WeeklySA_AdminNETWORK: Established by two women, the entity promotes personalised growth through coaching featuring seasoned business executives…
By Nicola Mawson
Local tech start-up Yugrow, a South African female-led business, is taking advantage of artificial intelligence to expand its network globally, helping organisations close the female leadership gap.
Co-founded by Kele Boakgomo and Yolanda Nobanda, Yugrow is a behaviour tech platform tailored for women, promoting growth through personalised micro-actions, a robust support network, and intelligent coaching featuring seasoned female executives. Some of its notable clients include Accenture, Vodacom, and Rand Mutual Assurance.
This home-grown tech startup already supports women across Brazil, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Turkey, the UK, and South Africa. Boakgomo says Yugrow now seeks to expand its reach into Asia to address the region’s unique societal and cultural challenges.
“With many countries in Asia being considered emerging markets, including China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand, we feel that we can leverage not only our expertise in the developing world but also cutting-edge technology to help upskill woman so they can take on leadership roles.”
The World Economic Forum, in June this year, found that the estimated investment needed to achieve gender equality for all developing economies could reach up to $7.8 trillion a year.
“With AI, we feel that we can help companies make a quantifiable measurement into leadership training without being burdened by excessive costs,”says Boakgomo.
Yugrow’s platform offers a professional development and coaching solution designed to enable women to excel in leadership positions, providing organisations a tangible return on their investment.
The small business’ integration of AI into its coaching programmes personalises the development experience, offering continuous support that enhances the journey of self-improvement. AI algorithms analyse data from coaching sessions, identify patterns, and tailor programs to individuals’ areas of opportunity. It also provides data and insights about the women on the programme, that enable quality conversations on career opportunities.
“Our goal is to serve women on a global scale, building a successful tech business out of Africa that inspires other female entrepreneurs. We believe technology is the ultimate equaliser,” says Boakgomo.
Boakgomo says that Yugrow’s vision dates back to 2017, even though she and Nobanda only officially hung up their corporate hats in 2020. “Our vision was inspired by my experience in global corporate roles and the challenges women face in advancing their careers,” says Boakgomo.
Boakgomo adds that COVID-19, which started just after the company was officially formed, led them to review their business strategy and take it outside South Africa’s borders using the technology that was fast-tracked so people could work from home.
Yugrow’s use of technology aims to democratise career success. Boakgomo notes that, while the gender gap has been closing at 0.035% per year over the past two decades, achieving economic gender parity by 2030 requires an annual change rate of 41%, a goal technology can help reach.
Boakgomo’s personal career challenges informed her understanding of the nuanced barriers women encounter.
“As I advanced in my career, I saw the structural obstacles hindering women’s growth and performance, despite their technical abilities. My passion for technology and women’s development led to Yugrow’s creation.”
Operating on a B2B model, Yugrow partners with corporations to empower their female talent. “We are humbled by our impact, women on the Yugrow platform have expanded their roles, pivoted careers, gained promotions, and made significant impacts in their current roles.
Our global ambition, enabled by technology, will enable us to play our role in closing the economic gender gap, and shape inclusive societies”. – www.fullview.co.za
