Unyime Tommy got into tech, thanks to her mum’s business centre and her secondary school’s access to computers. Those experiences shaped her journey into tech, prompting her to ditch Medicine for Information and Communication Technology at Covenant University.
She went from securing a job at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) during her NYSC to working as a QA Manager at Interswitch, and has now built her own company, known as Assurdly, a product delivery company.
In this edition of After Hours, Tommy shares how she never learned to code but built a career by mastering platforms, people and access. From learning tech through everyday access to turning her 9-5 at Interswitch into a full product delivery company, she walks us through her journey.
First interactions with tech
I’ve always believed my journey into tech began long before I knew what tech really meant. Looking back, it feels almost obvious because access was my gateway. We had a computer at home, and my mum once ran a business centre.
In primary school, computer literacy was already part of my curriculum, and by the time I reached secondary school, computer classes were nearly as compulsory as mathematics. So it wasn’t unusual to sit for practical computer exams or use Excel to solve complex formulas in SS2. So while many people stumbled into technology by accident, I walked into it because it was always there.
But even with all that access, I still gravitated toward simplicity. I’ve never been the type to write long essays. I prefer formulas, patterns, and structured thinking. So when it was time to choose a course of study, my family expected me to pursue Medicine, but that did not appeal to me.
Oddly enough, what caught my eye was the name of a course: Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It sounded modern, fresh, and aligned with what was becoming a buzzword in Nigeria at the time. I applied to Covenant University, got in, and that’s where the real foundation was laid.
During NYSC, I worked with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on a project deploying computer labs across different local governments. It widened my perspective: tech wasn’t just something to consume; it was a tool for impact. That was also where I first saw a touch application and realised, “Okay, I don’t write code, but I understand computers, and I love this world.”
Turning my 9-to-5 into a company
My actual tech career began after my National Youth Service (NYSC) at Interswitch. Getting in wasn’t straightforward, though.
I applied in November 2014, and was called in for an interview in February 2015. I missed the first date, requested a reschedule, and thankfully got one. I still remember it clearly because it was the Tuesday after Easter Monday in 2015. Developers and Quality Assurance (QA) were interviewed together, and when asked which role I wanted, I said, “QA.” Not development. It just wasn’t my thing.
And that was it. I was hired into a role that didn’t even exist in our school curriculum. No Nigerian university was teaching Quality Assurance at the time.
I learned everything on the job. This was around the time Interswitch was transitioning into full Scrum methodology, so my team had to wear many hats: QA, Scrum Master, Program Manager, Product Manager. That was my first training ground in product delivery involving people, processes, documentation, testing, and deployment.
Eventually, that experience became the seed of Assurdly, the company I run today.
Assurdly exists to solve one problem: help companies deliver digital products without the bottlenecks of building or managing large internal teams.
At first, the demand came from startups. Everyone was building something, but nobody had complete teams. Recruitment cycles were long, taking up to six or eight weeks or even more. Companies didn’t need to wait to hire developers, product managers, QAs, or program managers before building a product. They needed execution, and that’s where we stepped in.
Today, the system has evolved. The new wave isn’t just early-stage startups, it’s four- to seven-year-old companies that need to innovate while their core teams focus on existing customers. Even enterprises face the same challenge: they need side teams for new features, experiments, or improvements.
So we fill that gap as product managers, project managers, QAs, engineering managers, or a full delivery team. Sometimes we work alongside existing teams; sometimes we’re the team. We’ve built processes, shipped products, and even created internal tools. One example is a unified workspace for clients and project teams, a single place where everyone involved in a project can find every document, design, story, and update without running around.
How tech fits into my everyday life
The truth is, tech doesn’t solve problems on its own; it just enables efficiency. Slack won’t fix communication issues if people still refuse to communicate. When used correctly, technology is the great enabler of our time.
At this point, my phone and my laptop are tech gadgets that are at the centre of everything I do. I could work from anywhere, and honestly, I often do.
Even creatively, I lean heavily on tools. Just recently, I drafted an entire 2026 strategy document in five prompts with ChatGPT. This is something that typically takes a full month of meetings, brainstorming sessions, and back-and-forth documentation, but it only took minutes. That’s the level of acceleration we now have access to.
My tech updates come mostly through infographics, newsletters, and conversations. I’m not a text-heavy reader. If you explain an idea to me, I’ll absorb it faster than if I had to read 40 pages of research.
I don’t necessarily struggle with technology. My only barrier is interest. If I’m not interested, I won’t engage. But once I understand why we’re using a particular tool, the adoption becomes seamless.
That applies to projects, too. If a founder can’t answer why they’re building something, it’s hard to translate vision into product.
If I could build one product, it would be an interest detector, something that helps you know whether someone is genuinely interested in what you’re offering or not. It would make recruiting easier, training more meaningful, and collaboration far more productive.
I’ve never taken a social media break because I don’t let myself get overstimulated in the first place. I curate what I consume. If your content stresses me, I unfollow. My Instagram is my primary scrolling space. LinkedIn is for work, WhatsApp is communication, and X (Twitter) is just pure chaos, so I stay away. If anything important happens on X, trust me, it will still end up on Instagram, so I don’t mind.
I prefer chats over calls. It allows me to be in multiple rooms at once. And because I know how to control my space, I don’t feel the need to run away from it.
How tech has changed work and life
Assurdly grew during COVID. Before the pandemic, many work meetings required physical presence. Today, geography doesn’t matter. I’ve worked with people in Lagos, Abuja, Osun, Ibadan, and outside the country, and we all feel like we’re in the same room.
That ability to collaborate across borders is the biggest gift tech has given me.
In the next five to ten years, tech will become even more mainstream. Not in a buzzy way, but in a practical, everyday “everyone can build something” way. You won’t need a developer to automate your workflow. You won’t need a degree to solve complex problems. Tools will be more intuitive, more integrated, and more accessible.
If my 10-year-old cousin can edit videos on CapCut better than I can, imagine what 2030 will look like.
Beyond tech, if I weren’t running Assurdly, I’d be travelling the world. I love exploring places, and I love good food. Lagos restaurants know me. I’m a social eater, always looking for the next spot with great food, great ambience, and new experiences.
Work has given me the flexibility to travel, but trust me, if I ever step away from management, I’ll be on the next plane.
