Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho

Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho, often hailed as the “leading lady” of Nigeria’s IT sector, is credited with establishing one of the country’s premier IT service companies.

Having pursued her education in bioinformatics in Germany, Nkemdilim serves as the founder and managing director of Future Software Resources, known as Futuresoft, positioning herself as one of the few women leaders in the industry. Upon her return to Nigeria, she took the helm of a business originally founded by her renowned father, Chris Uwaje. Under her leadership, the company underwent a transformation, rebranding and shifting its focus to offer an array of online services, including website design, IT security, web hosting, and online social media management, alongside e-learning platforms tailored for students.

Nkemdilim’s passion for education shines through in Futuresoft’s commitment to providing cutting-edge e-learning services, reflecting her dedication to leveraging technology for educational advancement.

She is recognised as a 2019 Obama African Leader, Forbes’s Top Ten Female Tech Founders to watch in Africa, Global Digital Women top 10 Most Inspiring Women in Africa, Lionesses of Africa top 100 Women, YTech Top 100 most Innovative in the Nigerian Tech space, Ventures Africa 42 most Innovative Africans and has been named one of 8 Lord’s Achievers in 2019, as well as one of the top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent. In December 2023, Nelson Mandela University conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Information Technology on Nkemdilim in recognition of her impactful contribution to technology ecosystems and policy development across Africa.

She serves on the boards of the Society for Corporate Governance in Nigeria, the Lagos State Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC), The BudgIT Foundation, ESG in Action Africa Limited, the Afara Development Initiative and Stanbic IBTC Holdings. Nkemdilim also served in the leadership of the Digital Economy Policy group of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group NESG, which is focused on influencing and advocating for policy development that creates an enabling environment.

In addition to her professional endeavours, Nkemdilim embraces the role of motherhood, raising and nurturing a teenager alongside her impactful contributions to the Nigerian IT landscape.