDG 4) and gender equality (SDG 5), reduced inequalities (SDG 10) while representing youth and marginalized communities.
Christine is a startup founder who uses her voice and experiences to empower and advocate for youth, women, and minorities. She is one of the youngest members of the board of directors of the United Nations Associations in Canada (Toronto branch) and the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce. Christine founded Nanuric in the midst of the global pandemic of 2020, where she uses emerging technologies to create personalized virtual experience frameworks and offers innovative consultations for the future of work and life.
Across the Atlantic ocean with AfricaHacks, Christine uses technology to enable 5,000+ African youth to build tech companies, gain tech skills, and get jobs. She was a youth ambassador for Barack Obama’s Canada2020 Conference. You can find her on the Most Influential People of African Descent ‘s Global Top 100 under 40, in recognition of the UN International Decade for People of African Decent and amongst the Top 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada.
