Nyakallo Moleko: Women In Tech
Meet Nyakallo Moleko, a Murex Integration Consultant and Integration team lead in South Africa, who is passionate about writing code and learning new technologies. Nyakallo’s story began in Lesotho, where she failed her first year of university but came back stronger, eventually graduating at the top of her class with first-class honours in computer systems and network engineering. Now, she’s living her dream as a tech expert and enjoying every minute of it. In this Women in Tech feature, Nyakallo shares her challenges, successes, and insights to inspire others in the field.
Tell us about your background; Your humble beginnings
I grew up in Maseru Lesotho and went to high school and university there (national university of Lesotho). I failed my first year but came back stronger knowing very well what I wanted. I studied computer systems and networks engineering and graduated top student with first-class honours in a class of 7. I worked for Vodacom Lesotho as VAS specialist where I worked for a year. Later on, I resigned and moved to Joburg to pursue a master’s but the truth is it wasn’t really about the msc, I just wanted a different job where I can wake up and look forward to doing what I love every day; which is writing code. 2 months in Joburg I got a job at a consulting company which specialises in a system called murex for global markets, little did I know that I landed in my DREAM industry. Now I work as a Murex Integration Consultant and Integration team lead in the company.
What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about writing code and learning new technologies.
What do you love about your job?
I am solving complex solutions every day and actually seeing how my contribution adds so much value to the banks/clients.
What traits or skills does one need to grow in this field?
Enthusiasm, (there’s nothing that makes it so much easier when you actually doing what you love and are passionate about). Good Communication skills also since we deal with different clients and cultures every day so you need to be able to adjust and communicate accordingly each time. Another one is eagerness to learn, in tech you learn every single day, so being open-minded also helps.
What is the most challenging thing about your job, and what have you done to overcome it?
I think it’s dealing with clients which are obviously different but despite anything you need to make sure you deliver quality work regardless. I also work with international clients, different time zones, different accents etc and it gets challenging at times but at the end of the day I know I want to see the client happy so I just really learnt o adjust quickly.
Who do you look up to? And how have they contributed towards your growth?
I look up to Carl Maurice, he contributed a lot in training me in the field I am in right now and working with him each time and seeing how he’d get excited like a baby whenever an interesting challenge comes and how passionate he is about his work Let alone how GOOD he is, id always be like “I really like want to be like this guy one day, I want to look at a problem and already have a solution in my head and look forward to implementing it”. I may not be exactly where I want to be but I’m happy with my growth so far.
How important is it to surround yourself with a community of like-minded people?
It’s very important because ideas flow around as well as tips on how to handle certain situations. I feel like the conversations are just really interesting as you don’t need to do much convincing of what you’re talking about. These people motivate and help you grow.
What do you want to be remembered for?
I always want to be remembered for the work I’ve done, I want to leave marks of great work and inspire other people to love their work as much and do well for themselves as well. I’m also very passionate about training (murex training) so it makes me really happy watching someone I’ve trained actually do well and find themselves.
