Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area
Fellow named to Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2018 list
Fellow(s): Sadia Bashir
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Sadia Bashir, was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2018 list in the Enterprise Technology category. Sadia is the cofounder of PixelArt Games Academy, a company that creates a platform for individuals who are interested in game development to enhance their skills and collaborate with others in the field of gaming. In an effort to address the gender gap in the gaming industry, her program maintains an enrollment rate of at least 33% women and has scholarships available for women who wish to participate. Sadia also strives to empower more women to break barriers and enter the tech industry in Pakistan and around the world. As her Forbes profile notes, “her success has inspired women in Pakistan to dream bigger.”
Sadia is one of only seven Pakistanis to make the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and one of only five women to make the list in the Enterprise Technology category.
Read More »Report Date...: 4/2/2018
WOWW Campaign
Fellow(s): Ala’a Agha Karss
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship
Ala’a Agha Karss, 2017 fellow of Jordan, was selected to tell her story on the WOWW Campaign podcast series. In the episode, Ala’a shares about her journey as a single mother turned entrepreneur. Now CTO and owner of Superiors ICT, an innovative mobile and web applications development company, she speaks about financial lessons, societal expectations, self-awareness and inner strength.
The WOWW Campaign is a global bilingual online platform aimed at inspiring women around the world by sharing stories from female leaders about entrepreneurship and personal development.
Read More »Report Date...: 3/12/2018
GIST Tech-I Competition Semi-Finalists
Fellow(s): Mpara Faith and Danielle Akini
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Mpara Faith and Danielle Akini, 2017 fellows of Cameroon, were both selected as semi-finalists for the GIST Tech-I competition. Mpara was selected for her work with New Generation Technologies Ltd, which provides communitybased enterprise software solutions. Danielle’s organization, Genius Centers, celebrates technological innovation with children by promoting leadership and computer skills in youth and young adults.
The GIST Tech-I competition is an annual initiative for science and technology entrepreneurs from emerging economies worldwide. It is led by the U.S. Department of State.
Read More »Report Date...: 3/5/2018
Mentor(s): Zanoon Nissar, Paria Rajai and Pamela O’Leary
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Mentors Zanoon Nissar, Paria Rajai and Pamela O’Leary and TechWomen Lead Jillian Scott participated as panelists and moderators in the inaugural Women of MENA in Tech conference. The conference was organized by Persian Women in Tech and hosted by Oath.
Zanoon, founder of Women4Good, and Jillian spoke on a panel about community builders empowering women, which was moderated Paria, former director of marketing at Hackbright Academy. Pamela, a diversity and inclusion expert, shared insight about how organizations can transform workforce cultures.
The mission of the conference was to bring together powerful catalysts of change to intentionally create a new paradigm centered around equity, inclusion and diversity.
Read More »Report Date...: 2/12/2018
Fellow Named One of Top Ten Women in Tech
Fellow(s): Ala’a Agha Karss
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Ala’a Agha Karss, 2017 fellow of Jordan, was named one of the ten leading women in tech from the Middle East and Africa by OPENLETR. Ala’a has a degree in software engineering from the Jordanian Hashemite University and founded Superiors ICT Solutions, an IT support and training organization. Ala’a and fellow Jordanian alums are also launching Ozwah, their action plan project developed as part of the 2017 TechWomen program. Their pitch was one of the winning seed grant proposals and offers a digital platform to help orphans overcome psychological and financial obstacles to higher education by providing social skills workshops and mentorship programs to increase long-term university enrollment rates.
PENLETR is a digital platform founded by a woman with the mission to explore the boundaries of creativity.
Read More »Report Date...: 2/5/2018
Fellow Interviewed as Rising Star in STEM
Fellow(s): Nomso Faith Kana
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2013 fellow of South Africa, Nomso Faith Kana, was interviewed by Levers in Heels, a digital platform featuring rising African women in STEM. The piece highlights Nomso’s training as a nuclear scientist and role as founder and managing director of Sun ‘n Shield Technologies, a group that provides solutions for smart cities, most recently by producing locally-made fiber optic cables to improve internet connectivity.
In the interview, Nomso talks about her mission to inspire young women in her capacity as co-founder of Taungana STEM, an initiative to empower rural African high school girls to access and explore futures in STEM fields.
Read More »Report Date...: 1/29/2018
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.
Read More »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.
Read More »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.
Read More »Report Date...: 11/27/20017