Impact Stories from Professional Growth Policy Area
Fellow helps host virtual career fair to promote global hiring
Fellow(s): Hiba Ghannam
Country: Palestinian Territories
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth
Fellow Hiba Ghannam (Palestinian Territories, 2019) took part in producing the first MENA-wide Virtual Career Fair 2022 to be hosted by Washington D.C. based startup Localized, where she works as a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer. Localized hosted over 60 companies from numerous nations and industries, with sponsors and guests including Google, Nestle and U.S. News and World Report. The company’s platform is designed to connect businesses seeking to build diverse, high-achieving teams with a global talent pool. Hiba held virtual sessions for recent STEM-major graduates, advising them on finding “international opportunities and remote work from [their] region.” Hiba is an example of this ethos as a remote employee for the American startup working from her home in the Palestinian Territories. Hiba completed her master’s thesis in software engineering from Birzeit University and is a co-founder of Palestine Tech Meetups.
Read More »Report Date...: 7/4/2022
Fellow makes history with first prize win for biomedical innovation
Fellow(s): Norah Magero
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2022 Fellow Norah Magero recently made history as the first Kenyan and second woman to win first place in the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. Beating out three other finalists, Norah’s presentation before judges and a live audience on June 15, 2022 won the first prize of £25,000 for her innovation Vaccibox, a portable and solar-powered vaccine refrigerator that safely stores and transports temperature-sensitive medications. Vaccibox serves an especially critical need as the world navigates the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, throughout which global supply chain breakdowns have threatened the delivery of temperature-dependent medicine, especially to rural and field healthcare locations. Norah’s winning innovation is a 40-liter box that can be wheeled with a telescopic handle or mounted on all manner of vehicles, including motorcycles and boats. Vaccibox also features a built-in thermostat, solar panel connectivity and other stabilizing features to ensure reliable temperature control throughout use. “VacciBox was designed with our local challenges in mind. It’s versatile, reliable and localised. We’re ensuring that it works the way healthcare workers need it to work for the conditions they face each day,” Norah said.
Norah is a Mechanical Engineer and renewable energy consultant. She is co-founder of both Cool Green Campaign, a renewable energy mentoring initiative for high school students, and Drop Access, a non-profit focused on rural energy access.
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation was founded by the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering in 2014 and holds the distinction as Africa’s largest award of its kind.
Report Date...: 6/27/2022
Fellow publishes study mapping extensive genomic diversity in variants of Covid-19 virus
Fellow(s): Zebinisa Mirakbarova
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
Fellow publishes study mapping extensive genomic diversity in variants of Covid-19 virus
Uzbeki fellow Zebinisa Mirakbarova (2019) has recently published an article on the genetic diversity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants in Uzbekistan and their associations with COVID-19 severity in the journal PLOS One.
Zebinisa and her colleagues tracked genomic mutations and evolution in SARS-CoV-2 variants found in specimens collected July through August 2021 from symptomatic PCR-positive patients in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In total, the team isolated 39 whole genome sequences (WGS) to reveal a total of “223 nucleotide-level variations and 34 deletions at different positions throughout the entire genome of SARS-CoV-2.” The study provides extensive helpful data on the pathogenesis and resultant severity between numerous variants among different patient profiles.
This study was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Innovative Development, Republic of Uzbekistan, and Zebinisa is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry under the National University of Uzbekistan.
Report Date...: 6/27/2022
Fellow and mentor join annual SelectUSA Investment Summit
Fellow(s): Ameni Mansouri, Jeannice Samani
Country: Tunisia, United States
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Professional Growth
Fellow Ameni Mansouri of Tunisia (2018) joined the first ever Tunisian Delegation to the 2022 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington DC. SelectUSA is a Department of Commerce program that facilitates and highlights the jobs-creating impact of direct foreign business investment into the United States by providing a platform for international marketing, encouraging localized networking and providing access to essential services and information. Ameni attended the event as CEO and Co-Founder of Dabchy.com, a fashion community that combines social networks with shopping markets to provide users a platform to “buy, sell or exchange new and used fashion items online,” while also interacting with the posts, images and articles of fellow members, or “Dabchouchas” as they call themselves. TechWomen mentor and Managing Director of Fairrer Samani Group, Dr. Jeannice Samani, also participated in the event as a judge of the Middle East & Africa Regional Pitching Session.
The 2022 Select USA Investment Summit was the largest to date with more than 3,600 attendees, panelists, sponsors, moderators, pitchers and exhibitors from over 70 international markets and 51 states and territories. The event included keynote remarks from President Joe Biden and speeches from several US governors and cabinet secretaries among other notable figures.
Report Date...: 6/27/2022
Marvell mentors and fellows collaborate to promote TechWomen mentorship
Fellow(s): Cora Wai Sheung Lam, Shailja Garg, Nayanika Diwadkar, Khadija Garamanli and Safa Buzgeia
Country: Libya, Tunisia, United States
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Mentors and fellows of sponsor Marvell Technology hosted a webinar of nearly 50 attendees to promote the TechWomen (TW) mentorship experience. The event, “TechWomen 2022: Spring Lookback and Autumn Cohort Applications,” was co-organized by various Marvell stakeholders, including mentors Cora Wai Sheung Lam, Shailja Garg and Nayanika Diwadkar. It also featured guest presentations from fellows Khadija Garamanli (Libya, 2022) and Safa Buzgeia (Tunisia, 2022). The event included an opening address, a comprehensive overview of the TechWomen program, an introductory video featuring TW director Katie Zee, remarks from TW Mentorship Initiatives Lead Linda Miles, and detailed first-hand accounts of the experiences of mentor and fellow experiences. The event was launched with opening speaker Kalpendu Pasad, Principal Engineer and Manager at Marvell, who emphasized, “We are at the cusp of a technology revolution [and]… we cannot afford for women to be left out. One-on-one mentoring by the engineering community, at every stage, is essential to ensure that women cultivate a lasting and fulfilling career in technology.”
Report Date...: 6/20/2022
Lebanese fellow speaks on Dubai Business Associates panel
Fellow(s): Cynthia Massad
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Cynthia Massad, a Lebanese fellow also from the 2020-2021 TechWomen cohort, was recently invited to speak on a Dubai Business Associates’ (DBA) panel for business leaders in human resources and strategy. Cynthia represented audit, taxation and consulting firm Deloitte, where she works as a senior consultant in cyber risk and strategy. She spoke on the panel alongside contemporaries from other global powerhouses, including KPMG, EY and Bain & Company. There, they addressed the practical advantages and disadvantages of building a career in their related industries. Cynthia shares that she was “glad to have participated in this fruitful session with fellow panelists to share our experiences to a group of ambitious young professionals [and] associates.”
The DBA is a component of Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s efforts to accelerate the careers of the entry-level workforce through “skill-building projects and immersive networking.”
Report Date...: 6/13/2022
Nigerian fellow wins funding for youth accelerator in Niger; collaborates with TechWomen mentor for technical tools
Fellow(s): Binta Moustapha
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Nigerian alumna Binta Moustapha, 2014, has recently won a grant from the Bank of Africa Foundation in the amount of ten million West African francs (CFA) for use toward her youth training initiative, Cabinet Hub Zinder. Located in her spouse’s home country, the Republic of Niger, Cabinet Hub Zinder, also called the African Street Business School and Entrepreneurship Hub, was founded to accelerate digital and entrepreneurship skills training for young people aged 18-35 who are not currently involved in critical Education Employment or Training programs (NEETs).
When Binta first relocated to Niger in 2016, she faced adjustment issues when she struggled to communicate in the French lanuage. Binta shares that she was inspired by the biblical quote made popular by Hillary Clinton to “bloom where you are planted,” and began volunteering to teach English as a second language at her local American Corner, a regional resource center provided by the US State Department where people can gather, share and learn about American culture, history, current events and government. Her involvement at the American Corner eventually led Binta to the founding of Cabinet Hub Zinder.
In this program, the 120 youth participants, 60% of whom will be women, will receive stipend funds totalling 42,000 CFA each to compensate their time, transportation and data connection expenses. Participants with Cabinet Hub Zinder will also take part in a financial innovation challenge for fintech solutions internship opportunities in mobile device repairs, graphic design and more. Utilizing her TechWomen network, Binta has also partnered with San Francisco mentor Kathy Giori, who will provide MicroBlocks hardware to support program participants. Cabinet Hub Zinder will be hosted at the American Corner in Zinder, Niger.
Report Date...: 6/13/2022
Google Hustle Academy taps fellow as guest speaker
Fellow(s): Faten Khalfallah Hammouda
Country: Tunisia
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2015 fellow Faten Khalfallah, founder of First Skills Club, was selected as a guest speaker for the Thyna Business Library Event in Sfax, Tunisia and sponsored by AIESEC Thyna. Faten was one of four keynotes from across multiple industries who addressed and answered questions from young people ages 19-22 interested in pursuing careers in IT, finance, marketing, chemistry and engineering.
Faten’s talk, “Your Success Is Your Choice,” provided encouragement and shared her wisdom from years of experience as a robotics mentor, coach of the Tunisian national robotics team and leader at First Skills Club, a non-profit dedicated to providing Tunisian young people opportunities to learn and communicate in English via STEM education.
Report Date...: 5/31/2022
Mentor(s): Cora Wai Sheung Lam
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Mentor Cora Wai Sheung Lam was honored as one of the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 2022 Women of Influence in its third year. Honorees are selected from the public, private and non-profit sectors, and each recognized for the positive impacts they have effected in Silicon Valley and beyond. Those selected as honorees must demonstrate a “strong record of innovation in their fields, outstanding performance in their businesses and a clear track record of meaningful community involvement.”
In addition to her years as a mentor and champion for TechWomen, Cora has more than two decades of experience in STEM and current serves as Senior Principal CAD Engineer at Marvell Technology. Cora also leads the Women at Marvell organization and describes her dedication for promoting gender equity in STEM by saying, “Witnessing how STEM can exponentially improve millions of people across the globe, especially women, just touches my heart deeply.”
Report Date...: 5/31/2022
Fellow selected as World Bank Youth Summit 2022 Finalist
Fellow(s): Arielle Kitio
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
The World Bank selected 2016 fellow Arielle Kitio as a finalist for its 2022 Youth Summit Competition, representing her organization TechWoman Factory, part of the Cameroon Youth School Tech Incubator (CAYSTI). Arielle was one of six finalists selected from a competitive pool of 1,031 applications representing 107 countries. The 2022 summit theme was “Unlocking the Power of Inclusion for Equitable Growth,” and all finalists were selected for projects that effectively and impactfully spoke to elements of social, environmental and economic inclusion.
TechWoman Factory’s inaugural cohort consists of 179 Cameroonian youth (including 134 women), who receive professional training in one of three fields (data science, web development and digital art) for six months in Yaoundé, followed by a three-month professional mentorship with a partner organization. Additionally, all participants receive a core education in entrepreneurship, financial education, cybersecurity and soft skills such as negotiation, leadership, effective communication and creativity.
Report Date...: 5/31/2022
