Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area
Fellow shares perspectives on inclusion in magazine interview
Fellow(s): Zimkhita Buwa
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2013 fellow Zimkhita Buwa was featured in the inaugural publication of Tribe, a business magazine that features creative thinkers who are shaping the next era of business, innovation and design. In her interview, Zimkhita shares her passion for business, her work in community development and her hopes for impacting the next generation. As the chief operating officer at Britehouse, Zimkhita spoke to the importance of inclusion in the business world: “We have to realize that innovation can come from anywhere, hence the need to make this industry a safe and thriving environment in which women can grow.”
Zimkhita, an advocate for girls seeking careers in technology, is the founder of TechPearls, a blog that shares global opportunities for women in STEM. Last year, she was named to the Inspiring 50 South Africa list for making a meaningful impact in STEM fields. “My focus has never been on winning awards, but rather to follow my purpose to use my experience, skills and talents to upskill and uplift others,” she says. “If the recognition comes with this, then it’s an added bonus—but it’s not what drives me.”
Report Date...: 2/4/19
Fellow launches virtual community for women in MENA
Fellow(s): Haneen Abu Farha
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2015 fellow Haneen Abu Farha of the Palestinian Territories recently co-launched Elevated, a virtual community for women in the MENA region. The group, currently on Facebook, connects women to global and regional opportunities, including jobs, fellowships, exchange programs and professional development opportunities. Additionally, Elevated offers resume, cover letter and consulting services to job-seekers as well as candidate matching for job providers.
“The idea came from us three co-founders who have been working together on helping connect women to opportunities in the U.S.,” says Haneen. “We thought we needed to create a community that connects women to opportunities all over the world in an engaging way.” The group recently published a live video featuring the program She Entrepreneurs and soon will launch their “Star of the Month” series, where female professionals share their personal and professional journeys with the community. In the coming year, Elevated hopes to share and amplify TechWomen fellows’ experiences and recruit women throughout the MENA region to apply for TechWomen 2020.
Report Date...: 1/21/19
Fellow featured in local television interview
Fellow(s): Ouafa Benterki
Country: Algeria
Cohort: 2012
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
This month, 2012 fellow of Algeria Ouafa Benterki was interviewed on Ennahar TV, an Arabic language station broadcast from Algeria. In the interview, Ouafa spoke about her experience as the CEO and founder of MTY Intelligent Software, a technology startup that provides data analytics and localization services. Founded in 2015, the women-run company is the first Algerian startup to focus on artificial intelligence.
Ouafa also spoke about how her international experiences have impacted her career and influenced her as a woman in business, expanding on her participation in TechWomen and her time at her host company, Adobe. Ouafa is a frequent contributor and speaker in Algeria’s AI space and was a featured speaker at the 2018 Microsoft Ignite conference.
Report Date...: 1/21/19
Fellow delivers talk on entrepreneurship at local event
Fellow(s): Fatima Zohra Benhamida
Country: Algeria
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2017 fellow of Algeria Fatima Zohra Benhamida was a featured speaker at WikiStage El Oued, an event launched by local youth that aimed to make a positive impact on the Sufi community through idea exploration, debate and community gathering.
The conference featured a diverse list of speakers who presented on the event’s theme, “Rethinking Entrepreneurship.” Fatima’s presentation focused on her lessons in entrepreneurship from TechWomen as well as her experience as a computer science professor, speaker and Technovation mentor. The day’s programming was of special significance to Fatima, who was raised in the town next to El Oued. “This was more than just an additional talk on my list,” she said. “We could feel the energy and motivation to make a change.”
Report Date...: 1/14/19
Fellow plans digital empowerment center in Cameroon
Fellow(s): Sophie Ngassa
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2014 fellow of Cameroon Sophie Ngassa has broken ground in Douala to launch her new inititiave, a digital empowerment center for women and girls. The initiative, currently called #GiftFromMum, began after Sophie’s mother gifted her land to pursue her passion project. The center will serve as a space where women and girls can acquire digital skills training, participate in STEM-based workshops and learn skills to generate income.
Construction for the digital empowerment center is in progress and will eventually house a workshop, kitchen and offices. Speaking about her vision, Sophie says, “Two years ago it was a conversation, last year it became a plan and this year it is work in progress. We make little steps every day.”
Sophie, a digital rights activist and high school teacher, founded a youth vocational technical training organization, Center for Youth Education and Economic Development, in 2010. She has also served as a mentor for Technovation Cameroon since 2014.
Report Date...: 1/14/19
Fellow accepted to Silicon Valley-based business incubator
Fellow(s): Zeina Sadeddin
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2018 fellow Zeina Sadeddin of the Palestinian Territories was accepted to the Ramallah chapter of the Founder Institute, a pre-seed accelerator that has helped launch over 3,500 companies internationally. The institute, based in Palo Alto, maintains chapters in over 180 cities around the globe. Their three-month program includes sessions in ideation, market research, revenue models, pitch decks, hiring and growth. Participants will also have access to Bay Area CEOs and investors who can support them with business development, public relations and introductions to outside advisors.
Zeina’s project addresses the local tech talent pool who seek remote work but lack networking resources. Zeina hopes to build an online cloud application to match local talent with experts in Silicon Valley who have remote positions available. Her online platform would assist the job applicants with resources and interview skills to increase their marketability and increase their job prospects abroad.
Report Date...: 1/7/19
Fellow named finalist for Women in Tech Awards
Fellow(s): Majd Hemiemat
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Majd Hemiemat, 2014 fellow of Jordan, was recently named a finalist for Mentor of the Year at this year’s Women in Tech Awards Middle East. The awards aim to increase visibility of women leaders in STEM fields in in the Middle East, where less than 10% of the tech workforce is female.
The award ceremony, held in Dubai this March, will gather business and technology leaders from the region and feature keynote speakers who will inspire women to pursue careers in STEM fields and encourage diversity and representation in tech. Majd, a product manager at Intrasoft Middle East, is also an APMP certified consultant who provides training on proposal management, business writing and contract management to women entrepreneurs, local businesses and students.
Report Date...: 1/7/19
Fellow named Woman of the Year in digital technology
Fellow(s): Ines Nasri
Country: Tunisia
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2014 fellow of Tunisia Ines Nasri was named Woman of the Year in the digital technology category at the first ARVEA Women Awards held recently in Tunisia. The awards honor Tunisian women who inspire and encourage others to be bold, successful and follow a path of innovation. The jury was led by Tunisia’s former Minister of Culture and comprised leading women entrepreneurs, researchers and tech experts.
Ines is the founder of WebPower Tunisie, a recognized Tunisian digital web agency specializing in web and social marketing, web development and brand content. In a guest blog written shortly after her TechWomen experience, Ines described starting WebPower with limited resources and nearly no budget. Participating in TechWomen helped develop her leadership skills, making her a better communicator and more effective manager. “I came back from Silicon Valley with a HUGE amount of energy and felt empowered and so optimistic,” she wrote.
In addition to WebPower, Ines founded Tunisia Digital Day, an annual digital marketing event that brings together professionals, students and businesses to raise awareness about opportunities in technology fields.
Report Date...: 12/24/18
Fellow named one of Forbes’ top 50 women in tech
Fellow(s): Charity Wanjiku
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
2017 fellow of Kenya Charity Wanjiku was recently named to the World’s Top 50 Women in Tech list by Forbes. The inaugural feature identifies forward-thinking founders, technologists and engineers who are leaders in their respective fields. Charity is the COO and co-founder of Strauss Energy, a solar company whose solar tiles power off-grid areas in rural Kenya and beyond. Through her company, Charity hopes to solve a lack of access to sustainable electricity by providing cost-effective and renewable energy to households and businesses.
In a recent Forbes article, Charity spoke about Kenya’s limited grid capacity and the need for the solutions Strauss Energy provides: “This gives the opportunity to all Kenyans to have access to power and an improved living standard,” she said.
During TechWomen, Charity was a part of the seed-grant winning action plan Project Digniti, which addresses sanitation-related illnesses by installing toilets in rural Kenyan schools. The team recently completed their pilot project at Nengerpus Primary School outside Nairobi.
Report Date...: 12/10/18
Fellow’s company selected as top 100 African startup
Fellow(s): Ameni Mansouri
Country: Tunisia
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2018 fellow Ameni Mansouri’s company, Dabchy, was selected as a Top 100 African Startup at the Africa 2018 Forum held this week in Egypt. Selected startups, chosen for their demonstrated success and future potential, were granted the opportunity to connect with international investors, financial institutions, government officials and policymakers from the African continent.
Founded by Ameni in 2016, Dabchy is web-based fashion marketplace used by over 220,000 women across three countries in North Africa. In the coming months, Dabchy will be a part of Europe’s first fashion tech incubator, Look Forward, for their one-year program based in Paris.
Report Date...: 12/10/18
