By Sruthi Menon Seeboo
In recent times, female participation in the world of technology has recorded several fast-rising female technology entrepreneurs breaking through the barriers of gender inequality in the tech space. Promoting this in Mauritius, is the Women in Tech Across Africa (WITA) which positively aims to impact communities.
At the recently held WITA, founder of Luova Digital, Neha Gunnoo was awarded the title “Rising Star of the Year 2022”. Luova is a Finnish word that means the symbiosis of creativity & innovation. The company works with start-ups, organisations, and corporations, both international and local, and is keen on cultivating a collaborative relationship with all their partners.
Neha was previously the co-founder and CMO of LeFinTech Ltd specialising in chatbots for the Mauritian market. She has six years of experience in digital marketing, project management and business on the local & international market. Neha is a “one-woman company” and runs her business remotely. Additionally, she is a Mentor at AMFCE and the AfriTech Fellowship and a regular speaker at various events. She has also started her podcast this year called Bold Enough in the mental health space.
We catch up with Neha and she tells us more…Excerpts
- How does it feel receiving this award as a young entrepreneur?
Receiving an award as a young entrepreneur came as a pleasant surprise. It goes without saying that the path of new entrepreneurs and business owners is different and comes with a lot of challenges as well. It’s a different journey from the traditional one where you have to do everything on your own.
Receiving the award feels like he hard and smart work has paid off. During my entrepreneurial journey, I received a lot of advice, critics and I had many people who tried to influence my path. At the end of the day, I listened to what I really wanted. I do think that it goes back to believing in yourself and being your greatest support even if no one is supporting you. Not everyone is going to believe in you and understand why you took that path. Life is short and what only matters is that you believe in yourself, your mind is at peace and that you know why you do what you do.
- How does it feel receiving it as a woman entrepreneur?
As a woman entrepreneur, this award is for every woman. If I can do it, so can another woman. And I do believe that every single woman has the potential to achieve anything that she wants on her own.
I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who believed in me and recognized my value – my family, my tribe, my mentors, my clients and strangers who continued to cheer me on.
- What were your lessons learnt from this event – particularly your panel session?
The panel was a very interactive one! It was amazing to hear from the other wonderful ladies on how we can use technology in any field.
The aim is not to replace human skills with technology but, rather to work in parallel with technology. For example, integrating a marketing chatbot into your business processes does not mean that your customers will no longer chat with a human. It just means that you are automating the manual and repetitive processes, providing your customers with a 24/7 assistance and hence, allowing your employees to support your customers in a more meaningful way. We must not forget that there is always going to be a human behind a robot who can step forward anytime to help the customer.
- Why is it necessary to uplift women working in the tech space?
It’s important to show young girls and women that they can have it all. The technology, digital and innovation field are not for a specific gender. With the right skills and passion, anyone can learn and grow in the tech field.
I will always encourage women to go for what they really want and I appreciate all the other women who keeps on inspiring other women in the tech space.
What are the trends you see in the Tech space coming up?
- AI powered tools
This week, Notion launched its AI tool for creating digital content. During the year 2022, we saw the rise of AI tools assisting digital marketers such as Copy AI, Jarvis or SEMRush writing assistant. AI is on the rise and playing a huge role in the MarTech industry.
- Video marketing
TikTok is a great example on how short forms videos have taken up the online space. Instagram reels are another good example where brands are able to connect to their leads and customers in a more authentic way.
- Chatbot: Conversational marketing
Chatbots are now widely available and integrated in so many social media channels including WhatsApp and telegram. Customers want quicker replies to their standard questions and chatbots are the best way to be available 24/7.
- Authentic online content
You might think that short and long form content is dead. However, in the international market, this is what drives the organic traffic and reach of a business. With Google new update release about SEO, it shows how Google now favours real content instead of writing for SEO purposes (writing like a robot!).
Recently, 5 of our articles and content were at the top position on Google for an international client. The client gained a huge organic traffic leading to an increase in their conversion rates.
- What more do you think needs to be done in the tech space in terms of growth in the local context?
There are already a lot of tech events happening across the island such as the Women in Tech Africa and the Developers Conference to increase the awareness and knowledge in the tech space. We’ve seen big brands adopting new technologies such as ABSA’s Abby or Bank One’s POP.
I believe that SMEs could leverage on technology so much to grow their businesses. More events or webinars and trainings should be done for SMEs so that they can better understand why technology should be their friend.
- What is your message to young aspiring women entrepreneurs in the tech space?
Follow your passion and just go for it. And, if you look back, you’ll find a supportive community of women (and men!) helping you.
- Where do you see yourself in five years from now with Luova Digital?
I hope that in 5 years from now, when people see Luova Digital’s growth, they feel inspired and motivated to start their own business.
- Tell us about Luova Digital’s upcoming projects in the pipeline?
Luova Digital is all about crafting and creative new experiences for businesses in the digital marketing field. We help organizations to increase their online visibility via organic reach and effective marketing strategies.
We have already started new projects such as offering beginners’ trainings to new entrepreneurs and SMEs. On top of that, we have increased our partner base across the international market in terms of AI and programmatic advertising.
