Ire Aderinokun seems to have always been ahead of the curve.

The interface designer is the co-founder, chief operating officer, and vice president of engineering at Helicarrier. The crypto company aims to change Africa’s digital landscape through the launch of products including Buycoins, Sendcash, Sendcash Pay, and more.

Before becoming a guru in technology, Aderinokun was already gaining experience in computer science by the age of 13. In fact, she created her very first website using HTML codes. During this time, web development was merely a hobby for her, and pursuing a career in that field was not even an afterthought until she obtained her master’s degree in law at the University of Bristol, Face2Face Africa reports. As Aderinokun dived into her studies, she also signed up for a design course at Codeacademy.

“I have always been interested in web development; when I was younger, I did it for fun and never considered it as a career. I rediscovered it while I was getting my master’s degree; that was when I understood what computer science was all about. So, I decided to try and teach myself to see if I could get into it. I did some online courses and read blogs and things like that, and then I started off doing freelance for a while before I began working for an actual company,” said Aderinokun, according to Techpoint Africa.

Helicarrier's Presence In Nigeria

Now, Aderinokun helms as a leader in the cryptocurrency space through Helicarrier. She spearheads the front-end team to assist with operations and manages the business and finance aspects of the company.

Aderinokun Wants More Nigerian Women To Pursue Careers In Tech

Aderinokun also leads a blog titled bitsofco.de featuring over 100 articles offering coding tips to programmers. What’s more, she has also launched a scholarship to support Nigerian women pursuing careers in technology by funding their Udacity Nanodegree programs.

“The reason I decided to do this was because I can, and because it had such a positive impact on me. I wanted to share that experience with as many people as I could. Most of the time I am the only black, Nigeran woman in professional situations, and I wanted to try to change that. I was fortunate to be in a position where I could pay for the Nanodegree program myself, but most people can’t. So I decided to change that by doing my part,” Ire Aderinokun said in a blog post.