Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area

Fellow Receives #Shabab2030 Award

Fellow(s): Layal Jebran

Country: Lebanon

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

2017 fellow of Lebanon, Layal Jebran, received the #Shabab2030 award from Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC Group) on behalf of her company. Layal is the CEO of Moubarmij, an initiative that helps to connect experienced programming instructors with young learners by providing a video sharing platform.

As a recipient of the award, Layal will receive advanced leadership training as well as mentoring, advocacy, networking opportunities and funding for her project. MBC Group is the largest private media company in the MENA region and is responsible for establishing MBC Hope, a program that empowers Arab youth to engage in social action, education and entrepreneurship. MBC Hope provides the funding for #Shabab2030.

Report Date: 1/29/2018

Morocco's First Google Business Group

Fellow(s): Maha Ech-chefaa

Country: Morocco

Cohort: 2016

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Maha Ech-chefaa, 2016 fellow of Morocco, is the co-founder of the first Google Business Group in Morocco as well as the co-organizer of her country’s Google Developer Group (GDG) in Rabat. Maha is also featured as a Women Techmakers Lead for driving diversity and inclusion through her participation with the Rabat GDG.

Maha’s passion for community empowerment led her to launch Leeha, a program providing disadvantaged women in Morocco with business opportunities. Since completing the TechWomen program, she also co-founded Moroccan CISE (Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship), a not-for-profit dedicated to finding ground-breaking solutions for social challenges.

Report Date: 1/15/2018

3D Printer

Fellow(s): Saltanat Alieva

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Cohort: 2016

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Inspired by her time with TechWomen and her mentorship at Autodesk, 2016 fellow of Kyrgyzstan Saltanat Alieva successfully constructed her own 3D printer.

Saltanat returned to Kyrgyzstan motivated to make a positive impact on her country by making prosthetic hands more accessible and affordable to amputees by using a 3D printing method. When she could not find a 3D printer anywhere in her country, with encouragement from the TechWomen community, Saltanat decided to construct her own. She spent months researching and finding necessary components, and this month shared the finished product.

Report Date: 12/4/2017

Silicon Mountaim Conference

Fellow(s): Mpara Faith

Country: Cameroon

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Mpara Faith, 2017 fellow of Cameroon, recently led a plenary session at the Silicon Mountain Conference in Cameroon. The panel focused specifically on financial models and policies that support profitable and scalable ventures. Mpara co-founded New Generation Technologies LTD., and is one of the few women who owns a start-up in her community.

Each year the Silicon Mountain Conference is organized to consult, network, exchange ideas, showcase products, meet stakeholders and discuss solutions to common challenges.

Report Date: 11/27/20017

HapaKenya Interview

Fellow(s): Chao Mbogo

Country: Kenya

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Youth Engagement

Dr. Chao Mbogo, 2017 fellow of Kenya, was highlighted in an in-depth interview on the Kenyan news platform HapaKenya. Chao details her personal and professional journey to become a computer scientist, researcher, teacher, mentor, and recently, the Head of the Computer Science Department at Kenya Methodist University. Chao also provides updates on KamiLimu, a mentorship program she launched in 2016 for university level computer science students, and Project Digniti, the seed grant-winning action plan project she developed with the other 2017 fellows of Kenya. Chao has also received grant awards from Anita B.org and Google for her work with KamiLimu.

Report Date: 11/20/2017

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub

Fellow(s): Haja Safiyatu Sovula, Blessing Matshaka, Ola Elgaddar

Country: Egypt, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

In its first year as a host company for TechWomen Emerging Leaders, the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub (Biohub) hosted three Emerging Leaders: Haja Safiyatu Sovula of Sierra Leone, Ola Elgaddar of Egypt, and Blessing Matshaka of Zimbabwe. As outlined in this interview, the fellows’ time at Biohub was not only inspiring, but also contributed substantially to the innovative work being done at the lab. Collaboration between the fellows hosted at Biohub and their mentors is continuing post-program, as Ola and her Professional Mentor, Amy Kistler, are working together on a project to combat Hepatitis C in Egypt.

Report Date: 11/20/2017

Committed to Good Blog

Fellow(s): Eman Abusaada

Country: Palestinian Territories

Cohort: 2015

Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship

Eman Abusaada, 2015 fellow of the Palestinian Territories, has been working with Committed To Good (CTG), a non-profit consulting firm that implements humanitarian projects in 25 countries around the world. Eman is highlighted in a recent blog post about the work of female engineers in Gaza supporting CTG with material monitoring and redevelopment projects, and she cites the TechWomen program as being a catalyst in confirming her passion for her chosen career path. Only 14% of the paid workforce in Gaza is female, and Eman hopes to be a role model for young women and that “the example [she presents] will contribute towards rebuilding a strong and sturdy Gaza and maybe that will help to achieve long-awaited peace in the region.

Report Date: 11/13/2017

Tunisia mentoring council

Fellow(s): Ameni Channoufi

Country: Tunisia

Cohort: 2014

Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship

Ameni Channoufi, 2014 fellow of Tunisia, launched the Tunisia Mentoring Council in April 2017 as part of Women Leaders in Technology (WoLTech), an organization founded by 12 Tunisian TechWomen fellows in order to empower Tunisian women working in STEM fields and help them achieve their goals. The Tunisia Mentoring Council, a six-month program, supported ten women to turn their business ideas into reality and establish their own companies, including by pairing each woman with a specialized mentor who helped them achieve their entrepreneurship goals. The program also comprised coaching and trainings designed to develop participants’ professional and social skills and boost their self confidence in order to overcome challenges and become successful entrepreneurs. The closing ceremony, held on November 4, highlighted the hard work of mentors and mentees and celebrated the first cohort of graduates from the program. WoLTech is now planning for the second round of the Tunisia Mentoring Council to launch in 2018.

Report Date: 11/6/2017

Grace Hopper Celebration

Fellow(s): Marie Claire Murekatete, Chao Mbogo

Country: Kenya, Rwanda

Cohort: 2014, 2017

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

TechWomen was well represented by mentors and past and present fellows at the Grace Hopper Celebration, which was held in Orlando, FL by AnitaB.org. Marie Claire Murekatete, 2014 fellow of Rwanda, was honored with the Change Agent ABIE Award and TechWomen mentor, Mercedes Soria, was honored with the Leadership ABIE Award. Anar Simpson, also a TechWomen mentor, moderated a panel that featured both Marie Claire and Mercedes. 2017 Emerging Leader from Kenya, Chao Mbogo, was also honored at the event as a winner of a Systers Pass It On award, which honors Anita Borg’s desire to create a network of women technologists helping one another. Chao presented about a mentorship program she created to encourage more female students to join and stay in the field of computer science.

Report Date: 10/2/2017

CAYSTI

Fellow(s): Arielle Kitio

Country: Cameroon

Cohort: 2016

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

“Arielle Kitio, 2016 fellow of Cameroon, has been hard at work developing CAYSTI, an organization she founded shortly after returning home from her TechWomen experience. CAYSTI is a school tech incubator with a mission to empower students to design and start viable long-term professional projects while training them to obtain competitive technical skills. CAYSTI also seeks to reduce the gender gap and inequalities in the tech industry. So far, CAYSTI has already reached 4,000 youths from rural areas through motivational talks and workshops. A project started by a student at the organization recently received the second place prize in a social entrepreneur competition run by telecommunications giant Orange. CAYSTI has also been nominated as Best Initiative in Learning and Education of Cameroon for the World Summit Awards. Winners will be announced in November 2017.

Arielle decided to launch CAYSTI with the encouragement of her TechWomen mentor, Saura Naim, Senior Director, Head of Juniper Development and Innovation Operations at Juniper Networks.”

Report Date: 9/25/2017

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