Matshepo Soto, 25, first dreamed of becoming an advocate. She immersed herself in public speaking and debate, competing at the provincial level in moot court competitions. But life’s circumstances redirected her path. Inspired by how machines respond, and fuelled by her uncle’s explanation of hardware and software, Matshepo was drawn into the world of IT. That led her to WeThinkCode, where she trained as a software engineer. Today, she works at Nedbank as a backend developer, building and maintaining payment systems that power secure transactions across the country. In 2024, Matshepo won seven coding competitions and received the Dynamism Youth in ICT and Rising Star in Coding awards. Her commitment to tech for social good is evident in projects like municipal chatbots, women’s safety apps and healthcare admin tools. A recognised voice in the industry, Matshepo has twice been named among the 100 Influential Women in Tech and was listed in Geekulcha’s Top 15 Young Geeks. Through initiatives like Thuma Mina Tech Foundation, which introduces technology to children with autism, and leading the Google Developer Group Pretoria, she champions inclusion in tech.