In Conversations, we spotlight writers driving innovation, knowledge-sharing, and empowerment within their respective fields. 

We had an engaging conversation with Victoria Akingbemila, a lawyer, writer & women's rights advocate, with a budding interest in the technology startup ecosystem. We discussed her work from law and tech to advocacy and learned so much from her unique perspective.

Enjoy!

1. Hello, Victoria. Thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about your journey and what inspired you to combine your legal expertise with the world of technology startups?

Honestly, my journey hasn’t been linear. I started out being in love with litigation, then pivoted to finance law, before finding tech law. I didn’t just stumble on tech law. You know as they say, evolve or die. With the buzz around tech law, I wanted to find my place there; how I could make a difference in the sphere, so I went into product management (PM), learning by myself and securing an internship. I’m very big on building on knowledge you already have and finding other forms of expression from it, so while finding my way in Product management, I decided to start writing on the legal aspect that was at least within the purview of my expertise. And boom! I fell in love and I’m actively working to make my impact.

That's really interesting. As a student at the Nigerian Law School, how do you balance your academic commitments with your work on "The Tech Roadmap"?

From the onset, I thought finding a balance would be hard, so I paused on writing. Law school is strenuous and requires maximum concentration. However, during the externship, with a lot of time to read and do other things, I created a process around it. I changed the time of publishing from weekly to bi-weekly to give me enough time to write and remove the pressure. Then, I created a calendar for the newsletter and tried to write on Sundays, kind of as a way of taking my mind off the law school. And as a rule of thumb, I mostly only write on topics I already have an idea about. So I don’t spend a lot of time researching and reading again.

You graduated as the Best Law student from Bowen University – how did this achievement shape your approach to your current work in legal tech and publishing?

Funny enough, I don’t think graduating as BGS did a lot for me in legal tech and publishing. You know writing is a skill that gets better the more you do it and the more you read. Perhaps the way school could have influenced my publishing would be with me reading a lot of law text and writing till I filled up 5 extra sheets in the exam. Lol. 

Asides, I actively write out the thoughts that consume me and I read a lot of fiction. So as time went on, I’ve gotten better at expressing my thoughts with more clarity and it’s only going to get better from here.

Amazing. Could you share some insights into the process of breaking down complex tech law concepts into easily understandable content for your subscribers?

Like I said, I have a calendar I follow. Before I write a topic, I spend about a week, maybe 1 hour or 30 minutes each day, reading about said topic. This is just for me to understand the topic well enough for me to make it as simple as possible. Because if I do not understand it, then I can’t relay it. By the time I’m writing, it flows easily cause I know what I’m talking about. 

I believe in clarity and brevity, which is directly antithetical to my career as a lawyer. So this process allows me train myself to become better at breaking down knowledge and relaying it with more clarity. They say the smartest people are the ones able to make the most complex things simple.

"The Tech Roadmap" has amassed over a thousand subscribers – how do you see your newsletter contributing to the legal and tech communities?

I’m very excited about my newsletter because I can see it doing a lot of good in the near future. 

I look forward to the newsletter becoming a repository of knowledge for founders in the tech ecosystem on the legal aspect of their business. Have them grow enough confidence in me to ask questions that would be answered and would make building easier for them. 

I also hope to pique the interests of lawyers in the tech space, finding people I can teach cause you learn twice by teaching, and people I can build with actively. 

Your advocacy for women's rights is inspiring. How do you see the empowerment of women intersecting with the technology and legal fields?

For a really long period of time, women’s empowerment was relegated to conferences on how to “break free,” “shatter glass ceilings” yada yada yada. But when it came to recommending women for opportunities, funding women, and mentoring women, it was crickets. Thankfully, now we have a lot of women taking the bull by the horn and going for the spaces they want to be in. We also have women actively teaching and preparing other women for a seat at the table. The likes of Cybergirls and Shecodes Africa, doing amazing work for women. Then in legal tech, a woman I admire a lot is Moe Odele; she’s doing really great work with Vazi Legal and the existence of women in these spheres serve as an encouragement to those coming after. Showing them that it’s possible. I want to be one of these women.

Your work has also involved collaborations with prominent startups like Flutterwave Technologies and Talemia. How do these experiences contribute to your understanding of the intersection between law and technology?

Working with these startups gave me a completely different insight into what goes into building a product. It’s not just the fancy product you see on the outside, there’s a lot of customer relations, fire fighting, brain work and consistently working to ensure what you’re building would remain a going concern. With Flutterwave, I saw a lot of fire fighting of customer issues and with Talemia, I got the opportunity to see founders building process and the sacrifices that go into it. These experiences have bolstered my knowledge and thirst to know more AND importantly, do more.

Being a public speaking champion, how has this skill helped you in advocating for women's rights and conveying complex legal ideas to a broader audience?

Public speaking is an art. Not just relaying a message simply, but being able to captivate your audience and make them care enough to take action. Thanks to public speaking, I learned how to share my thoughts articulately. I did a lot of debate as well, so it’s also taught me how to put my ideas to the test against contradictory ideas. With these, I’ve learned to think things over and make ideas simple without losing their substance. I’ve also learned storytelling, which I believe is important to passing information of any kind.

Awesome. We'd love to know what future projects or initiatives you envision that will further your mission of democratizing legal tech knowledge.

In the near future, I hope to collaborate with more writers in the legal tech space and in the tech ecosystem. I also want to feature successful founders, the legal issues they had, how they resolved it and just general tips on how they’ve grown their business. Kind of what Peace Itimi is doing for founders, but in the legal space and written. Who knows, I might start creating videos too, but I’m a bit camera shy. 

I’m also looking at converting the knowledge to infographics, for easier access to techies in the ecosystem. There’s a roadmap I’m following for this, and I’m excited about where all this is going. 

 Your expertise and achievements are impressive. How do you personally define success in your multifaceted role as a legal scholar, tech enthusiast, and advocate for women's rights?

Thank you! I thrive in activity, so there’s a very large possibility that you would always find me doing something. Regardless of what I do, success for me means that I’m making an impact, learning and, importantly I’m happy. It doesn’t matter the number of people; as long as I’m doing something that has impacted 2 people, I’m learning actively, and I’m happy, then it’s a success for me.

Can you provide a glimpse into your creative process when crafting engaging and informative content for "The Tech Roadmap"?

I close my eyes, go hmmmmmm and I receive revelations in my subconscious like an astrology girly! 

I’m kidding. I try to keep in mind my target audience at all times. Techies and budding tech lawyers. While lawyers wouldn’t mind verbosity, I know techies would mind. From the beginning, I think of topics that are not just important to founders, but that they could encounter possible problems. Then I research a lot. Read and understand and ask questions from seniors where necessary. Then, prepare my outline. 

Next up is writing. I try to be as explanatory as possible and give examples. When I’m done, it’s like a madman’s property that I have to sculpt into the masterpiece that you see. Done with love.

What advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to make an impact at the intersection of law and technology, especially in regions like Nigeria?

Trust the process honestly. As much as it’s great to create a goal from the onset, don’t be so fixated on it that you forget to enjoy the process and forget the reason you started. 

Read as much as possible, speak to people doing things you want to do, apply yourself consistently and commit everything you do into God's hands.

Thank you for all your thoughts and insights. We look forward to having you again soon.

Iko Africa Editorial