Impact Stories from Empowering Women and Girls Policy Area

Fellow admitted to JAMII Femmes for entrepreneurs

Fellow(s): Imane Ben Khelifa

Country: Algeria

Cohort: 2015

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

Fellow admitted to JAMII Femmes for entrepreneurs

Fellow Imane Ben Khelifa (Algeria, 2015) recently announced her admission to the 2023-2024 cohort of the prestigious JAMII Femmes program.

JAMII Femmes, a collaboration between the Women in Africa social impact initiative and the Coca Cola foundation, aims to develop 7,000 women entrepreneurs from Algeria, Egypt and South Africa through four key steps: a competitive selection process, three months of self-paced, online courses offered by the Honoris Academy and United Universities, a set of comprehensive exams to earn Certificates of Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and. finally, an immersive, in-person bootcamp. During this final step, they will engage with experts and mentors on workshops, projects, networking and competition with grants topping out at $10,000 USD.

“My journey from Techwomen alumna to being accepted into the JAMII Women program is a testament to the transformative power of mentorship, education, and perseverance,” Imane shared in recent communications.

Report Date...: 02/05/2024

Mentor(s): Reshma Singh

Company: Berkeley Lab

Mentor Type: Impact, Professional

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Mentor joins steering committee for FEED conference

Mentor Reshma Singh has recently joined the steering committee of the 2024 Forum on Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization (FEED), which will be hosted in New Delhi, India this February 28 and 29.

Presented by the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy, FEED allows stakeholders in India’s energy ecosystem to come together in alignment with the agenda of the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration and COP28.

Reshma is a leader and innovator in the clean technology sector with over 12 years of experience. She holds two clean technology patents, is a published author, and works as a Senior Advisor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Office. As a program lead at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, she heads several tech-focused entrepreneurship initiatives including IMPEL, Cradle to Commerce, and the Climate Smart Women Energy Leaders program (CS-WEL).

Report Date...: 01/22/2024

SP ‘22 Team Lebanon brings light to Lebanon with TAQA

Fellow(s): Dana Abdel Khalek, Diala Al Samarani, Ghiwa Haddad, Miriana Itani, Saria Cheaib and Zeina Farah

Country: Lebanon

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Spring ‘22 Team Lebanon is bringing light to Lebanon with TAQA

Fellows Dana Abdel Khalek, Diala Al Samarani, Ghiwa Haddad, Miriana Itani, Saria Cheaib and Zeina Farah of Team Lebanon Spring 2022 have officially launched the first application cycle for TAQA, their seed grant-funded impact initiative that is working to provide renewable energy solution to family-owned businesses impacted by 2020 Port of Beirut explosion.

Benefactors of TAQA, funded by angel investors on a greatest-needs basis, will gain access to renewable energy from sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. This will allow them to continue running their businesses throughout the ongoing recovery of the national economy and power grid, which were devastated by the catastrophe that caused over 200 deaths, 7,000 injuries, 300,000 cases of homelessness and 15 billion dollars in property damage.

Report Date...: 01/15/2024

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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