Ory Okolloh

“I spent a lot of my early blogging career sort of highlighting all the ills of the government in Kenya and all the corruption and problems.”

“An absence of credible information prevents citizens from participating in public decision-making, particularly on key issues of concern such as education, health, and governance.”

“All of us salute the ITU's excellent work in the telecommunications space. It has set standards which encourage investment in infrastructure and ensure that a call made from Europe or America connects smoothly in Kenya or anywhere in the world.”

“Technology is the perfect refuge for African capability stifled elsewhere by badly run governments and years of misplaced foreign aid. Ubiquitous connectivity in a world without legacy infrastructure, together with the potential to learn coding or anything else online, has allowed technology entrepreneurship to flourish.”

“People thought I wrote in a very 'masculine' way.”

“Beyond providing some level of scrutiny of Kenyan MPs, we built Mzalendo to demonstrate that there is only so much bemoaning you can do about your representation.”

“Technology influenced me in that it gave me an opportunity to have a voice as a woman. I think it's because the barriers to entry tend to be a bit lower.”

“I always ask the question: As more Africans are going online, are they finding content that is meaningful and relevant to them, or are they just consuming from everywhere else. As Africans, we have the capacity to generate our own content.”

“For Ghana to suggest that they will turn off the Internet, in addition to other countries that have done it like Uganda, Zimbabwe, DRC, Burundi, Chad and others, that's worrying.”

“Ninety percent of my mentors have been male, most of them with very little in common with me on a personal level - from life experience, work experience, backgrounds, etc.”

“I believe in the power of ideas. I believe in the power of sharing knowledge.”

“At any one particular time, there is something in my life that is suffering as a result of my many responsibilities; most of the time, it's me.”

“I didn't grow up in the slums or anything that dire, but I know what it is to grow up without having money or being able to support family.”

“The city of Johannesburg built an app because they are getting so many complaints on Facebook and Twitter about potholes. The app allows you to report a pot hole and take a picture of it. Then, you can actually track the progress in terms of the repair, when it happened.”

“That's one thing you Americans take for granted, you know? That you can grow up, you know, not so good circumstances, and you can move. Just because you are born in rural Arkansas, whatever, that doesn't define who you are.”

“I want my work at Google to have a long-term impact on the tech scene in Africa and to result in millions more Africans not just going online but having an amazing experience once they do. That's what drives me every single day when I get to work.”

“The Internet Governance Forum - which brings together NGOs, government officials and companies - needs to do a better job of including representatives from Africa, Latin America, and Asia and addressing their issues.”

“As I see it, tech in Africa 1.0 was the mobile-phone boom, and version 2.0 was about new apps developed in response to local needs. Tech in Africa 3.0 should be about those who are successful in transforming the chatter into real opportunities.”

“I'm concerned about what I see is the fetishization around entrepreneurship in Africa. It's almost like it's the next new liberal thing. Like, 'Don't worry that there's no power because, hey, you're going to do solar and innovate around that.'”

“Let's make sure that the Internet stays open to those who need it the most.”