This story is a part of TechCabal’s South Africa Ladies’s Month highlight—a monthlong celebration of South African ladies driving innovation within the tech ecosystem.
Again in 2010, on the first African Management Community (ALN) convention in Ethiopia, Naima McLean stepped onto the stage as a poet, musician and a producer, shaping the occasion expertise by means of artwork. She couldn’t have recognized then that her artistic instincts have been laying the groundwork for a future in tech.
Born right into a household of creatives, it’s no shock that McLean’s skilled journey additionally started on this discipline. However after an Government MBA at Henley Enterprise Faculty in 2015, she needed to do extra past constructing her personal profession. She needed to be half of a bigger artistic financial system. “I needed to ask myself, the place can I present up as my full self with my artistic background, new enterprise information, and deep want for transformation on the continent?”
4 years later, she joined ALX, a subsidiary of the African Management Group, as a part of a member expertise staff and subsequently grew into a lot larger duties. It turned out to be the reply McLean was on the lookout for. “It felt absolutely aligned with my mission. And I wanted one thing extra steady than gig-based artistic work.”
At the moment, McLean leads technique in search of to merge creativity, know-how, and youth empowerment throughout the continent as Vice President of Artistic Economic system. “I’ve needed to construct a bridge between my artistic coronary heart and my strategic thoughts,” she mentioned, laughing. “However actually, I feel that’s the place innovation comes from.”
How main in tech artistic financial system began
ALX launched in 2018 as a pan-African profession accelerator with a mission to equip younger professionals with in-demand know-how and management abilities to drive digital transformation throughout the continent. Based by Fred Swaniker, ALX has established itself as considered one of Africa’s main expertise and tech accelerators, with a presence in main cities together with Nairobi, Johannesburg, Accra, Lagos, Kigali, Casablanca, Cairo, and Addis Ababa.
Through the years, ALX has helped 1000’s of younger African entrepreneurs launch and scale startups, with alumni together with notable VC-backed firms resembling Nigeria’s healthtech, Healthtracka, and Kayko, a fintech startup in Rwanda. Startups nurtured by ALX have pitched at main innovation summits like Latitude59, showcasing options starting from fintech and healthtech to local weather and e-commerce.
When COVID hit in 2020, McLean says the corporate, like most, was unsure about its future and in search of methods to stay related. “The reply was clear – tech,” McLean says.
With no background in tech however a will to study, and boosted by assist from the Mastercard Basis, McLean says they tailored shortly. “Fortunately, ALX values agility. We have been all constructing the aircraft as we flew it.” From group constructing, she advanced into main stakeholder technique, connecting younger learners with business mentors, executives, and work alternatives. “I didn’t communicate tech. However I knew folks, the artistic group and methods to join dots.”
In early 2025, ALX rolled out a brand new technique to assist the artistic business combining tech coaching with Africa’s wealthy cultural scene. It was time to coach storytellers, animators, editors, designers, and digital artists to construct pathways to actual revenue, a imaginative and prescient McLean has been constructing to assist drive significant change by means of know-how.
Main with empathy
Over the course of her educational and work profession, McLean has worn many hats: actress, poet, musician, producer, marketer, marketing consultant—after she made a transfer into the company world. “In some ways, I used to be looking for the candy spot between artwork and influence,” she says.
As a pacesetter, McLean is pushed by empathy, emotional intelligence, and a powerful sense of focus and dedication. “My theatre coaching taught me to be attuned to psychology, how folks present up on the planet, what drives them. “I consider in staying near staff sentiment. Understanding morale is a part of how I lead.”
That doesn’t imply she avoids arduous choices. When ALX needed to downsize throughout a strategic pivot, she struggled deeply. “I needed to do teaching as a result of I believed possibly I used to be too empathetic. However finally, I discovered that compassion in management is a energy, not a weak point.”
She now embraces what she calls “female management” in an area that doesn’t at all times reward it. “You wouldn’t have to go away your coronary heart on the door to steer successfully. Individuals give extra once they really feel seen and trusted,” she says.
To McLean, management in African tech means one factor, democratising entry. “It’s the child in a rural Rwandan village who now earns $23,000 working remotely for a worldwide firm after getting educated on-line. That’s the imaginative and prescient. That’s the influence.”
And now, in her new position, McLean is bringing that very same democratisation to the artistic sector, utilizing tech to unlock Africa’s cultural wealth.
“Typically, I felt like I’d abandon the artistic sector,” she admits. “However at present, we purpose to coach one million younger Africans in artistic tech by 2030. It’s a full-circle second. Now I perceive why each step mattered.”
Identification, and the facility of self-belief
Regardless of her success, McLean is candid about her doubts. “There’s a fixed query—Do I belong in tech? Am I certified sufficient?” She sees this not simply as a private hurdle, however a systemic challenge for girls in tech, particularly Black ladies with out technical backgrounds.
“My journey proves you wouldn’t have to be a coder to steer in tech. You simply want technique, folks abilities, and a studying mindset.”
And studying she does, at present enrolled in an AI foundations course alongside her staff. “I consider it’s like studying. AI literacy is the brand new primary.”
Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is again in Lagos on October 15–16! Be a part of Africa’s high founders, creatives & tech leaders for two days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward concepts. Early chook tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
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