Abongile Tenza

Abongile Tenza: Women in Tech

Meet Abongile Tenza: Mobile Tech Lead, a very open-minded person. Growing up, she always believed there was more out there- And still does and will always carry that belief with her. “I tend to tell a different story about who I am, and that’s simply because my own views/interpretations of myself change and what’s important in my view also often changes.” – Abongile

Please tell us a little about yourself

“We are changing beings in a changing world”, this is not new and definitely doesn’t come from the fact that
we’ve just recently come out of a lockdown and are currently dealing with our “new normal”…
We are changing beings in a changing world because human development is in fact contextual (in the sense
that environments and situations generally have a direct impact on our views) – I say this because at every
phase of my personal growth, I tend to tell a different story about who I am, and that’s simply because my
own views/interpretations of myself change and what’s essential in my view also often changes.
Well, let me start off with some facts. I am Abongile Tenza, 28 years, I am married to my high school
sweetheart and we have an 8-year-old boy.
I consider myself a very open-minded person, I always try to make a conscious effort to surround myself
with different groups of people. I come from a very small, but beautiful town called Matatiele and I’ve always
believed growing up that there was more out there, I still do and I always carry that belief with me.
You’ll often find me attending various types of workshops/conferences at this current stage of my life.
These past two days, I decided to attend a Water & Waste Workshop hosted by an Environmentalist called
Tarryn. I met so many wonderful people there who are all in completely different industries, two weeks ago I
attended a Women’s event hosted by AgendaWomen and that’s where I met Zandile in person, I’d always
seen the work she’d been doing in the tech space, but we officially met that day and I’m grateful for that
because it was through that meetup that I find myself here.

Walk us through your career journey and how you got into I.T?

I currently work as a Mobile Tech Lead at DVT, we’re a software consultancy firm, meaning we’re always
looking for tech talent *wink wink*
I’d like to believe that I’ve probably had the most unconventional career journey, especially looking back at
how I got into the space in the first place. From as early as Grade 9, I knew exactly which industry I wanted to be in and that was Construction, so in grade 10 I took all the relevant subjects like Physics, Geography and EGAD to help gear me up for that career choice. It’s wild how I ended up here, especially considering how the two aren’t even similar in any way except for the fact that both have roles for Architects. But the hope of getting into construction started looking bleak when I tried applying at universities with my Grade 11 marks for Construction Studies and I kept getting provisional acceptances at both Wits & UCT (I have no idea why I never thought of looking elsewhere).

So I knew I needed to pull up my socks in Grade 12 in order for me to get that definite ‘YES’ I was looking for.
But the whole idea of waiting till my matric results came to know whether I’d get a shot at this dream kinda
didn’t sit well with my mother, because she actually went out of her way and applied for a programming
course on my behalf, she had this deep belief that I belonged there somehow. Growing up, I apparently
always showed signs of someone that had an innate capacity for ICT.
Fast forward to my final year in varsity doing IT, I started applying at DERIVCO and I just wasn’t getting their
assessments right, to the extent that one day I decided, going forward I’d just apply for any other random
vacancy they had just so that I could get in… Shortly after that, a Receptionist post opened up and I jumped
at it. I didn’t even bother telling them that I was an IT student, I just wanted to get in. I got it and worked part-time while I was completing my studies. With my foot in the door, I knew it was only a matter of time that an
an opportunity would present itself for me to join a graduate program or something, at least now I had inside
info.
My breakthrough eventually came, I went in as a junior Automation Engineer & had the most amazing
manager who believed in me. I spent about 2 and a half years there before deciding I needed something new.
It was in the new phase where I moved into Mobile development.
As a mobile developer, I’ve had the opportunity to build a Crypto-currency app, a DStv app for other parts of
Africa, the Investec banking app, and a QR code scanning app for Barclays Ghana to name a few. Those were all
building up to the role I currently occupy of being a Mobile Tech Lead to a very smart group of developers.

When did you know that you wanted to be in I.T?

Based on the story I’ve just narrated, I’ll probably rephrase the question and answer
this rather: “When did I know being in I.T was the right choice”
Well, let me take you back to that transition phase I was telling you about going from junior Automation
Engineer to Mobile App Developer. If I’m being honest, once again it was definitely not my plan.
I remember initially interviewing with this company and they told me they were looking for the skills I had,
so I had the interview.
Anyways, I got my offer, signed it and immediately served my month’s notice. During my notice period I also
started making arrangements for my move, I had been based in Durban and my new job was here in JHB!
On my first day, my new manager called me into his office, to tell me that the client they
had intended to place me at no longer needed the skills I had, the shock!
So, this was all foreign to me, the consultancy space that is. In my mind, I had thought they were also an
in-house dev company… Anyways, he continued to tell me that they had another client that had been waiting
for a React Native demo app and were now getting impatient, so they had been given an ultimatum that they
needed to produce this app in two weeks or the deal would not go through! So my new assignment was to
create this demo app!!!!

What is your typical day like at work?

Being on StackOverflow.
For those who don’t know what StackOverflow is, it’s a mini Google for programmers. It’s literally just a
question and answer knowledge sharing website for programmers.
On a more serious note though, my day typically involves creating or testing apps from start to finish.. So if
I’m working on let’s say a new app or new feature to an existing app then I’ll most likely lead my team’s
discussions around user requirements, then research, brainstorm and advise practical solutions to meet
those requirements, using best practice strategies. I also work closely with other teams which form part of
the app development be it databases, APIs to ensure we’re all in alignment with what the end product needs
to do and what each of our deliverables entail.

What do you know now that you wish your younger self knew?

1. When you know better, do better.
I started my talk by highlighting that “we are changing beings in a changing world”, that is a reality but it is your
responsibility/choice to change
Changing your stance on things/views when you come into the possession of new information is actually a
sign of intelligence. It shows you have a higher level of cognition when you are willing to replace let’s call it
“bad information” with good evidence.

2. When nothing makes sense, remember Psalm 139:16
The verse reads as follows: “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and
planned before a single one of them began.” …. Looking back now, it’s highly evident that my journey into
Software Development is one that began way before I was even made aware of such a field, that Bible verse
kinda sums it up for me. I had my own plans for what field I wanted to go into yet when I look at my journey
and where I am now, nothing feels out of place or feels like a big ball of regret.

3. Understand the meaning of seasons.
There is a time for every purpose under the sun (Ecclesiates 3:1). Therefore, do not despise the small
beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin (Zechariah 4:10)… I always look back at how I low-key
hated my time working as a Receptionist, especially considering that I was in fact an IT graduate, that was
probably the hardest internal “ego-battle” I had to take up. I just wish I could have read these verses every
time my ego tried to take over, we all have to start somewhere.

4. There is power in letting GO!
So you heard me mention that I’d always wanted to work for Derivco, I mean why else would I keep retaking
the same assessments and eventually even opt for going in as a Receptionist if working there had not been a
bucket list item for me? So you can only imagine how difficult of a decision it must have been for me to
consider leaving the company. But the power, growth & experience that came with that decision far
exceeded what would have happened if I had chosen to hold on.

We know challenges women face in the industry are always
amplified; can you tell us about some of your “wins”?

● One of my biggest wins is getting to this point in my career without giving up.
I remember there was a phase where I’d tell myself, there’s really no point in doing all this, after all, my
mother chose this field for me, so she should come and live it! Our brains can destroy us if we don’t guard our
thoughts
● I’m currently the youngest tech lead in my company actively leading members of my team that are
ALL actually older than me, and I also happen to be the only female lead.
While I’ve made a commitment to myself that I do not want it to end with me, I am personally doing the work
by actively mentoring a fellow high-potential female developer. I often use these words whenever I talk to
her: “You are no different from me!” And I believe that from the bottom of my heart
With that said, I still do believe in taking time to acknowledge my personal achievements, being the only/first
should not necessarily dim them but rather encourage me to find ways to make room for more of us.

What is your motto in life?

Can I rather call it my motto in 2022?
Lol, remember “we are changing beings, in a…”, so the motto I used to share in 2020 on my insta lives is
completely different to this one…
Here goes: “Life is not a sprint or marathon, it’s a maze”

What do you hope to leave behind as your legacy?

I want to leave people feeling better than I found them – it’s that simple.
If I meet you, I wanna leave you feeling better than I found you. It could be in any way, you know. If we’ve just
met for the first time and all I gave you was a smile and that made you feel better? Or you read something of
mine that I wrote and it resonated with you and left you feeling like you aren’t alone… Then for me, that is
my job accomplished.