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Veliswa Boya

Cloud Engineer (SA)

Becoming an AWS Hero

Ensuring that you remain relevant in this fast-paced world of technology can be somewhat daunting. There is still so much to be done to not only ensure relevance in this ever-changing world that we find ourselves in, but also ensuring better representation of women in this space. Last year I was featured by multiple publications as one of the first black female cloud engineers in South Africa.

So how did I transition into this role? How did this ex-Mainframe Developer > Systems Analyst > Business Analyst > Solutions Architect prepare and manage to transition into Cloud engineering? I have been in tech for 20 years, my career has spanned Mainframe Development (+/- 14 years), Systems/Business Analysis (3 years), Solutions Architect/Cloud Architect (2 years).


Veliswa Boya is a 3x certified AWS Cloud Engineer currently working in financial services. She works with application teams on cloud migration strategies and cloud architecture designs. Veliswa has been in the IT industry for 20+ years, starting her career as a mainframe developer working on critical systems for car manufacturers, insurance companies, and banks.

Veliswa is a member of Indoni Developers, which is a platform for African women in coding/tech. She speaks at meetups and was one of the speakers at the inaugural AWS Community Day Cape Town in 2019. She especially enjoys speaking and connecting with those who are new to tech and specifically new to AWS.

Veliswa mentors young people who are looking to embark on AWS certification journeys, she shares her own experiences, gives guidance and support. Veliswa also likes to write about “what she’s learned so far on AWS” and publishes on her Medium blog.

For fun Veliswa enjoys the outdoors, she regularly goes hiking and loves road running.