Quotes from Ory Okolloh

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

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.

Press and Internet freedom correlate against economic and social success, GDP, innovation, number of patents filed, and educational attainment. The more freedom there is, the more information, the more choice, and ultimately, more power for each individual.

Omidyar Network first supported Africa Check in 2014 when they were a team of just three dedicated people intent on building a more fact-based environment for public debate in South Africa.

I think that we have been able to demonstrate that we cannot just consume software, that we can create software that can be used all over the world, that we have that kind of talent in Africa.

As a young African, the sense of opportunity that fills my head on a daily basis is, I suspect, reminiscent of how young Africans felt at the cusp of independence.

If you want to amplify the data that you have, you need media, you need lawyers, you need the judiciary. Especially when governments try to shut down a particular website or when litigating on an issue.

We can't entrepreneur our way around bad leadership. We can't entrepreneur our way around bad policies. Those of us who have managed to entrepreneur ourselves out of it are living in a very false security in Africa.

Blogging requires consistency, and you need to have some time on your hands, which I don't really have.

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 probably can win a prize for the most ways to use a Harvard Law School degree because of all the things I'm doing.

The idea that either individuals or organisations are 'too big to fail' or that the tech and start-up sector is somehow different is wrong.

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.

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.

I always tell people that I am most proud of the fact that the Ushahidi story has provided an inspiration to other techies in Kenya and Africa as an example of the kind of talent the continent holds.

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.

We are raising a generation of children who may not know how to mobilize without Facebook.

I think the Internet is having an impact in very diverse ways anchored around amplifying voice, from enabling what I like to refer to as micro-activism.

When I was in law school at Harvard, the Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the U.S. was a big thing. I remember the fight between the army recruiters and Harvard University due to 'Don't ask, don't tell.'

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.

I think a lot of Africans in my generation, and especially those of us who have spent time overseas before coming back, are quite comfortable moving between the two worlds, though always with a lens of, 'What can we do to help our countries or regions?'

Life is too short to play-act if you don't have to.

The increasing diversification of media ecosystems after decades of state control, along with new digital tools that allow for greater citizen engagement, have led to a dramatic reshaping of the dynamics between citizens, media, and government.

I'm not sure I'd be as successful as I am as a woman in a profession other than in technology. Because it tends to be a bit neutral. If you have the tools, if you can code, it's a lot more sort of merit and recognizes talent.