Fintech wrap up

Work, education and tech conversations with Innosys’s Alex Castro

It’s been an incredible August 2019, which has seen South Africans celebrate a month dedicated to women in various areas of life and business.

Alex Innosys

On this note, we took some time to catch up with Innosys executive, Alex Castro. We asked her about working at Innosys, her inspirations and the role of education in technology.

What is your role at Innosys?

I wear many hats.

Ensuring projects are delivered to clients and a making sure production is supported are some of my responsibilities to ensure consistent and strong outputs as a business and to add value to our clients.

What do you love about working at Innosys?

It’s never dull. The team is super agile with a wide and diverse range of projects happening with clients in the insurance industry.

Above everything, there is a strong focus on balance (between work and life). The people also make each day interesting and we have a good mix of personalities.

Who or what inspires you?

Having great mentors in my life has been a blessing. I have been fortunate to have had many so far in my career. Their belief in me and ability to push me out of my comfort zone has had a huge impact.

Out of all my mentors, my mother is my biggest inspiration. On top of her being the most wonderful person I know, her wisdom, knowledge, hard work and love for her family are unrivalled.

She has also made me resilient, instilling the importance of having faith in yourself and the world – and never giving up on your dreams.

What are your thoughts around education and research in the technology industry?

Education in general is vital. It’s a way to instil that faith in yourself and importantly is never ending.

It takes you on this journey through interactions and as I have experienced opens up your mind to new places and people.

In the technology field it’s a powerful tool. When I was at school we didn’t have tablets or laptops – what a treat it would have been to not have to cart all those text and exercise books around.

Nowadays, the role of technology in education means students can communicate with fellow students around the world, study online and discuss/debate problems.

The technology field moves so fast that one has to keep on learning every day. The research being conducted is integral, in areas such as artificial intelligence, biometrics, software and risk space to name a few.

What is one of the biggest roles of technology in our lives?

From a social and business perspective, our ability to communicate in real-time is vital. Being able to transcend borders and getting immediate responses is useful and boosts productivity and business.

The engagements and interactions with team members around the world fascinates me. It’s a useful mechanism and also reinforces how we as humans need learn to use the tools at our disposal and balance that with our skill sets.

I think we take the development of technology for granted at times. For instance, being able to manage your home security remotely from the office or not having to wait for the post office (or faxes).

In conclusion, what is the most important tip you can offer an aspiring young person wanting to enter your field of business…

Grab every single opportunity. Take nothing for granted and wake up each day excited and ready to work hard. There is so much to learn and the developments are growing by the day.

Incase you missed it, in early August 2019, Innosys were one of the proud sponsors of the 2019 Girl Code Hackathon. An incredible cause which focuses on raising the profile of female technical talent and develop the future of South African women-in-tech.

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