African women advocates policy reform for women inclusiveness in technology, other sectors

American microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, was recently suspended by the federal government on the premise that the platform was being implemented as a tool to undermine the country’s ‘corporate existence’ by aiding the spread of false information that could result in violent consequences.

The official blockage of Twitter in Africa’s highest internet consuming nation and the compliance of the country’s telecommunications companies to the suspension, made many Nigerians resort to alternatives where they could access the social networking site. This led to the exploitation of the Virtual Private Network (VPN) software to bypass the restrictions put in place by the Internet Service Providers in the country (ISPs) on their networks.

How VPN works

A VPN software is operated by creating a secure connection between a user’s device and the internet. When a user connects to the internet through a VPN software, all the data traffic from the device is sent through an encrypted virtual tunnel and this can make the user’s connection safer, anonymous and freer on the internet, and gaining access to websites and online services that would otherwise be blocked.

There are two main types of VPN software – the free ones (which are more popular with Nigerians) and the premium ones, which the users have to pay a subscription for. Using a free VPN could actually make you less safe online, cost you more than you realise, and ruin your entire internet experience. Premium VPNs on the other hand offer a lot more protection, for a small fee, without the hidden dangers that free VPNs expose users to.

In a commentary note to Business A.m, Muyiwa Awosile, managing director of Tros Technologies, warned that before using a free VPN, the user needs to be aware of the drawbacks associated with it as the usage poses many risks to the user and is likely to compromise the user’s security if not properly understood.

Awosile noted that one of the primary purposes of a VPN, is to protect users from hackers but unfortunately some free VPNs actually contain malware, adware or other malicious software which can compromise one’s device leading to security breaches. He added that a lot of the malware is related to advertising as free VPN software developers rely on advertising for revenue.

Dwelling further on the dangers of free VPN and exposure to online activity tracking, he said; “A major reason people use VPNs is to protect their privacy while browsing the internet but unfortunately many free VPNs have third-party trackers embedded in the software. These trackers are used to gather data on the user’s online activity, so advertisers are better able to target users with ads. So instead of providing users with privacy, the VPNs are doing the exact opposite, by collecting user information and selling it to the highest advertising bidder.”

Free VPNs, he further asserted, limits the amount of data one can use and can lead to slower internet speeds leading to a frustrating user experience because traffic from the free version is sometimes deprioritised when compared to the paid or premium versions.

“Free VPNs can also slow down your internet speeds when targeted ads are displayed. The justification for the ads is that since users are not paying any monthly subscriptions, free VPNs need another way to make money off them,” he averred.

The cybersecurity and data privacy consultant also pointed out that free VPNs increase the user’s potential vulnerability to botnets. A botnet, according to him, infects a large number of individual computers or devices with malware and harnesses them together to carry out an attack. This, he said, is of serious concern as cyber criminals are able to exploit this vulnerability to launch attacks on unsuspecting VPN users while some VPN products are designed to harness the processing power from the devices of their free users and offer that power to their paying customers for profit.

He further explained that VPNs are complicated software that require a great deal of investment to create and maintain, as they constantly need to keep up with the ever-changing world of internet privacy.

“That is why free VPN providers try to cover their costs and generate revenue from their users by embedding hidden tools and tricks. These tactics are not only dangerous and risky but completely negate the principles of security and privacy that VPNs are supposed to be built for in the first place,” he cautioned.

In spite of the significant development witnessed in the twenty-first century, women are still been defined in the context of marginalization. As such, a vast majority of the population are rarely represented in major sectors like technology, insurance and general decisionmaking positions.

Concerned with the huge gender gap in many institutions, organizations and establishments, women in Africa has called for policy reform as a solution to having women duly represented in all sectors during a virtual webinar by Africa Fintech Foundry, a panAfrican initiative focused on creating new opportunities in Africa by providing a platform designed to inspire and challenge African innovators and entrepreneurs powered by Access bank.

The event, which was, tagged women in tech; driving diversity in the African technology industry saw the presence of women captain from all across the African continent. These include like Teju Ajani; country lead, Apple Inc. Nigeria, Colette Otusheso; head, Accelerate TV, Eloho Omame; founder, FirstCheck Africa, Fade Ogunro; CEO, Bookings Africa, Tosin Faniro-Dada; CEO, Endeavor, Olayinka David-West; a professor and associate dean, Lagos Business School and Simileoluwa AfolabiJumbo; founder, SQL Babe.

Speaking on how best to equip the marginalized women with the basic ideas to attaining different goals in relation to technology, Teju pointed out the importance of technology, the application of scientific knowledge to facilitate activities especially in the industry, as a tool that helps to enhance how women learn beyond the four walls of the classroom.

Olayinka noted that technology is not an engine in itself, but a transformational tool to facilitate the workings of people in different sectors. She therefore put forward the need for business and women to connect using technology as the problem, which according to her, has always been how women can get along with people.

terms of academics, she noted that women are part of the human capital development who have roles to play. She said, “It’s about having a reset, we have to look at supply, demand and policy. We have to unlearn some level of nuances of the 70s and 80s. On the supply side, we need to get relationships, engagement and break boundaries. If you do not do anything with what you know, you might as well say you do not know anything.

“On their path, women need to earn some of these positions. They need to utilize the opportunities around. We need to realize that the competition is tough as well as working towards playing the game and playing it well.”

Fade aligned with the view that women have being intimidated by the presence of men and the need to have women represented, she, however, noted that on her path, she hires based on professionalism. “I am always hiring people who are on top of their games and not because they are men”

On her part, Tosin noted that her platform has been able to support and help women entrepreneurs create wealth by asking the questions where they are now, whom they can trust and what they need.

She said, “asking these questions have made us understand that when it comes to women, we need to be deliberate because women need more representation. It feels somehow when you walk into a gathering and find just one or no women. She said.

Meanwhile, Fara noted that a lot of demoralization women face comes from general problems in Africa such as insecurity, electricity and others. She, however, advised that women should tap into opportunities presented by technology to improve their status quo.