Two years ago, Amara Y. had never written a line of code. She was managing spreadsheets for a small logistics company in Lagos, the kind of job she describes as "fine, but not mine." Today, she leads a data science team of six. This is her story, in her own words — lightly edited for length.
The spreadsheet that started it all
"I was the unofficial 'Excel person' at work. Everyone brought me their messy data because I could make it make sense. One day a colleague said, half-joking, 'You should learn Python, you'd probably love it.' I laughed it off. Then I thought about it for three days straight."
That curiosity led her to a free YouTube tutorial, then a forum post about She Leads Tech Africa's upcoming Data Science track. She almost didn't apply.
Cycle 1, and the moment she almost quit
Amara was accepted into Cycle 1's Data Science track. The first few weeks went well. Then came week six — a module on statistical modeling that, by her own account, "broke something in my brain."
- She fell behind on three consecutive assignments
- Her mentor sessions felt like she was always apologizing
- She seriously considered dropping out, twice
"What kept me in wasn't willpower. It was my peer circle. Four other women in my WhatsApp group were stuck on the exact same module. We did a Saturday study session, just the five of us, and something clicked that no tutorial had managed to explain."
What changed after Cycle 1
Amara finished the program with a portfolio project analyzing public transit data — a project she almost didn't submit because she "didn't think it was good enough." Her mentor disagreed, and encouraged her to apply for a junior data analyst role at a logistics startup.
She got the job. Eighteen months later, she was leading the team.
Her advice for anyone starting now
- Apply even if you don't feel ready — almost nobody does
- Find your study group early; don't try to push through alone
- Submit the project even when you think it's not good enough
"I still keep that transit project in my portfolio. It's not perfect. But it's the thing that changed my life, so it stays."