Impact Stories from Empowering Women and Girls Policy Area
speakers and moderators for Wspark Women in Tech forum with USAID
Fellow(s): Elnura Kassymov, Aknur Karabay, Asem Tazhieva, Ayimzhan Baytureeva, Azhar Mambetova, Elena Chigibaeva, Ksenia Tsyganova, Munira Begmuratova,Natalya Klimenko
Country: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Central Asian fellows collaborate as leaders, speakers and moderators for Wspark Women in Tech forum with USAID
Fellow Elnura Kassymova (Kazakhstan, 2016), founder and CEO of Wspark Women in Tech, enlisted a multitude of fellows to collaborate as talent in a recent forum for Central Asian women in IT.
Fellows Aknur Karabay (Kazakhstan, 2022), Asem Tazhieva (Kazakhstan, 2019), Ayimzhan Baytureeva (Kazakhstan, 2023), Azhar Mambetova (Kyrgyzstan, 2019), Elena Chigibaeva (Kyrgyzstan, 2018), Ksenia Tsyganova (Kyrgyzstan, 2022), Munira Begmuratova (Uzbekistan, 2016) and Natalya Klimenko (Uzbekistan, 2018), served as speakers and moderators for the Wspark Women in Tech Forum, which took place on December 13. 2023 with support from the USAID Entrepreneurship and Business Environment Development Project event.
The successful completion of the forum advances WSpark’s educational programming mission to promote regional gender parity and expand the economic rights of women in the Information and Computer Technology (ICT) sector. It provided a platform for leaders to share inspiring success stories, offer expert career advice, promote useful learning programs and network with potential mentors, mentees and partners. In total, over 35 panelists, speakers, moderators and trainers took part in the event, which included an opening greeting from Michelle Yerkin, U.S. Consul General in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Read More »Report Date...: 1/1/2024
Team Sierra Leone launches Wata Na Life impact project
Fellow(s): Faatu Kanneh, Makalay Sesay, Mary Lusenie, Monica Sellu, Titoh Sallay Sheriff
Country: Sierra Leone
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Public Health
Team Sierra Leone launches Wata Na Life impact project
Fellows Faatu Kanneh, Makalay Sesay, Mary Lusenie, Monica Sellu and Titoh Sallay Sheriff (Sierra Leone, 2022) recently implemented the first phase of their seed grant-winning impact project, Wata Na Life, which was established to advance access to clean, safe and sustainable water and provide water treatment solutions to prevent illness.
Launched in Grafton, Sierra Leone, the inaugural event featured the team handing off their recently installed clean water tank to the local community stakeholders.
The project was made possible with the funding of a $3,000 USD seed grant from TechWomen along with support garnered from the Milla Group and Guma Valley Water Company. A highlight included a visit from impact coach Barham Zuhdi, who attended the groundbreaking event.
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Report Date...: 1/1/2024
Fellow wins Best Young Manager Award 2023 from CJD
Fellow(s): Amani Mansouri
Country: Tunisia
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow wins Best Young Manager Award 2023 from CJD
Fellow Amani Mansouri (Tunisia, 2018), CEO of the startup Dabchy, recently won the Best Young Manager Award 2023 at the Center for Young Managers (CJD) Business Awards ceremony. The event was hosted by CJD Tunisia, in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, to spotlight entrepreneurs, managers and young leaders across various sectors who have demonstrated leadership, innovation and creativity in business development.
Dabchy is a user-to-user online fashion sales platform that merges community with social networks to empower its members, known as “Dabchouchas,” to utilize multimedia and interaction to buy, sell, and exchange new and bespoke garments and accessories online.
Read More »Report Date...: 1/1/2024
Fellow leads 3rd place win at UbuntuNet hackathon
Fellow(s): Yollanda Washaya
Country: Zimbabwe
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow leads 3rd place win at UbuntuNet hackathon
“We came, we CODED, we conquered,” shared fellow Yollanda Washaya (Zimbabwe, 2022) in a recent post celebrating the victory of Team Kusha from Africa University in Zimbabwe, who won third place out of 300 applicants continent-wide at the first-ever UbuntuNet Alliance Women Hackathon this fall. Held in advance of the UbuntuNet-Connect 2023 Conference in Uganda, the initiative was created to champion gender equality in STEM fields.
Yollanda serves as the Head of Innovation at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Her team has recently developed an AI-powered authoring tool called KUSHA “in our quest to make educational articles more palatable,” she wrote in another recent post showcasing the AI’s generative abilities.
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Report Date...: 12/25/2023
Fellow speaks on DEIA panel at the UK House of Lords
Fellow(s): Oluwatobi Otokiti
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Development
Fellow speaks on DEIA panel at the UK House of Lords
Fellow Oluwatobi Otokiti (Nigeria, 2022) spoke this December at the House of Lords in London’s Palace of Westminster for a Global Reputation Forum panel discussion entitled “Exploring Intersectionality: Navigating the Complexities of Diversity in the Modern Workplace.”
There she discussed strategies that organizations can employ to foster inclusion among employees with intersecting identities across diverse geographical locations.
“For many years, I’ve participated in monthly town halls where colleagues come together to share their culture,” she shared in a recent post. “People feel heard and then begin to have a sense of belonging to the organization, which in turn drives ownership of initiatives.”
Tobi is the founder of Product Dive and a product management leader at Flutterwave. She is also a member and writer for the Forbes Technology Council.
Read More »Report Date...: 12/11/2023
Fellow visits Tbilisi for networking with WE-Champs
Fellow(s): Darika Aldasheva
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow Darika Aldasheva (Kyrgyzstan, 2022) shared her experience with the TechWomen program during a panel discussion in Tbilisi, Georgia this December for Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem by Networking Regional Women’s Chambers of Commerce and Business Associations (WE-Champs), for which she was recently selected as a beneficiary. WE-Champs, funded by the U.S. State Department Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) and facilitated by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), aims to promote women’s economic security and gender-responsive institutions in Europe and Eurasia.
The event brought together women entrepreneurs and leaders of women’s associations and chambers of commerce from 15 countries across the region to share best practices and discuss the findings from the Regional Gender Analysis.
Report Date...: 12/11/2023
Fellow selected as eTradeforWomen Community Leader
Fellow(s): Tadhim Uwizeye
Country: Rwanda
Cohort: 2023
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow Tadhim Uwizeye (Rwanda, 2023) has recently been selected to serve as an Anglophone African countries’ Community Leader for eTradeforWomen, an initiative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). UNCTAD is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that amplifies the interests of developing countries in world trade. ETradeforWomen promotes women’s economic empowerment and gender equality by providing a platform for women entrepreneurs to elevate their knowledge, skills and resources in digital innovation, e-commerce & entrepreneurship. Community Leaders must be female CEOs or founders of digital businesses that have been in operation for at least two years.
Tadhim is the founder and CEO of Olado, an e-commerce platform offering business-to-consumer product sales for Rwandan enterprises and organizations.
Report Date...: 12/04/2023
"Fellow leads two sessions at Ololo STEAM Camp for Girls "
Fellow(s): Kseniia Tsyganova
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow Kseniia Tsyganova (Kyrgyzstan, 2022) recently led two sessions at the Ololo STEAM Camp for Girls in Bishkek last month. Organized by Ololo Creative Hubs with support from the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, the event hosted school-aged girls seeking to learn to develop websites and digital projects.
Kseniia’s first session offered an introduction to STEAM, defining the terms and illustrating how technologies can support arts. She later delivered a session on how to create a website without coding expertise. “Not everything has to be code,” she reiterated in a recent post. “Coding is a tool and shouldn’t be an obstacle to learning or creation!”
Kseniia is a community manager for software company Turbine Kreuzberg. She also has experience as a front end developer and media relations professional.
Report Date...: 12/04/2023
Mentor(s): Mentor Ishita Majumdar
Company: eBay
Mentor Type: Professional
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Development
Mentor Ishita Majumdar was recently selected for the third annual Power 100 list by Diversity Woman Media. The list is comprised of emerging women visionaries and change leaders in the technology, finance, medicine, retail and transportation industries.
Ishita is the Vice President of data analytics platforms at eBay and previously served as the President of eBay Women in Technology (eWIT) for three years. She is also a founding member of Chief, a private network designed for senior executive women across all industries that works to drive and keep women in positions of power.
“[Ishita] is highly respected in eBay for her vast technology expertise, proactive customer engagement, and execution prowess,” her Power 100 bio states. “Majumdar is a champion for diversity and inclusion and actively invests in growing girls and women in tech.”
Report Date...: 11/27/2023
Mentor(s): Lori Kahn and Claudia Galvan
Company: Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Oracle
Mentor Type: Professional and Cultural
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Development
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) recently announced mentors Lori Kahn of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Claudia Galvan of Oracle among its five 2023 recipients of the Advocating Women in Engineering Award. This is one of the highest distinctions awarded by SWE is bestowed on members of the engineering field who have demonstrated a track record of professional excellence and advocacy for women in engineering.
They will be honored during the annual WE23 conference held this year in Los Angeles from October 26 to 28, alongside other global players making significant contributions to the advancement of women in STEM.
“There’s more advocating to do to get more girls into STEM careers and keep them there,” Lori expressed in a recent post announcing the honor.
Report Date...: 09/25/2023
