Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Lablonde Juliette Kalalizi is an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) student and entrepreneur, running her successful organisation called Womentech Inspire.
It is a non-profit organisation that aims to empower women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Leadership, and whose mission is empowering women to empower themselves.
She is also a beta Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador and an Application Developer.
“Wherever other people see a problem, I see an opportunity, that is what drives me to my potential to find solutions. I am a hard-working, young woman whose ambitions is to open opportunities to other women who want to embrace change and become inspirations to the world and future generations,” she said.
Kalalizi relayed that she is a public speaker, loves attending conferences, events and taking a chance to give what she has, whether it’s her skills that she must share with others or a piece of advice from her experience that she can share to motivate and inspire her followers.
She completed her ICT Diploma and Advanced Diploma in ICT and is now studying towards her Bachelor’s degree in ICT.
Kalalizi said it was difficult at the beginning, when she had started her first year in ICT in Application Development, she did not know how to use a computer and did not understand what programming meant, neither would she know how to open a document or a file to get started with.
Nevertheless, she did not give up, and welcomed her new identity in the world of technology.
“As the founder and CEO of Womentech Inspire, I provide mentorship programmes to female students, learners and women who have lost hope to find a job or to stand out for themselves to identify their potentials,” she said.
She further added that the idea came when COVID-19 struck the whole world, when all countries went in lockdown and she had to study online, following the lecturers without being motivated to follow up on the screens, listening to the voice behind the screen without knowing what the next step would be.
“This is the reason why I decided to build up Womentech Inspire, a place where females will regain their hope, get mentored to achieve their dreams, and gain that confidence and self-esteem that will allow them to challenge themselves to do the hard work,” she said.
With currently 15,079 followers on LinkedIn, raising more followers on this professional Social Network is one of her goals.
Currently, her followers are mainly students. Keeping their interests is her number one priority and thus must be done by providing them with qualified mentors, who are friendly and able to direct them in the right direction in their career development journey as well provide them with soft skills that will help them to become ready for workplace.
Going forward, her goal is to become a qualified Software Developer or IT Specialist and a businesswoman.
“I want to run Womentech Inspire as an IT Company in the future that trains and support women who want to specialise in tech fields. There is a lot of opportunities in this world that we need to embrace, I believe that anyone can become successful regardless of gender, race, religion, citizenship if only they are hungry enough to become one,” she said.
To find out more about Lablonde Juliette Kalalizi, and Womentech Inspire follow her on LinkedIn.
Pictured: Lablonde Juliette Kalalizi
