Ada Nduka Oyom did not begin university on a computer science track. She studied microbiology, then discovered a different direction through a campus technology community. Her subsequent career has combined software development, developer relations and the work of opening technology opportunities to other African women.
The campus encounter that changed her direction
In a 2020 interview with The Technical Millennial, Oyom traced her interest in technology to a Google Student Ambassadors meetup during her second year at university. She started learning, became involved in the campus Google Developer Group and eventually led the community before graduating.
She described moving fully into technology in 2016 after graduation. Web development was an early part of that journey, alongside some project management, before she moved into developer relations and advocacy. The change of field was therefore followed by another evolution: from making software to helping developers and technology communities succeed.
A career built around developers
By 2018, Tech Women Lagos profiled Oyom as developer relations lead at Interswitch. That account described experience with front-end and back-end technologies as well as design tools. The technical foundation gave her a practical connection to the people she would support through community and advocacy work.
Developer relations brings several responsibilities together: understanding a product, explaining it, listening to users and creating opportunities for people to learn from one another. Oyom’s journey is a reminder that community leadership can grow alongside technical work, rather than arriving only after a conventional engineering career.
Creating a wider pathway into tech
Oyom founded She Code Africa in 2016. The organisation supports girls and women through technical learning and career development. Its programmes have included mentorship and coding activities, giving participants a community as well as access to skills. She also co-founded Open Source Community Africa.
Her October 2026 Blockfest Africa speaker biography identifies her as founder and executive director of She Code Africa. It places her present work in a leadership role that extends the kind of community support that helped introduce her to technology in the first place.
For someone considering a change of field, Oyom’s story offers a useful perspective. A degree can be a starting point without determining every later role. In her case, learning to build, taking responsibility in communities and helping others enter the industry became parts of the same career.
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