Impact Stories from Professional Growth Policy Area
Fellow named to Engineer Talks advisory board
Fellow(s): Houda Chihi
Country: Tunisia
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth
This week, 2019 fellow Houda Chihi was named the newest member of the Engineer Talks advisory board, nominated to supervise training and talks for engineers in Tunisia. Houda is the chief engineer at Tunisie Telecom, Tunisia’s leading telecom operator. Recently, she spoke to PhD students on behalf of IEEE, presenting on gender equality, her career in engineering and the importance of mentorship.
Engineer Talks is a platform dedicated to educating and connecting engineers in Tunisia through webinars, workshops and mentorship. Their YouTube channel offers sessions from leading experts on AI, engineering leadership and making an impact in engineering fields. “Her presence will bring an incomparable wealth of knowledge. We are deeply grateful that this extraordinary individual has joined our efforts,” the Engineer Talks announcement said. In her role, Houda hopes to facilitate talks on mobile communication, 5G/6G technology and more.
Report Date...: 12/6/21
On panel fellow hears pitches from emerging entrepreneurs
Fellow(s): Alaa Fatayer
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth
2014 fellow Alaa Fatayer recently served on the jury panel for FinTech Camp Bootcamp, a two-day program that offered intensive training on financial modeling, FinTech and pitching to a small group of young entrepreneurs. The bootcamp was hosted by Flow Accelerator, an organization that facilitates innovation in the Palestinian Territories through training young entrepreneurs to create meaningful change in their communities, and was held in partnership with The National Bank Palestine.
Alaa is the head of innovation and entrepreneurship at Fikra, the innovation hub from the Paltel Group. For the past seven years she has also volunteered as a regional ambassador for the Technovation Challenge. At the conclusion of the bootcamp Alaa, alongside a jury of experts, heard 15 entrepreneurs from Gaza and the West Bank pitch their startup ideas. Together, the jury selected three entrepreneurs – founders of companies in the fields of business intelligence, insurance and data analytics – who will be enrolled in Flow Accelerator’s FinTech Camp, an incubation program that will support them in growing and expanding their businesses.
Report Date...: 12/6/21
In presentation fellow tells girls they are needed in STEM fields
Fellow(s): Sitora Salaeva
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2019 fellow Sitora Salaeva was a featured speaker at STEM Week, an online training program for girls led by 2021 TechGirls alumna Diyora Daminova. In partnership with the Academic Lyceum of Westminster at the International University in Tashkent (ALWIUT), STEM Week brought leadership development, resources and inspiring talks from women in STEM in Uzbekistan.
Sitora, who served on the planning committee for the inaugural 2020 Uzbekistan TechWomen/TechGirls Alumnae Summit, works as a software development engineer for the Bureau of Enforcement under the General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan. Currently, she is pursuing her second master’s degree in cybersecurity in the UK. In her STEM Week presentation, Sitora spoke about choosing a career in STEM and why girls and women play a key role in STEM progress. “I shared innovative projects that failed until women were involved, because women can offer a different perspective on problem-solving,” she said. Through sharing the legacies of STEM pioneers like Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper, Sitora hoped to show the girls that they, too, can be contributors and leaders in STEM fields. “You can invent new things, you can help grow your country’s economy and you can help empower other girls to enter STEM,” she said. At the Q&A after her presentation, attendees had an opportunity to ask Sitora about the achievements she is the proudest of, who inspired her to enter STEM and ways they could pursue STEM through academics, extracurricular activities and international exchange programs like TechGirls and TechWomen.
Report Date...: 11/29/21
Fellow and TechGirls alumna collaborate to inspire girls in STEM
Fellow(s): Imene Henni Mansour
Country: Algeria
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2019 fellow Imene Henni Mansour was a guest speaker at Women Who STEM, a free online initiative that empowers women and girls to pursue STEM fields. Women Who STEM was founded by Youssra Bencherif, a 2021 TechGirls alumna from Algeria.
Imene and Youssra met during Youssra’s TechGirls 2021 interview, where Imene served on the interview panel. Youssra reached out to Imene shortly after the 2021 program concluded, asking her to get involved in her initiative. At the most recent event, Youssra invited women leaders to share their careers in STEM and give advice to girls on how to kickstart their STEM careers. In her talk, Imene, the CEO of InnoCom, spoke about computer science, entrepreneurship in Algeria and how volunteering helped her gain the soft skills required to create her own company. Imene told the girls that they must challenge themselves every day to be the best version of themselves: “As women entrepreneurs, we have to be bold and self-confident, because others can feel it,” she said. “I also advised them to always be self-learners, whatever their age, position or status.”
Report Date...: 11/29/21
Fellow discusses innovation and the future of tech in interview
Fellow(s): Zimkhita Buwa and Anar Simpson (mentor)
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2013 fellow Zimkhita Buwa was a featured guest on Yes We Can, an interview series from Cloudflare featuring women technology leaders. The series is led by Michelle Zatly, Cloudflare’s co-founder, president and COO. Zimkhita and Michelle were introduced through TechWomen mentor and strategic partnerships advisor Anar Simpson, who was also featured on Yes We Can.
Zimkhita is the CEO of Quintica, a digital innovation company. She is also a member of Dazzle Angels, a women-led angel fund that invests in women-owned startups, and serves on the board of Silicon Cape, a non-profit that promotes tech entrepreneurship in the Western Cape. In the interview, Zimkhita reflected on her TechWomen experience and how it impacted her career. “It changed my life,” she said. “I realized I didn’t want to be technical anymore, and it made me choose a different career for myself.” Zimkhita also spoke about mentorship, entrepreneurship and innovation, highlighting the flourishing startup ecosystem in South Africa and how women entrepreneurs are pioneering transformative change.
Report Date...: 11/29/21
Fellow selected as first recipient of the Kerr fellowship
Fellow(s): Rasha Abu Dayyeh
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
2017 fellow Rasha Abu Dayyeh was named the first recipient of the University of California, Berkeley Kerr fellowship, a scholarship that supports professionals from the MENA region whose work focuses on the environment, natural resources and peace-building through environmental programs. The scholarship is part of the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program (ELP), a UC Berkeley program founded in 2001 that has trained 731 professionals from 121 countries The Kerr fellowship was created in celebration of the ELP’s 20th year.
Rasha, a water and environmental engineer, was mentored at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission during TechWomen 2017. During her professional mentorship she visited UC Berkeley, where she learned about Beahrs ELP. After returning to Ramallah – and after applying to Beahrs ELP every year – Rasha was finally accepted with a partial scholarship, but was unable to secure the funds to attend. After being named a recipient of the Kerr fellowship, Rasha began online classes this year, and hopes to be able to attend UC Berkeley for in-person courses next year. During the program, Rasha and a group of environmental leaders began Heroines of Earth, a project that amplifies women’s contributions towards defending the environment and creating a culture of sustainability. In a UC Berkeley feature, Rasha spoke about the importance of bringing international leaders together to create effective change: “The clock is ticking on climate change, and I believe in the power of collective action. To be able to heal the world, we all need to work together,” she said.
Report Date...: 11/22/21
Fellow partners with UK organization to foster local innovation
Fellow(s): Chepkemoi Magadaline
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2019 fellow Chepkemoi Magadaline has partnered with UK government program Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) Global Alliance Africa to launch Innovation Action Plan, a pilot program that will support local and regional innovation in Eldoret, Kenya. Chepkemoi is the founder and executive director of Eldohub, an EdTech platform that brings digital skills and ICT training to young people and provides mentorship and educational resources to Kenyan entrepreneurs.
After a series of design workshops, EldoHub and KTN created a 10-point roadmap that addresses regional innovation challenges. By 2025, the partnership will bring an entrepreneurship accelerator bootcamp, a university hub incubation program and innovation exchange challenges across the region. They will also offer digital transformation training, job support and a locally run ICT hub. At the launch event, attended by the British Deputy High Commissioner to Kenya as well as Uasin Gishu County’s Deputy Governor, Chepkemoi expressed her excitement for the program: “We are looking forward to Eldoret’s innovation ecosystem becoming a source of prosperity for all, with meaningful employment opportunities for a more tech-savvy workforce, and strong links with regional, national and international partners,” she said.
Report Date...: 11/22/21
In keynote address fellow speaks about AI and transportation
Fellow(s): Reema Diab
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
This week, 2019 fellow Reema Diab delivered a keynote address at the 2021 RiseUp Summit in Cairo, Egypt, speaking about harnessing the power of AI to impact transportation challenges. RiseUp is the largest innovation and entrepreneurship summit in the MENA region, convening innovators and entrepreneurs for three days of panels, workshops and keynotes. This year’s summit, themed on Timeless Innovation, brought together over 10,000 attendees at the Pyramids of Giza to discuss technologies that can transform the world.
Reema is the founder of Galaxy Organization for Technology, an IT non- profit that empowers women and youth with STEM skills. In her talk, she spoke about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the importance of empowering young people with skills in AI, IoT and more. She also presented on the future of transportation and self-driving cars, sharing how developing countries
can create sustainable infrustructure and use AI technology to create a better quality of life for its citizens.
Report Date...: 11/22/21
With lessons from TechWomen fellow holds engineering event
Fellow(s): Lucy Mutinda
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
This week, 2016 fellow Lucy Mutinda co-organized the 28th Institution of Engineers of Kenya Conference, a five-day event themed on how engineers are accelerating sustainable economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lucy is the CEO and founder of Ecocycle, a company that provides zero-waste products and services. Founded in 2014, Ecocycle turns sewage into clean water, installs water recycling machines in homes and hotels throughout Kenya and promotes water re-use and environmental conservation. She is also the founder of Envirologic, a company that offers consulting services as well as a sustainable dry toilet system that functions without water or chemicals. Lucy serves as the first vice president of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK), and leads publicity, branding and marketing of all IEK partnerships and events. As she leverages social media to spread awareness about engineering in Kenya, Lucy is using skills she learned from TechWomen 2016: “I acquired my social media skills at the training that was delivered at Autodesk on the power of social media,” she said. “I have used those skills for my individual brand, my company and now IEK.”
Report Date...: 11/15/21
Fellow’s startup selected for 2021 TinySeed Accelerator
Fellow(s): Heba El Houjairy
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Over the last few years, 2019 fellow Heba El Houjairy noticed that companies were rapidly moving their business operations to the cloud without properly protecting themselves from hazardous security threats. As a response, she co-founded Skysnag, a startup that uses proprietary technology to protect organizations against email impersonation, one of the most dangerous forms of phishing attacks. Since the product launched, Skysnag has blocked more than one million impersonation threats.
This month, U.S.-based accelerator TinySeed accepted SkySnag for its Fall 2021 batch, making SkySnag the only selected team with both founders outside the U.S. During the one-year program, Heba and her co-founder will learn to grow their business through mentorship, networking opportunities and customized coaching from SaaS leaders. Skysnag was also recently featured in a Yahoo Finance article that highlights their mission, product and the importance of phishing protection.
On their homepage, Skysnag offers a free tool that allows organizations to check if their domain name is vulnerable to email impersonation attacks. Moving forward, Heba hopes to continue to provide tools for smaller companies that typically don’t have easy access to protection mechanisms. “Our deeper vision is to democratize cybersecurity,” she said. “It makes us extremely happy to see that we are protecting organizations from potential financial or data losses daily.”
Report Date...: 11/15/21
