It is late November here in Tanzania, the sun is shining a little bit harder and the days are getting longer. These signs also mean that it is time for our intern class of 2018 to head back to the classroom, but before they get too deep into their studies we wanted to take some time to thank them for their contributions to NALA over the last five months.
We had over 418 applications to Intern with NALA this year and we chose these 10 all-stars to work with us in this years intern class of 2018.
Learn about how YOU can join the NALA Intern Class of 2019 at the bottom of this blog post. #NALAFamily
Ella ‘Bellz’ Matata
2nd Year — University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Ella took a break from studying Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Dar es Salaam to try something new and join NALA’s Finance team for the summer. Ella kept track of our budget and made sure that we didn’t overdo it on company lunches. Her superb attention to detail was only matched by her ability to break up an intense day at work with some karaoke.
John Dale aka Mr Data is the New Oil
2nd Year — Davidson College, USA.
When John wasn’t talking about how “Data is the new oil” he was busy destroying the whole team in our weekly push-up competitions. As a computer science, student-athlete from Davidson College, John belongs to a special group of tech workers who are also athletically talented. John’s curiosity and fascination with Mobile Money worked to NALA’s best advantage as it proved to be the main drive behind his late nights of coding. John made Coding the new Netflix.
Shamte ‘Arthur’ Daudi
2nd Year — Tanzania Institute of Accountancy, Tanzania.
As part of NALA’s Marketing Team, Arthur was responsible for user outreach, research, and volunteer coordination. He is studying Procurement and Logistics Management at the Tanzania Institute of Accountancy. Over his internship, Arthur was our swiss army knife. He could do anything and he often spent time on the Business Development Team. Arthur is a true student, always trying to learn more about digital financial inclusion, even during his lunch breaks! Fun fact, Arthur scored the highest in our NALA Exams ;)
Lisa ‘Mama’ Nongele
3rd Year — Institute of Finance Management, Tanzania.
A self-proclaimed ‘ultimate lover of life’, Lisa brought her passion for communication to NALA’s Customer Care Team. Lisa helped us build the bridge between Mama NALA and our NALA Family (Users). She was responsible for turning user feedback into new product features. Lisa would coordinate our #NALAFridays sessions every week ensuring feedback was the foundation for our product development.
Isabella ‘Send It’ Zimmerman.
2nd Year — Georgetown University, USA.
When Isabella’s internship was on its final lap, she went out with a bang. As summer head of Marketing and HR, Isabella made it her duty to handpick the next class of NALA superheroes. When she wasn’t soaking up the Zanzibar sun over the weekends, she was busy working with our CEO creating the blueprint that has enabled NALA to reach more than 40,000 users to this day with a $0 marketing budget. As she walked out the NALA office, for what was hopefully not the last time, her last words, derived from Georgetown slang, have become a motto for what our users are about ”Send It!”.
Bertha ‘Engineer’ Sanga
Brunel University, B.S.C Computer Science & Software Engineering
Bertha is a boss. Bertha is a coding wizard that kept NALA humming along all summer. With a Computer Science degree from Brunel University Bertha diligently squashed bugs and collaborated with the Marketing Team to revamp the NALA’s UI/UX. When Bertha wasn’t being bombarded by bugs from the Product team, she was leading the interns as the captain of our swim team.
Ada ‘Focus’ Zhou
3rd Year — Stanford University, USA.
Ada still holds the NALA record for the most code written at 30,000ft. When everyone was enjoying the timeless views of Lake Victoria from the plane, she was always trying to make sure the app was bug-free by the time we landed. As a Rising Junior in Stanford University Product Design program, Ada spent her summer giving NALA a complete facelift and turning it into the beautiful product that it is today. Ada was once caught coding on a daladala to Bagamoyo.
Abdul “Only Hits” Abdirahman
2nd Year — Harvard Kennedy School / Stanford Graduate School of Business, USA.
When everyone’s head nodded in sync to music in the office, it was a sign that Abdul was on DJ duty. Originally from Somalia, Abdul who led our business development has always felt the desire to be part of the ongoing change in Africa. Currently a joint Stanford MBA and Harvard Government student, Abdul spent his summer supporting NALA as a tool to drive change in Africa through Financial Inclusion. Abdul was a foundation in leading our NALA Friday’s movement this summer.
Francis Mwakatumbula aka Mr NOLOGY
2nd Year — Institute of Finance Management, Tanzania.
If you already follow NALA on social media, then you’re already familiar with Francis’ work. He tirelessly produced content for the Marketing Team, as well as coming up with new strategies and running data analysis on our content. Francis is earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from The Institute of Finance Management, but we think he has a bright future creating Drake memes if job opportunities in computer science dry up.
Brent ‘Ni Kweli’ Bommentre
Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, USA.
Brent is the only Intern from the class of 2018 to ever complete Dar es Salaam’s most popular annual marathon. However, his achievements for NALA as part of the Business Development team, are a lot more impressive. Through countless paperwork, he shed light on and brought awareness to NALA that led us to win our very first AppsAfrica Award. “Ni Kweli” which translates to “It’s True” became the Swahili words that stuck with Brent the most in the summer.
We’ve said it once, but we will say it again…thank you! We had an incredible class of 2018 interns, and each of you is part of making NALA what it is today. Thanks for being part of the NALA Family.
To learn more about work opportunities with NALA, check out this link here.
You can access NALA through the Google Playstore.
