How Mamie Monjama Alpha is telling big stories with big data

Petabyte, exabyte and terrabyte: Mamie Monjama Alpha knows them all. As a data and business analyst, she works directly for the President of Sierra Leone and analyses huge amounts of data on a daily basis. From maternal mortality indicators to water scarcity to school enrollment, the data that she has to sieve through is varied and huge. Her passion for data has brought her to where she is today. In the quiet of her office in the presidential palace in Freetown, she remembers her time at the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), where she began to explore the world of data when numbers and algorithms were still new to her.

The Big Data Analytics course offered by the Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA) and the Ministry of Information and Communication opened her eyes to the possibilities of data analytics. She learnt how to understand and process data and tell stories with data – turning complex information into clear insights to make better policy decisions. The use of complex data on health, water, education, and other indicators in the form of geographic information system maps or interactive visual reports has helped to better communicate these issues to policy makers. The analysed data simplifies decisions such as where and when vaccines or medicines need to be distributed.

Mamie used her newly acquired skills at the DSTI to revolutionise the ‘Careers in Technology’ seminar: She integrated Big Data Analytics into the core module of the programme to inspire a new generation of students about the importance of data in the modern world – and to give them the tools to shape the digital future in Sierra Leone and around the world.