Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area
Through Ekasi Pioneers fellow helps over 100 rural businesses
Fellow(s): Nobukhosi Dlamini
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2019 fellow Nobukhosi Dlamini launched a digital enablement program that supports women-led small businesses in rural South Africa. The program, Ekasi Pioneers, is implemented through the GIFT Foundation, Nobukhosi’s NGO that connects rural women and girls to tech training and job opportunities.
Kicking-off with funding from the U.S. Consulate General Cape Town, GIFT created its first virtual digital enablement training for 50 rural female small business owners, supporting them in pivoting their businesses from in-person to online operations. Through a comprehensive curriculum which included lessons in digital marketing, purchasing and setting up a website, online advertising and scaling an online business, the women learned how to successfully migrate their businesses in order to adhere to local social distancing and lockdown regulations. They were also trained in soft skills, learning about leadership, confidence-building and adopting a growth mindset. At the end of the training, all 50 businesses – catering companies, construction businesses, retail stores and more – successfully migrated online. “These women are reporting that the visibility of their businesses has increased, they are receiving more inquiries and sales and their businesses have been able to weather the storms of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Nobukhosi. GIFT has already begun a second digital enablement training with funding from the UK government; their cohort of 60 women is due to graduate later this month.
Report Date...: 2/15/21
Fellow authors post for UN Women’s Generation Equality
Fellow(s): Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2019 fellow Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova authored a post for UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign, writing about the challenges women and girls face and calling for greater awareness of gender issues among educators, media and leaders.
Kyzzhibek is the program director for the Kyrgyz Space Programme, an all-women team working to build Kyrgyzstan’s first nanosatellite. The core team is comprised of women ages 18-24, many of whom are not trained in STEM fields. Together, they are learning skills in robotics, 3D printing, engineering and satellite technology, innovating for their country and combatting stereotypes along the way.
In her post, Kyzzhibek writes that many expect their project to fail, just because of their gender: “The first element [for failure] for them is the presence of women and girls in the team,” she writes. As a response, Kyzzhibek and her team are motivated to fulfill their mission of educating women and girls in STEM while raising awareness about inequity. “The program has an amazing mission to empower girls and women in science and raise awareness about gender inequality and harmful social norms, which require systemic change,” she writes. “We want to show by our own example that girls are capable of anything, even reaching for the stars.”
Report Date...: 2/8/21
Mentor(s): Paria Rajai (mentor)
Company: ModelExpand
Mentor Type: Impact
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
TechWomen mentor Paria Rajai recently co-authored an article on why women of color are historically undervalued when it comes to leadership roles, and the steps companies can take to spark systemic change. The article, Does Your Definition of Leadership Exclude Women of Color?, was published by Harvard Business Review.
Paria is the founder and CEO of ModelExpand, a workplace strategy firm centered on inclusion, fair hiring and helping companies build a diverse workforce. Paria’s co-author, Marlette Jackson, serves as an advisor for ModelExpand. “The attributes companies often look for in leaders, such as competitive, dominant, objective, self-confident, aggressive, ambitious, are overwhelmingly masculine,” they write. “This leaves women of color (WOC) at a double disadvantage: They often don’t fit companies’ measures for leadership, because those measures were developed for someone else.” Paria and Marlette argue that creating change does not necessarily require “reinventing the wheel;” instead, companies can start to redefine leadership by adjusting hiring and retention criteria and providing more resources to employees.
Report Date...: 2/8/21
Fellow chosen as young innovator to speak to Kenyan president
Fellow(s): Crescence Elodie
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
This week, 2019 fellow Crescence Elodie was one of four young leaders selected to participate on a panel with Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta. The conversation was a part of the 2021 Africa Business Forum, an event organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Crescence is the founder of EN Group, a platform that focuses on digital and community development through technology, as well as the founder of WETECH, an initiative that supports and trains women with tech and entrepreneurship skills. The panel, “Young Entrepreneurs in Conversation,” focused on digital inclusion and how the African continent can thrive during the fourth industrial revolution. “I wanted to make sure women are more included in the development of his country, especially through technology,” Crescence said.
Report Date...: 2/8/21
Fellow’s startup selected for Google’s first MENA accelerator
Fellow(s): Ameni Mansouri
Country: Tunisia
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
This week, it was announced that Dabchy, the company co-founded by 2018 fellow Ameni Mansouri, was selected to participate in Google’s first accelerator program in the MENA region. Dabchy is Tunisia’s first web-based fashion marketplace, featuring an online platform that allows its 400,000 users to buy and sell secondhand clothing, accessories and beauty products in three countries. Last year, Dabchy was one of seven businesses named a winner of the Orange Ventures MEA Seed Challenge. Recently, the company announced that over one million items have been listed by its users, making it one of the largest online marketplaces in the region.
Google for Startups Accelerator selects top startups, pairing them with experts at Google who can provide customized support and help solve their greatest challenges. The three-month program offers workshops on product design, customer acquisition and leadership development for founders, as well as mentorship from over 20 teams at Google to provide the expertise the startups need. Google selected 10 startups out of 500 applications for their first MENA cohort; Dabchy is the only company representing Tunisia. Since the announcement, Ameni has been interviewed on local television and radio, speaking about Dabchy’s growth and their goals for the future. “I’m proud to always represent Tunisia,” she said.
Report Date...: 2/1/21
Fellow guest hosts podcast on fintech and innovation
Fellow(s): Adejoke Adekunle
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2019 fellow Adejoke Adekunle has been invited to be a monthly host for the Voice of Fintech podcast, a weekly interview series based in Switzerland that features leaders in the financial technology sector. Adejoke is the CEO of VVM Group as well as the founder of the African Tech Woman, a podcast and network for female founders.
Last week, Voice of Fintech debuted the first Voice of FinTech: Africa Series with Adejoke as a monthly guest host. Her first guest, Jehiel Oliver, is the CEO of Hello Tractor, a social enterprise agtech company known as the “Uber for farms” that connects smallholder farmers to machinery through their app. In the episode, Adejoke asked Jehiel to share his strategies and challenges, as well as expand on Hello Tractor’s AI-enabled digital wallet for farmers. Adejoke will welcome a new guest next month, and looks forward to amplifying diverse leaders in fintech on the African continent.
Report Date...: 2/1/21
Fellow shares advice for women entrepreneurs in Jordan
Fellow(s): Reema Diab
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2019 fellow Reema Diab was featured in an “Ask Me Anything” session for women in technology, sharing her experience as an entrepreneur and answering questions on how to succeed as a woman in technology in Jordan. The event was organized by the Exchange Alumni team at the U.S. Embassy in Jordan as part of their monthly sessions that feature exchange program alumni.
Reema is the founder of Galaxy Organization for Technology, an IT non- profit that empowers women and youth with STEM skills. Their latest course for kids offers hands-on training in robotics, teaching them about Arduino technology and helping them build small robots controlled by phones via Bluetooth. At the online event, Reema spoke about what makes a successful entrepreneur, how new businesses can seek funding and how her participation in the TechWomen program helped build her entrepreneurial skills. She also shared the obstacles that women face as entrepreneurs, giving the audience advice on succeeding as a woman in technology. “It can be difficult as a woman trying to compete,” she said. “Unfortunately, women often are not confident or underestimate their skills. It’s important to find a support system and to find a mentor.” She encouraged women to find their passion and work hard on their skills by seeking out programs that support their goals. “The TechWomen program was life-changing. Gathering with like-minded women opened doors for me to be a leader,” she said.
Report Date...: 1/25/21
Fellow selected to train at academy for angel investors
Fellow(s): Zimkhita Buwa
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
This week, 2013 fellow Zimkhita Buwa began a two-month training at the African Angel Academy, an initiative that supports African entrepreneurs in refining their investment strategies, networking and investing in promising African startups seeking early-stage investing. Zimkhita is one of 80 entrepreneurs chosen for the 2021 cohort.
Zimkhita is a member of Dazzle Angels, a women-led angel fund that invests in women-owned startups. Through her participation in the African Angel Academy, she hopes to learn from like-minded investors who are looking to make an impact on the African continent. “I want to make a difference in the angel investment space,” she says. “We need more female founders to be successful, as this is how we can make progress in terms of unemployment and impact. The skills that I will gain from the course will enable me to make the right decisions.”
Report Date...: 1/25/21
Fellows launch training program for girls with UNICEF and UN
Fellow(s): Nazira Sheraly, Aiturgan Zulpukarova, Elena Chigibaeva, Gulzire Minbaeva
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2016, 2017, 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2016 fellow Nazira Sheraly, 2017 fellow Aiturgan Zulpukarova and 2018 fellows Elena Chigibaeva and Gulzire Minbaeva have launched a new project for girls through Techaim, their initiative that provides mentorship to women and girls to grow and develop their STEM skills and expand their knowledge in business, leadership and more. Their new project, TechKyzdar, was launched with support from UNICEF Kyrgyzstan as well as the UN Peacebuilding Fund.
TechKyzdar, which officially began this week, is working with 220 girls aged 14-18 from 11 communities, teaching them about digital skills, social entrepreneurship, leadership and more. They also plan to work alongside Technovation Kyrgyzstan, encouraging the girls to apply their skills to creating innovative solutions to issues in their communities. Soon, the fellows will bring in mentors and guest speakers who will support the participants with their goals and inspire them to continue their educational journeys.
Report Date...: 1/25/21
Cameroon Girls Hackathon empowers young girls to innovate
Fellow(s): Horore Bebga
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Last month, 2018 fellow Horore Bebga hosted the inaugural Cameroon Girls Hackathon, a four-day program that empowered 30 girls from seven secondary schools throughout Douala to create solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hackathon was organized in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Cameroon and was hosted by the Dewey International School of Applied Sciences.
The project was a part of Likalo Education, the STEM education initiative Horore co-founded that educates young people with 21st century skills. Over the course of four days, the girls were brought through various modules including design thinking, 3D modeling, designing a chatbot and learning about mobile app development. They also had access to local and international mentors and experts in entrepreneurship and technology.
After the training, the girls were divided into six teams, working together to create solutions to help overcome the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The girls pitched their projects at the end of the event, and three winners were chosen by a jury: an app that translates health information into local languages, an online self-screening health app and a chatbot solution that makes it easier for individuals to find employment. All three projects will receive continued support through Likalo Education in order to further develop and execute their ideas.
Report Date...: 1/11/21
