Impact Stories from Economic Impact Policy Area

Fellows debut STEM empowerment project Heya Caravan

Fellow(s): Salma Bekkouche, Amel Djenidi, Fatima Zohra Benhamida, Amina Salesse

Country: Algeria

Cohort: 2017, 2018, 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

After TechWomen 2018, fellows Salma Bekkouche and Amel Djenidi began working with 2017 fellow Fatima Zohra Benhamida to create Heya Caravan, a project that empowers girls and women through STEM education. After securing a grant from the U.S. Embassy Algiers’ Alumni Small Grant Competition in 2019 – and after delays caused by the pandemic – the fellows, with 2020-2021 fellow Amina Salesse as a new team member, launched Heya Caravan in Hassi Messaoud last month, bringing a day of workshops, talks and networking opportunities to women in the region. Heya (Arabic for “She”) Caravan collaborated with local STEM leaders, inviting them to share their career paths in STEM, host Q&A’s and deliver workshops meant to educate and empower the professionals and students in attendance. In Fatima’s session, “Which hat would you like to wear?” she spoke about her journey in higher education as an assistant professor at the National School of Computer Science, her diverse work experience and her mission to combat stereotypes of women in technical fields. In a leadership workshop, participants learned about different leadership styles and their respective strengths and weaknesses. The day concluded with Q&A session themed on mental health challenges and work-life balance during the pandemic. “From preparation to the event itself to the post-event parts…every single task we made with love, and enjoyed it to the extreme,” said Amina. The Heya Caravan team hopes to replicate the programming in other Algerian cities as well as create online content for community members. “I’m proud to see the project become a reality after almost three years full of challenges,” said Salma.

Report Date...: 5/2/2022

BBC News Kyrgyz features fellows’ TechWomen 2022 project

Fellow(s): Kanykei Alipova, Azem Bakasova, Tursunai Bektemirova, Elvira Kyshtobaeva, Ainura Mitalipova, Jyldyz Moldosanova, Fatima Turgunbaeva, Gulzada Urgunalieva

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

The 2022 fellows of Kyrgyzstan were featured in a video spotlight from BBC News Kyrgyz that highlighted their seed-grant winning action plan project created during the TechWome program. During the action planning process of TechWomen, fellows Kanykei Alipova, Azem Bakasova, Tursunai Bektemirova, Elvira Kyshtobaeva, Ainura Mitalipova, Jyldyz Moldosanova, Fatima Turgunbaeva and Gulzada Urgunalieva created Kamkor, a portal that will support working mothers by connecting them to childcare. Through Kamkor, the fellows hope to provide resources to the 57% of educated women in Kyrgyzstan who cannot work because of the lack of childcare in the country. “Many educated women in Kyrgyzstan are forced to leave the labor market, they said. “Mothers will be able to find a nanny for themselves at their request for an hour, for a day, for a month. With easy access to childcare, mothers can go back to work and create conditions for gender equality.”

Report Date...: 5/2/2022

Fellow selected as youth speaker at UN event

Fellow(s): Tala Qawasmi

Country: Palestinian Territories

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement

2022 fellow Tala Qawasmi was a featured speaker at the 2022 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, joining the Arab States Region breakout session to discuss supporting youth in developing their skills and finding job opportunities. ECOSOC is focused on advancing economic, social and environmental sustainable development. Their 2022 Youth Forum, “COVID-19 recovery: Youth taking action for a sustainable future,” brought together youth to contribute their ideas and innovations to create sustainable change. Tala is a Geographic Information System (GIS) expert at Preventative Security, an intelligence service of the Palestinian Territories. She previously collaborated with the UNDP to create Get That Job, an initiative that addressed youth unemployment in her community by connecting new graduates with consultants to support with training and job services. At the Youth Forum, Tala shared her story, the challenges she has overcome and how she has made an impact in youth unemployment. Although Get That Job did not officially launch, Tala will soon merge the platform with Josour, the social impact initiative she created alongside her country team during TechWomen 2022. Josour, which means “bridge,” will support women and youth with soft skills training and provide resources on local and international opportunities. “When I worked with my team during TechWomen, I thought it would be better to have this platform in-person and focus on all soft skills that not only fresh graduates need but also students in colleges and schools,” said Tala. “These two initiatives have the same goal. UNDP and Sharek Youth Forum are our partners now and will cooperate with us to make this project a success.”

Report Date...: 4/25/2022

Fellows recognized for their LinkedIn leadership

Fellow(s): Zeenat Anjum, Asna Javed

Country: Pakistan

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

2019 fellows Zeenat Anjum and Asna Javed were named to the 2022 Top 20 Most Influential Pakistani Women on LinkedIn list, recognized for their leadership and LinkedIn writings that share their experiences as women in technology. The list was created by Connected Women Pakistan, a women’s empowerment social enterprise. Zeenat is the founder of Digiwrite, a community where freelancers can share their experiences and best practices in their industries. Recently, Digiwrite has branched out to include job creation and training services. “The vision further extends to Digiwrite facilitating women who want to enter the freelancing or entrepreneurship domain and do not have the direction to earn active or passive income,” said Zeenat in her feature. Asna, a data and AI technical sales specialist at IBM Pakistan, speaks about her TechWomen 2019 mentorship at LinkedIn in her spotlight: “I was taught a number of things but one of the key takeaways for me was ‘If you have done/achieved something, talk about it. You are not showing off, you are only stating the facts.’ This has helped me tremendously in my career and personal branding. I started sharing things that I learned and achieved on LinkedIn which did not just give me visibility but also inspired many other men and women in the IT sector.”

Report Date...: 4/25/2022

Fellow named a Geospatial World Rising Star

Fellow(s): Marie Makuate

Country: Cameroon

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Professional Growth

2022 fellow of Cameroon Marie Makuate was named to the Geospatial World 50 Rising Stars for 2022 list, celebrated for her accomplishments in her industry. The annual list recognizes professionals under 40 who are passionate about geospatial science and technology and use their expertise to contribute to economy and society. Marie is a geospatial data analyst researcher with a focus on GIS (Geographic Information Systems) for environmental management. She also the co-founder of the Network of African Geomatics Professionals as well as the Central Africa zonal representative for African Women in GIS. During TechWomen, Marie worked alongside Sheryl Walton, her mentor at Autodesk, to meet scientific researchers, sharpen her entrepreneurial skills and learn new methodologies in the field of geospatial sciences. “I am very fortunate to be working in the geospatial field,” said Marie. “It represents the future. This is a great accomplishment, but also the beginning of a great adventure.”

Report Date...: 4/25/2022

Fellow(s): Hamis Elgabry

Country: Egypt

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth

2022 fellow Hamis Elgabry is part of the founding team of Mozare3, an agri-fintech platform that supports smallholder farmers with improved digitization, tracking, supplies and agricultural supervision. Recently, Mozare3 won first place at El Forsa, an Egyptian televised entrepreneurial competition. Hamis, the product development and innovation manager at Mozare3, is an agritech entrepreneur who specializes in water, climate and food security challenges. El Forsa, which airs on one of the largest channels in the Arab world, awarded Mozare3 over $50,000 as the first-place winner. Hamis was featured in a video promotion for the show, speaking about the company’s mission to empower small farmers through technology by providing them access to supplies, financial accounts and contracts on Mozare3’s mobile app. Hamis and the Mozare3 team, who just celebrated one year in business, will use the award prize to strengthen their Series A funding.

Report Date...: 4/18/2022

Fellow featured for mentoring and inspiring women in STEM

Fellow(s): Natsai Mutezo

Country: Zimbabwe

Cohort: 2018

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship

2018 fellow Natsai Mutezo was featured in a news story from bird, a story agency from Africa No Filter that combats stereotypical and harmful news about Africa through featuring stories of changemakers who are uplifting their communities and leading in their industries. Natsai, a paint manufacturing specialist, chemical technologist and innovation consultant, was featured for her commitment to bringing more women and girls into STEM fields. In the article, Natsai spoke about her many experiences as one of the few women in her field: she was one of four women in her university’s chemical technology course, the only woman paint chemist at Astra Paints and the only woman in the manufacturing department at Dulux Paints. Because of her experiences, Natsai is determined to bring more women and girls into STEM fields and change the ratio of women in chemistry in Zimbabwe. Throughout her career, she has mentored women who are new to the field, supporting them with their goals and helping them progress in their careers. “In my own small way, I see every interaction with a STEM professional who is early in their career, who works under me or works with me for any reason, as an opportunity for mentorship,” she said. Natsai also spoke about her TechWomen experience, including her participation in TechWomen’s 2019 delegation trip to Sierra Leone. During a day of STEM mentorship and inspirational talks with girls from local schools, Natsai met a student who she began to mentor and continues to mentor to this day; the student is now studying mechanical and aerospace engineering. In addition to mentorship, Natsai hopes to get involved in policymaking, helping women lead at the forefront of innovation: “We need to solve problems that are unique to Africa, but we are only going to do that through innovation,” she said. Natsai was featured for her dedication to bringing more women into her field

Report Date...: 4/11/2022

Mentor(s): Jeannice Samani

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

TechWomen mentor Dr. Jeannice Fairrer Samani recently spoke at a capacity-building session at the WELLTI Summit in Dubai, joining a panel that shared their careers in technology, their experiences with cross-border collaboration and the role that technology plays in empowering women. WELLTI, or Women Empowered Leave Legacies through Trade and Investment, is an initiative of the International Trade Administration’s Middle East and Africa Regional Office. Their 2022 Summit brought together women-owned and women-led businesses to connect, network and learn about resources available for doing business in the MENA region. Dr. Samani is the executive information technology architect for Fairrer Samani Group as well as the founding director of Fifth Wave STEaM Education Initiative. In the panel, she spoke about her early interest in technology, sharing her experience as the only girl learning to code in a special program in high school. In addition to sharing the Fairrer Samani group’s dedication to agility, diversity and curiosity, Dr. Samani spoke about the future of AI and the need for it to be both inclusive and ethical. “Diversity is at the forefront of it,” she said. “We need more people of color, and we need more women.” ALUMNA

Report Date...: 4/11/2022

Fellow moderates panel with Iraqi female founders

Fellow(s): Shahrazad Shehab

Country: Lebanon

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

2019 fellow Shahrazad Shehab moderated a panel on women and entrepreneurship in Iraq, inviting three Iraqi female founders to share lessons and successes from their businesses in celebration of International Women’s Day. The talk was hosted by Takween Accelerator, the first accelerator in Iraq that supports local startups. The accelerator is based at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani. Shahrazad, an entrepreneur and Takween Accelerator’s startup accelerator trainer, first became involved when TechWomen mentor Eileen Brewer, then the accelerator’s director, invited her to serve as a mentor for an event. During the panel, the founders introduced their businesses, the problems they are solving and what motivates them as entrepreneurs. They also spoke about key elements that drive an entrepreneurial spirit: creativity, continuous learning and a commitment to help their communities. “I believe that passion is very important when any person wants to start a business,” said Shahrazad. “Being passionate about you’re doing drives success. I believe solving a problem and making the world a better place is what every entrepreneur should think about.”

Report Date...: 3/28/2022

Fellow featured for being an automotive industry trailblazer

Fellow(s): Oduwa Agboneni

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement

2019 fellow Oduwa Agboneni was featured in a spotlight from United Bank of Africa, highlighted for her work as an entrepreneur, mechanical engineer and founder of Nenis Auto Care, an auto garage with a mission to empower women and girls in Nigeria. In addition to founding Nenis Auto Care, Oduwa established Nenis E-Learning Hub where she hosts courses on electric vehicles and trains women with essential skills like changing a tire and checking a car battery. Nenis Auto Care also works with the University of Lagos to host its women engineering students for hands-on internships, and, in 2019, Oduwa created Girls Auto Squad, an automotive training program that addresses the skills shortage and gender gap in the Nigerian automotive industry through empowering underserved girls. “There are very few women in this field because of lack of interest due to societal beliefs that it’s a man’s world,” Oduwa said in the feature. “I’ve tried as much as possible to encourage females…there’s a pride that comes with this field. It comes with respect; it comes with dignity…ladies should not be cut off from benefiting from the automotive industry.”

Report Date...: 3/28/22

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