Changing the world, a keystroke at a time
COMPUTER buff, Sanusha Naidoo is making her mark in the male dominated field of program development.
And, through a partnership with Absa and the Digital Academy, she is now the creative technologist for the Absa Africa Design Office in Johannesburg.
Naidoo has since appeared in a short film by Absa with colleagues Gopolang Lekto, 24, and Edward Motloung, 22, titled Coding A Better Future, which highlights the trio’s career paths thus far.
The 23-year-old, of Lenasia, graduated from the Digital Academy, which is a learning institute that works with corporate companies, like Absa, to recruit and upskill motivated young people with a raw talent for web and software development.
“I always loved working and playing around with computers. I remember when I was younger, my uncle had a computer and I would sit on it for hours just exploring its features.
“There was something about this machine that fascinated me,” she said.
When Naidoo read about the academy’s work and the processes it put young developers through, she wanted to be part of it.
“I knew this was my chance to gain the skills I needed to pursue a career in programming.”
She said, while at the academy, she and her team built an app, or web-based syncing software and a website for small businesses and entrepreneurs that turned users phones or computers into personal assistants, while simultaneously tracking the growth of their businesses.
Naidoo added that the development process that the academy put her through provided an in-depth view on how the real world developers worked.
“After graduating from the academy, I landed a four month internship as a creative technologist for the Absa Design Office.
“About a month and a half into my internship, I was made permanent staff and officially became part of the team.”
For Naidoo the academy laid down a crucial foundation for her in her career as a female developer.
“It is a male dominated field. Many women are afraid of choosing this career as it is perceived to be complicated.
“The skills I learnt have given me more confidence in my ability as a developer. I have also been given responsibilities on major projects.”
Naidoo, who describes this opportunity as magical, attributed her success to her mom, Jay Maharaj, 43, a manager.
“My mom is a single parent and she always stood by me and supported me.”