Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area

Fellow wins prestigious Ericsson Top Performer Award
Fellow(s): Natalya Tyudina
Country: Tajikistan
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow wins prestigious Ericsson Top Performer Award
Fellow Natalya Tyudina (Tajikistan, 2018) was recently selected as one among 100 employees for Ericsson’s Top Performers Award, their most prestigious annual distinction, during this fall’s annual Performance Conference. Selected from a pool of 105,000 employees, the Top Performers Award recognizes standout individuals in innovation, operational excellence and sales.
Natalya, a Cloud Technology Developer, was recognized in the Innovation of the Year category for her and her team’s work on the Holographic Communication project, which enables 3D video calls using current telecommunications technology.
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Report Date...: 12/25/2023

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

Fellow announces founding of STEM training and university preparation platform Stemio
Fellow(s): Natalya Yusupova Klimenko
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow Natalya Yusupova Klimenko (Uzbekistan, 2017) has recently announced the founding of Stemio, an innovative online learning platform designed to help students prepare for STEM courses and gain greater access to universities and the admissions process. Subscribers to the platform will receive access to worldwide courses, 24/7 online support, unlimited practice and knowledge testing opportunities, and guaranteed university admission.
“By my calculations, every year more than 2 million school students in Central Asia and neighboring countries take exams in mathematics, physics, chemistry or biology when applying to STEM universities.” Natalya explained in a recent announcement. “80% of them fail due to the low level of education in schools. It is an incredible 2 billion dollar opportunity in this region alone.”
Natalya has a professional background in digital marketing management and most recently served as the Head of Sales at Billz, a retail business management software company. She launched Stemio to help students shore up teacher and resource shortages, combat institutional corruption, alleviate personal study pressures and develop a clear and desirable career path.
Report Date...: 11/27/2023

Fellow wins back-to-back awards for Agri-tech strides
Fellow(s): Evangelista Chekera
Country: Zimbabwe
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
Fellow Evangelista Chekera (Zimbabwe, 2022), CEO and founder of an agricultural technology solutions company recently won back-to-back awards as the 2023 Best Innovator from the Entrepreneurs Network of Zimbabwe and 2023 Best Agro Innovator at the Pacesetters National Excellence Awards organized by the Ministry of Agriculture.
In 2016 Evangelista founded her enterprise, Passion Poultry, to simplify and improve processes for small-holder chicken farmers. She holds patents for two mechanical innovations — a device to reduce the mortality rate among young chickens and another that assists with the slaughtering process.
“I realized that I want to make a significant impact in the food industry,” Evangelista told ShareAmerica in an interview last year. “It pained me to see small-scale farmers doing the wrong things because of their lack of knowledge.”
Report Date...: 11/27/2023

Fellow-led Technovation Girls Uzbekistan team makes record-setting win at World Summit 2023 in California
Fellow(s): Elena Selezneva and Saida Yusupova (Uzbekistan, 2016)
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Youth Engagement
Technovation Girls Uzbekistan, introduced and spearheaded in 2016 by fellows Elena Selezneva and Saida Yusupova (Uzbekistan, 2016), recently made history when Team Tecnas won the Social Impact Award (Senior Division) at the Technovation Girls 2023 World Summit in California. This victory marks the first world summit win for an Uzbek team in the seven-year history of the competition, hosted this year by Synopsys.
Comprising five girls and a mentor, Team Tecnas developed a virtual reality (VR) application, Sinov, which provides an immersive science lab experience for students who lack access to conventional STEM laboratory facilities. “We are incredibly proud of Team Tecnas’ achievement and hope that their success will inspire other girls in Uzbekistan to pursue their passion for technology and become role models in the field,” Elena shared in a recent message.
Elena and Saida are the co-founders of Tech4Impact, a women-focused NGO that supports innovation, IT entrepreneurship and the green technology sector. The NGO grew from a TechWomen seed-grant winning impact project and has been supported by both the local alumnae community and U.S. mentors including Erin Keeley, Rekha Pai and Eileen Brewer.
Technovation Girls has a long history of support from the TechWomen community, with long-time mentor and Strategic Partnerships Advisor Anar Simpson serving as the Global Ambassador for the program.
Read More »Report Date...: 11/20/2023

Fellow leads 4-day Tech Business Mission to Malaysia
Fellow(s): Ayesha Hammad Zaman (Pakistan, 2022)
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow Ayesha Hammad Zaman (Pakistan, 2022), recently led the four-day Tech Business Mission to Malaysia under the banner of the Pakistan Tech Forum, a platform she co-founded to enhance Pakistan’s IT exports. The mission, organized in concert with GMB Malaysia, facilitated meaningful business partnerships between Pakistani organizations and the IT ecosystems of Malaysia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. A total of 20 organizations, including enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and startups participated in the initiative alongside Malaysian government institutions, investors, local IT companies and other stakeholders. The event showcased the diversity of Pakistan’s tech ecosystem, underscoring the nation’s aspirations for entrepreneurship and economic growth in the tech sector. “The real work starts post delegation as we work closely with the stake holders in the Malaysian tech ecosystem to promote bilateral trade,” Ayesha shared in a recent post. “[I] can’t emphasize enough how much confidence we have gained after the support expressed by the Pakistan High Commission in Malaysia.” Ayesha is the founder and CEO of Skills Todo, an IT workforce training platform. This spring she also successfully hosted Skills Gala & Talent Hunt 2023, an original concept IT mega expo, in Lahore, Pakistan.
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Report Date...: 11/13/2023

Fellow interviewed for IFC’s Accelerate4Youth Program
Fellow(s): Ichraf Jarray (Tunisia, 2022)
Country: Tunisia
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow Ichraf Jarray (Tunisia, 2022), founder of incubator Hive12, was recently interviewed for a video on how the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Accelerate4Youth Program is driving entrepreneurship in Tunisia. “If we want to take the entrepreneurial ecosystem to the next level we, as stakeholders, need to combine our efforts and work together in a strategic and sustainable way,” Ichraf emphasized in a recent post highlighting the video, where she discusses how the Accelerate4Youth program has supported efforts to more equitably distribute Tunisia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Read More »Report Date...: 11/06/2023

Fellow partners with mentor and founder of Families Without Borders to bring IdeaTest Lab to innovators in Sierra Leone
Fellow(s): Fellow Nermin Salah Mostafa (Egypt, 2013)
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow Nermin Salah Mostafa (Egypt, 2013) recently partnered with Families Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded and directed by mentor Terri Khonsari, to deliver her brand new IdeaTest Lab program to scholars from Sierra Leone. Nermin spent six weeks delivering her IdeaTest Lab to STEM graduates in Sierra Leone, helping them shape innovative ideas into concrete business models. The program drew support from a variety of TechWomen alumnae, including fellows Reham Nasser, Fatma Telib and Richmonda Pearce who served as team mentors. Mentor Catherine Simpson acted as a judge in the culminating pitch competition and TechGirls fellow Farida Kroush delivered a session. “Witnessing their boundless enthusiasm and unwavering dedication has truly been inspiring,” Nermin wrote in a recent post. “Together, we’re paving the way for a brighter future, one step at a time.” Families Without Borders provides young leaders with full college scholarships and training in entrepreneurship, digital literacy, communication and financial management. IdeaTest Lab furthers Nermin’s learnings and impact from her Hubert Humphrey Fellowship at Penn State University last summer. The winning team, EverFresh, was accepted at the American University in Cairo’s AUC Venture Lab, the top accelerator in Africa, which the team will join for their spring 2024 cohort.
Read More »Report Date...: 10/30/2023