Impact Stories from Empowering Women and Girls Policy Area
Fellow named a 2020 AfricanDoer
Fellow(s): Crescence Elodie
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2018 fellow Crescence Elodie was named a 2020 top 500 #AfricanDoer, joining innovators, thought leaders, entrepreneurs and CEOs throughout the African continent who were recognized for their contributions. The annual list from Tropics Magazine features the most powerful leaders working to shape the future of Africa through their companies, initiatives and research. The list of 500 changemakers were chosen from a list of 1,500 candidates and judged based on their impact, their digital influence and their economic power.
Crescence is the founder and managing director of EN group, a platform that designs tech entrepreneurship programs to create digital empowerment and community development in Central and West Africa. She also recently founded Women in Entrepreneurship and Technology (WETECH), an organization dedicated to supporting African girls and women entrepreneurs through leadership programs, digital entrepreneurship bootcamps and capacity-building trainings. Currently, WETECH is working to support campaigns such as Young African Aviation Professional Association, a non-profit that encourages girls to enter careers in aviation, as well as FAY’AM, an initiative that trains women to craft household products.
Report Date...: 3/16/20
Fellow featured for work in technology and business
Fellow(s): Esra’a Alsanie
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
2019 fellow of Jordan Esra’a Alsanie was recently featured in Girl Talks Tech, a platform that highlights diverse stories of women in STEM fields. Esra’a is the founder of EnvaTechs, a startup that offers Virtual and Augmented Reality simulation to spread awareness about environmental issues.
In her interview, Esra’a spoke about her career, her advice for women in technology and the core characteristics that have led to her success: “I believe that persistence, dedication and commitment were the main ingredients of my journey, regardless of the challenges associated with it,” she said. Esra’a also listed her top tech influencers, which included Ebony Beckwith, the EVP and chief philanthropy officer at Salesforce who spoke to the TechWomen 2019 cohort during the 2019 Leadership Workshop. Since TechWomen, Esra’a has joined regular mentorship sessions that Ebony hosts, learning more ways to succeed as a woman in tech.
Report Date...: 3/16/20
Fellow speaks about TechWomen in television interview
Fellow(s): Salma Bekkouche
Country: Algeria
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This month, 2018 fellow Salma Bekkouche was invited to speak about her TechWomen experience in an interview on El Bilad TV, an Algiers-based television channel. In the interview (in Arabic), Salma, a social media blogger and recruiter, spoke about her experience spending five weeks in the San Francisco Bay Area and being mentored at Twitter. She also shared what exchange programs can offer women in Algeria, saying that through mentoring, coaching and witnessing the best practices of Silicon Valley companies, participants are able to access new opportunities and return home with a mission to empower women and girls.
Salma also spoke about president Abdelmajid Tebboune recognizing her as a young leader within Algeria who is actively contributing to the country’s progress: “It’s an honor for me to be recognized by the president of Algeria,” she said. “His supportive words on Twitter make me proud and more responsible to give back to my community and contribute positively in building my country.”
Report Date...: 3/16/20
Fellow named an inspiring woman in business
Fellow(s): Omnia Eteyari
Country: Jordan, Libya
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2013 fellow Omnia Eteyari was recognized as a leading woman in business by Women in Business Arabia in partnership with Etihad Bank. Their campaign, 365 Inspiring Arab Women, is featuring an Arab woman in business each day of 2020. Omnia, who is from Libya but currently living in Jordan, is the first Libyan to be featured in the campaign.
Omnia is the co-founder of BulbulHub Academy of Public Speaking, a Jordan-based academy that provides public speaking, leadership and personal development courses to youth ages 11-17. She also recently supported the launch of LIBUS, the first Libyan online business school, as a curriculum developer and a tutor. Last week, she attended the launch of the TechWomen/TechGirls club Jordan, giving a workshop to the girls on best practices for public speaking. Omnia is also a business advisor for Eureka Tech Academy, Jordan’s first children’s tech academy that was started by 2011 fellow Afnan Ali.
Report Date...: 3/9/20
Fellow featured for her work as an engineer and entrepreneur
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
This week, 2019 fellow of Nigeria Oduwa Agboneni was featured in a spotlight for Engineers Against Poverty for her work as a mechanical engineer as well as her involvement in Africa Catalyst, a program that promotes engineering in order to drive development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Oduwa, the founder and CEO of Nenis Engineering Limited and the project manager for Forging Africa’s Future Mechanical Engineers Programme (FAFMEP), spoke about her experience as a woman in engineering and the work she does to address the youth unemployment rate in Nigeria. She highlighted the goals of FAFMEP in 2020, which include running two regional bootcamps for 400 participants themed on engineering design, entrepreneurship and leadership skills. “Opportunities for women in the engineering sector in Nigeria are on the rise,” she said.
Report Date...: 3/9/20
Fellows launch TechWomen/TechGirls Club Jordan
Fellow(s): TechWomen Jordan Fellows
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Last month, seven TechWomen fellows, seven TechGirls alumnae and representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Jordan came together to officially launch Jordan’s TechWomen/TechGirls Club. At the inaugural event, attendees laid the groundwork for future activities that will offer mentorship, education and inspiration for women and girls in their communities.
After an introduction and interactive icebreaker activity, 2013 fellow Omnia Tayari delivered a workshop on public speaking for the group. Attendees then brainstormed club activities, including job shadowing, an online skill-matching hub, 21st century skills training and hackathons for girls in Amman.
The club plans to hold its next meeting later this month; there, they will offer Slack training as well as conduct a survey to define the vision and mission of the community. “We are so proud of this huge milestone, and can’t wait to post more updates about the new community,” said 2019 fellow Mais Muhtaseb.
Report Date...: 3/2/20
Fellow attends speed mentoring event for IWD2020
Fellow(s): Charity Wanjiku
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day, 2017 fellow of Kenya Charity Wanjiku attended a speed mentoring event meant to connect and empower women in Kenya. Hosted by the High Commission of Canada in Kenya, the event gathered mentors and mentees in order to share experiences, inspire one another and reaffirm a collective commitment to gender equality in Kenya and beyond.
Charity is the co-founder and COO of Strauss Energy Ltd, a solar energy company that brings innovative energy solutions to off-grid areas in rural Kenya and the greater African continent. “As a mentor, I had the opportunity to chat about the challenges I’ve faced, how I’ve overcome obstacles and shared lessons that I’ve learned along the way,” she said. During the session, she gave advice to the young women on achieving their goals despite obstacles: “Level-up by being intentional in your pursuits,” she told them. “And learn to say no, without having to justify yourself.”
Report Date...: 3/2/20
Fellow featured in article on innovative women in business
Fellow(s): Asna Javed
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Last month, 2019 fellow Asna Javed was featured in an Entrepreneur article on women who are transforming tech and advocating for underserved populations. Although Asna, a developer advocacy city lead at IBM, was born without arms, she has challenged preconceived notions and thrived in the tech world: “What I love most about my role…is that it grants me a platform to champion technical careers to aspiring female and differently abled engineers,” she says.
Recently, Asna created Be-My-Hands, a mobile app that enables people with disabilities to complete basic business task using IBM’s Watson Speech to Text technology. Asna is also collaborating with the 2019 cohort from Pakistan to implement Bacha-O, their seed grant-winning initiative that protects vulnerable children against abuse.
Report Date...: 3/2/20
Delegation shows young students the possibilities in STEM
Fellow(s): TechWomen delegation trip to Rwanda
Country: Rwanda
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Special Report, Youth Engagement
On day two of the delegation trip, mentors and fellows met with girls from 10 secondary schools throughout Kigali for a for a full day of hands-on workshops meant to spark creativity, exploration and learning. Together, mentors and fellows led small-group sessions in electronics, engineering, digital media, motherboards, pitch training, design thinking, creative brainstorming and more. In the digital media session, groups of girls used Adobe Spark to create videos on themes of their choosing; in the engineering and architecture session, students used the basic principles of bridge engineering to create their own straw bridges using scissors, straws and tape; in the electronic circuits room, groups of students created LED flashers with sound and experimented with micro:bit hardware.
In all-group sessions during the afternoon, mentors led students through interactive activities that demonstrated the principles of design thinking and creative brainstorming. “There’s no bad idea in brainstorming,” said mentor Molly Glauberman of One Medical. “And when you involve more people, your ideas will get even better.” As mentor Tina Shakour led a pitch training, she reminded the students to make eye contact, tell a compelling story, and – mostly importantly — have fun. After, students split into groups to create one-minute pitches on solutions that can bring more resources to schools. Although just a few teams were asked to present, the students were so eager that ultimately every team came on stage and presented with clarity and confidence. 2018 fellow of Kenya Salome Gathoni closed out the day, inspiring everyone in the room to pursue their curiosities, follow their talents and work hard for their goals. “While we are strong, together we are stronger,” she said. “And together our voices will change the world. You see a girl — we see the future.”
Report Date...: 2/24/20
Mentoring Rwanda’s brightest young entrepreneurs
Fellow(s): TechWomen delegation trip to Rwanda
Country: Rwanda
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Special Report, Youth Engagement
Day five was all about innovation, group feedback and learning about some of Rwanda’s emerging businesses. The day kicked-off at both Westervelle Startup Haus as well as RBD Innovation Center, two hubs that serve as incubators and coworking spaces for local entrepreneurs. There, groups of mentors and fellows had a chance to meet entrepreneurs, deliver pitch training and give their feedback and expertise in breakout sessions. At Westervelle, mentor Shadi Nayyer of Twitch opened with a keynote on what investors look for, stressing the importance of finding a rockstar team, telling a good story and being open to pivoting: “You have to be in love with the problem, not the solution — because the solution can change,” she said.
Before the entrepreneurs pitched their business ideas to the delegates, mentor Elaina Tia of LinkedIn delivered a pitch training, using real-world examples that demonstrated how to tell a story, use persuasive language and gather feedback. It was then time to hear from the entrepreneurs themselves at a pitch feedback session, where delegates listened to business ideas such as turning waste into recyclable materials as well as an online marketplace that sells Rwandan-made products. After hearing the pitches, mentors and fellows asked challenging questions and gave their advice, working alongside the entrepreneurs to fine-tune both their business plan and pitches. In breakout sessions that followed, small groups discussed building strong teams, going global with a business, building your brand and how to optimize social media and marketing to elevate a new business.
Report Date...: 2/24/20
