24-year-old tech geek

“My father, Edward Kataama, did not want us to play with the children in the neighbourhood. He believed they would spoil us, so, to get us to remain in the house he bought a gaming machine.”

A computer soon followed and she remembers fights with her closest sibling, Jude Agaba, over who got to play Solitaire on the computer. In Primary Five, at Nakasero Primary School, Ampaire began attending computer class. “I was never intimidated by computers. In fact, by Senior One I had my own email account.”
By the time she joined Mary Hill High School, her dream was to make her own video games.

Becoming Google Ambassador
“My dreams have evolved now. Along the way, I developed a love for reading and although I loved Arts, in A’Level, my father insisted that I study science subjects.”
In a new school, Ndejje Secondary School, before she made friends, she found refuge in the computer laboratory, the only familiar place to her. “In my first year at Makerere University, I was appointed Google Student Ambassador. Suddenly, I was exposed to people who were networking through their love for technology and were excited about helping others understand it.”

In 2011, she volunteered to help organise a 48-hour Hackathon, an event in which computer programmers and software developers come together to build technology nonstop. “I was studying software engineering, but I did not know much about building software. I was just helping to signup people and see to the food.”

One of the ideas at the Hackathon was to build a mobile and web application to help motorists find the closest fuel station with the cheapest fuel. It spoke to Ampaire’s heart and she signed up to be part of the team of four young men.They named it MafutaGo. “We built the application and it was a good idea. But we needed the stakeholders to provide data from the petrol stations on a daily basis, which they could not do.” This setback did not deter the group. In 2012, they competed in the AppCircus in Barcelona, Spain, during the GSMA Mobile World Congress and came second.

AppCircus is a global traveling showcase which gives application makers (both developers and beginners) the chance to pitch their creations live on stage in front of a jury of mobile experts and influencers in the industry. During the Mobile World Congress, winning apps from AppCircus are featured.
The group went on to take part in the PIVOT East competition and won it. PIVOT East is a premier mobile startups competition that is held annually to consolidate the gains of East Africa’s Mobile entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Girl Geek Kampala
Moving in the software technological circles, Ampaire noticed that there were few women interested in technology. “It just did not sit well with me, because even in class, the lecturers always assumed the boys did the girls’ coursework too.”

As such, she always felt like an imposter especially when fellow students laughed at her mistakes. She developed the idea of Girl Geek Kampala, a space where girls could feel free to fail and learn again. With the help of Victor Miclovich and Richard Zulu, both in the technology field, the idea became a reality.
“We now partner with Outbox Hub to have 12-week study programnes for 25 women at a time. Some are now building technologies to help businesses keep track of their costs.” Such as which women?

Current work
The group developed Myziki.com, the African Music Store, to provide digital music to local fans. “We build applications that improve people’s lives and we thought that since it was easy to get international music in digital stores, Ugandan musician fans should not miss out.”
With international exposure came the lesson that business is a process. Ampaire learnt that one needs to partner with experts in other fields. “We now have new partners who are well versed in the music industry.” The 24-year-old also started and manages CodeSync, a systems design agency. Ampaire also works as a business analyst at ThoughtWorks in Kampala.

My inspiration
Ampaire’s mother, Francesca Birungi Kataama, has been her anchor. “She is relentless in her faith in my ability. When I failed to get a sponsor to go to Barcelona, she pushed my father to get the money to facilitate my travel.” She is also inspired by strong women humble enough to admit their vulnerability. “I admire Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a novelist, who has a strong personality but admitted to suffering depression.” Jennifer Musisi too, because “she is unapologetic about wanting to do great things for the city.”

Last year, when women protested against the undressing of their peers downtown who wore miniskirts, Dr Miria Matembe made an impression on Ampaire. “She asked why outspoken women were called bossy and yet outspoken men are praised for their courage.”