Yvonne Kagondu turned heads this weekend—not with tech demos or fiery tweets, but by simply walking on stage to collect the Woman of the Year award at the One Dev Code Africa Conference. It wasn’t a loud moment, but it landed hard. Because if you’ve been watching what’s happening in African Web3 spaces, you already know Yvonne doesn’t walk in quietly. She builds, she mentors, she advocates—and most days, she does it all at once.
The founder of ICP Hub Kenya and one of the continent’s loudest and clearest voices for the Internet Computer Protocol, Yvonne has been in the thick of things long before the recognition arrived. Her win wasn’t plucked out of thin air—it’s been coming for a while. While some people rack up views and followers, she’s been stacking events, sessions, ecosystem support, and genuine impact.
People in the crowd didn’t need to Google her name. They already knew who she was. To developers across the region dipping their toes into Web3, Yvonne has been the constant signal—cutting through hype and jargon to explain what really matters. Her award win didn’t just reflect personal effort. It reflected years of sweat and community-first thinking poured into growing something that sticks.
ICP Hub Kenya, under Yvonne’s direction, hasn’t been about crypto flash or trend chasing. It’s been about building things that work, helping people upskill, and giving African developers a seat at the table. Sometimes that seat is at a global event. Sometimes it’s in a Telegram group at 1am. Either way, Yvonne’s there—sending links, breaking things down, and showing up for people.
Her advocacy for ICP in Africa isn’t just about repping a protocol. It’s about what that protocol can do when it lands in the right hands. And for her, that’s always been the developer in Mombasa who’s hungry to learn, the startup in Nairobi testing a new tool, the student from Kampala wondering where to start. She meets them where they are—and that’s why the community’s grown not around hype, but around trust.
At the One Dev Code Africa Conference, this trust took centre stage. The applause that followed her name being called wasn’t for a well-curated brand or a glitzy campaign. It was for all the real work she’s done behind the scenes. The workshops she organised without fanfare. The threads she wrote that made the tech easier to grasp. The opportunities she shared with people who might not have seen them otherwise.
Her team posted the news with hearts full and emojis flying: “Guess who’s feeling proud? We are!” And fair enough. This wasn’t just a win for Yvonne. It was a win for the entire decentralised dream she’s been pushing. The kind that actually shows up offline.
She’s made it a point to connect the dots between African talent and global tools. That’s been at the core of her ICP advocacy. She hasn’t tried to mould the African developer to fit an outside narrative. Instead, she’s made space for them to shape what Web3 looks like—locally flavoured, globally relevant.
The journey hasn’t been without friction. Convincing people to embrace new protocols, especially in regions where connectivity, cost, and trust are everyday hurdles, takes grit. But Yvonne’s shown she can build in that tension—and even thrive in it. She’s moved through it all with patience, consistency, and a sense of humour that makes her workshops feel more like conversations than lectures.
Ask around, and most people will tell you: she’s the reason they gave ICP a chance. She’s the reason they didn’t give up when their first smart contract broke. And she’s definitely the reason some of them are now building full-time in Web3.
What sets her apart isn’t just the knowledge—it’s how she shares it. Always grounded, never condescending. She doesn’t make you feel like you’re late to the party. Instead, she hands you a plate and says, “Come sit with us. Let’s build something.”
That’s the vibe she brought to the conference, too. She wasn’t there to flex. She was there to represent the hundreds she’s helped guide, mentor, and inspire. As she stepped up to receive her award, the mood in the room shifted—less corporate, more community. The kind of energy that says, “We see you. And we’ve got your back.”
People didn’t need a long speech to know what it meant. Her win speaks for itself. And for everyone who’s been watching ICP Hub Kenya grow, it was more than overdue.
Yvonne’s track record includes forging partnerships, running bootcamps, onboarding devs, and spotlighting overlooked regions. She doesn’t wait for perfect conditions—she builds with what she’s got. That’s been her method since day one. A mix of clarity, hustle, and pure belief in African tech potential.
Those who’ve worked with her describe her as unstoppable. Not in the burnout-glorifying way, but in the “She just gets things done” kind of way. She knows when to step back and let others lead. She also knows when to step in and say, “Let’s rethink this.”
Over the last year, she’s travelled across cities, jumping from panels to planning calls, navigating time zones and tight budgets—all to make sure more African developers are part of the ICP narrative. And not as side characters, but as builders, decision-makers, contributors. The Woman of the Year award just caught up to that reality.
There’s something fitting about Yvonne winning at One Dev. The conference itself is about code, collaboration, and community—exactly the things she’s been championing. And while the plaques and photos are nice, it’s the ripple effect that matters more. People will go home from that event and remember what they felt when they saw her win. They’ll open their laptops with fresh energy. They’ll hit up their meetups with new ideas. That’s where the real value lies.
And what about Yvonne? Anyone who knows her knows she’s probably already back to planning the next hackathon or replying to someone’s question on Discord. That’s her rhythm. She takes the win, shares it, and keeps moving. Because there’s always another person to help, another team to support, another idea to test.
Her award doesn’t mark an end or a peak. It’s more like a milestone she’s jogged past while already thinking about the next sprint. Yvonne Kagondu didn’t need this award to validate her impact. But now that it’s here, it serves as a very public reminder: the work she’s doing matters. And people are paying attention.
So if you’re still wondering who to watch in African tech—especially in the Web3 trenches where noise often overshadows depth—there’s your answer. Yvonne’s already building it. Come see.
