Lydia Mangeni Stewart

Lydia Mangeni Stewart moves through the world as a builder; someone who sees systems where others see problems, and infrastructure where others see gaps. As a Systems Engineer at GitHub, one of the world’s most consequential platforms for software development, she works at the intersection of scale, reliability, and the kind of technical craft that keeps the global developer ecosystem running. But for Lydia, the work doesn’t stop at the edges of any one role.

She is the founder of AFRIAccess, a platform she created out of a deep conviction that African producers; farmers, artisans, makers, deserve the same data intelligence and marketplace infrastructure that powers commerce elsewhere in the world. AFRIAccess is built on a simple but radical idea: from craft to crop, the value of African production is real, it is vast, and it deserves to be seen, supported, and amplified. Through thoughtfully designed systems, storytelling and equitable exchange, AFRIAccess is creating the connective tissue between African producers and the broader global economy. Her vision centres on creating ecosystems where innovation supports real economic development, enabling individuals not only to access technology but to shape and benefit from it.

Lydia is deeply committed to expanding access to technology careers. She is an active community leader and speaker, contributing to conversations across technology, education, and social mobility through initiatives such as Coding Black Females Ambassador program; where she leads on initiatives that support the CBF community to grow and thrive. Her talks focus on bridging the gap between technical expertise and lived experience, helping audiences understand how inclusive infrastructure, mentorship, and intentional learning pathways can transform participation in the digital economy.

Lydia’s speaking work combines technical credibility with reflective storytelling, offering audiences insight into navigating careers in tech, building resilient systems, and designing technology that serves people rather than excluding them. She speaks on topics including systems engineering, the future of work, AI and infrastructure, digital inclusion, creating systems that support African production, and the role of community in shaping innovation.

Through her work, Lydia advocates for a future where technology is not simply adopted, but consciously built to empower communities, expand opportunity, and support collective advancement.

Lydia’s work sits at a genuinely rare intersection: corporate-grade systems engineering, entrepreneurial vision, and a grounded commitment to community and continent. She speaks and builds from lived experience, with the technical depth of a practising engineer and the strategic clarity of a founder who knows exactly what she is building and why. Whether she is architecting systems at GitHub, growing AFRIAccess, or speaking on stage, Lydia Mangeni Stewart is building infrastructure for a future that belongs to everyone.