Ivy Barley is a Ghanaian entrepreneur, program manager and women’s rights activist.
She is the co-founder of Developers in Vogue, an organization that helps African women seize opportunities in technology.
As a child, I always showed a great interest in mathematics and technology, and this greatly influenced my career.
I just finished my masters. in mathematical statistics.
I believe that I have the potential to make a significant impact in Africa and this motivates me to work at Developers in Vogue. Besides taking selfies, I love spending time with my best friend (phone).
I worked at a girls’ preparatory college where my role was to help girls with math, statistics, and physics. I also teach programming to girls. Before I started working at this school, I heard people say that girls don’t like programming.
But I found something else! The girls are passionate about programming and have a lot of great ideas! My time at school was short, but what never left me were the memories of the girls! I recognized the need to start a sustainable initiative that created the perfect environment for women to program, communicate and collaborate.
What I love the most is being able to use my laptop and the Internet to create cutting edge software that can change Africa and the rest of the world.
Programming teaches critical thinking and problem solving skills that are so important today.
I won’t deny that it won’t be difficult. If you’ve ever programmed, you’ll see the power of a “plain” semicolon.
Because the lack of a semicolon can sometimes wake you up.
In January 2022, Barley was named by GhanaWeb as one of three Ghanaian “Women in Technology” forging ahead in the international corporate arena.
In 2017 and 2019, Barley was named one of Ghana’s 50 Most Influential Young People by Avance Media.
