Meet Adora Nwodo, a software engineer at Microsoft, the founder of the nonprofit NexaScale, an author, a content creator, and a DJ. She provides opportunities for entry-level technologists to gain experience and scale their careers in STEM.
By the time most six-year-olds played hide-and-seek, Nwodo was busy mastering computers. A curious fascination kept her little fingers glued to keyboards long after bedtime, but that curiosity grew into a mission to change how Africa thinks about technology. By the time Nwodo was a teenager, she had started building code with computers.
This passion led her to the University of Lagos, where she studied Computer Science and graduated with a first-class degree. She later became an alumnus of the prestigious Stanford LEAD program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
In 2019, Adora joined Microsoft, contributing to groundbreaking projects such as Microsoft Mesh and Azure Object Anchors and playing a key role in shaping the future of cloud infrastructure. Yet, for Adora, personal achievement is only part of the story; she wanted to help others succeed in tech.
The birth of NexaScale
If you asked anyone breaking into tech their biggest challenge, they’d probably say the same thing: getting a job. It’s a cruel irony that few job offers are still in sight after all that training and certifications.
A report highlighted that more than 20% of young graduates in low—and lower-middle-income countries are unemployed, a figure significantly higher than in developed nations. This indicates that many young Africans face substantial barriers to securing employment in the tech sector, even with education and certifications.
Nwodo saw this happening repeatedly to people who had the skills. In 2023, she decided to change that narrative by creating NexaScale.
NexaScale is an organisation designed to equip African tech talents with tools, opportunities, and experiences to scale their careers. It connects tech talents with opportunities through internships, mentorships, and hackathons.
Their hackathons focus on AI and cybersecurity, where participants collaborate with industry experts to solve complex problems. One such event in 2023 explored AI solutions for cross-border payments, tackling one of Africa’s most persistent economic challenges. So far, the organisation has hosted over 105 webinars and established two laptop-sharing hubs in Lagos and Enugu.
NexaScale has a community of over 11,000 members, 30 dedicated volunteers, 13 interns, 20+ apprentices, 21 partners (tech companies), and two sponsors. The team have equally organised visits to 7 secondary schools, impacting 400+ young girls and 10+ STEM Teachers. Their impact spreads across 3 Nigerian states and 2 African countries.
NexaScale has also partnered with Miva University to create a 12-week boot camp to equip participants with practical skills for their future careers. It has partnered with schools like Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls to promote female representation in tech. This year, the startup is expanding its operations to Ghana, with plans to donate tech resources and offer mentorship from seasoned professionals.
Adora Nwodo’s mission doesn’t end with NexaScale. She is also the prolific author of Cloud Engineering for Beginners, Beginning Azure DevOps, and Confident Cloud. She uses her blog and YouTube channel, AdoraHack, to share insights on software engineering, career growth, and productivity. She aims to build more mentorship programs and expand NexaScale to more African countries, giving more young Africans the resources to succeed in tech.
