Fellowship Spotlight
At WomHub we believe in building ecosystems to challenge the gender status-quo in STEM. Often we are asked what an “ecosystem” means, and simply put, it is the holistic network to support women in STEM along all the growth points in their careers. One of our founder-to-fellow highlights is Danei Rall, a WomEng fellow in 2017 and now an WomHub founder in the Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator. We took the time to interview Danei and understand more on her STEM journey from an engineer graduate to tech founder.
I was nominated to apply by one of my lecturers in my second year of studying Industrial Engineering. The main word that pops into my mind when I think back is "exposure." I was exposed to other women in Engineering from across Africa for the first time, I experienced the business side of Sandton for the first time, and I was exposed to the idea of a technovation challenge for the first time, just to name a few. When I was thinking about this interview, I realised that the fellowship week might have been my first-ever exposure to coming up with a solution, the business model behind it and pitching it to a board of investors.
Right after my final year, I started working as an engineering consultant in the automotive manufacturing industry. I was struggling to get my employment contract finalised but it worked out well - I ended up being self-employed from the start, giving me the flexibility to shift my focus to other areas as they arose. In this year I was also studying towards my honours in Engineering with a Masters as the end goal. This was also 2020, the year of COVID-19 - which illuminated the great lack of financial literacy and security in South Africa and this is where the business I am currently in, stemmed from. This career path impacted my current space in a few ways - it gave me the flexibility to pursue business while still working as a consultant. But more importantly, I discovered my love for identifying and implementing the correct technological tools to help people's visions come to life.
Well, I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason so I'd say it was a combination of preparation, people, and external factors.
The preparation I went through only became apparent to me now as never really imagined myself in business, I just wanted stability. It came in the form of being a Make A Difference Leadership Foundation scholar - preparing me to be a leader of self and others. It came from studying Industrial Engineering - we are frequently called business engineers because the course is broader than technical, considering man, money, and machine so that we are able to solve problems through process optimisation and design. It came in the form of being on student committees, working side jobs, and my life growing up. When it comes to people, I was privileged enough to be surrounded by some amazing humans. Firstly, my exceptional business partner, Elijah Djan, who plugged me into the startup ecosystem and nudged me to take part in the competition that was the seed for our business back in 2020. Secondly, friends and family who supported my unconventional career choices even though they didn't always understand it. Lastly, mentors who have been pivotal in not only making our business work but also navigating the personal and emotional challenges that come with being a founder. Then, external factors. I mentioned already how I ended up having the flexibility to pursue the business while still consulting as an engineer to pay the bills. The other major external factor was my upbringing - I grew up in a home that had many challenges, one of them financial. Being exposed to that, I know first-hand what it is like to live without financial stability. This is what gave me the heart and passion for solving the massive financial literacy problem in our world - which is what our business is doing today, many years later.
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My business, Findamentals, is tackling the massive problem of financial literacy. The scary thing is that African countries score the worst in financial literacy globally. And without quality financial literacy, financial inclusion efforts are not effective. Furthermore, we learn about money way too late in life - mostly through making some really expensive mistakes. Research shows that kids can already understand basic money principles by age 3 and by age 7, they are already forming their money mindsets. And yet, kids can't even do something as simple as see their own bank balances. With this in mind, we are now focused on our latest product, Fintr, that uses games to teach kids positive mindsets and behaviours about money. Our platform is made to be used in school and at home, where kids not only learn about money through playing games but also get to learn and fail in a safe environment. They have the opportunity to practically learn that money comes from work, get into the habit of saving to develop the muscle of delayed gratification and learn to spend their money wisely. All of this with their parents' oversight.
When our business started picking up and requiring more of my time, I was a little sad at the thought of leaving my career as an Industrial Engineer behind. But what I realised later is that my training has truly set me up to be in business. The thing is, in Industrial Engineering, and many other STEM study areas, we don't just learn the technical stuff. We learn to solve problems and consider the higher level process behind anything we do, and almost most importantly - we learn to study and figure things out that we know nothing of really quickly. Combine that with a passion and drive to solve a real problem and have a real impact, and you'll have someone who is not only motivated but also equipped to solve a lot of the world's most dire problems. I am so thankful for what my background in STEM has given me, and I'm sure it will always play a significant role in anything I tackle in life.
Go for it! And use the things that you are most inclined to for your advantage. Here is something I am trying based on advice from wiser women out there: own your space as a woman. If you get the opportunity to be around a boardroom table, on a committee, in a team, whatever it is, own it. Show up, be prepared, be present, and have a voice. We bring such unique insights and mindsets to these spaces and the world can't afford not to have our voices heard. And try to apologise less!
Thank you Danei for taking the time to share your story with us. We look forward to seeing you grow from strength to strength in your journey as an entrepreneur.