Impact Stories from Professional Growth Policy Area

BBC News Kyrgyz features fellows’ TechWomen 2022 project

Fellow(s): Kanykei Alipova, Azem Bakasova, Tursunai Bektemirova, Elvira Kyshtobaeva, Ainura Mitalipova, Jyldyz Moldosanova, Fatima Turgunbaeva, Gulzada Urgunalieva

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

The 2022 fellows of Kyrgyzstan were featured in a video spotlight from BBC News Kyrgyz that highlighted their seed-grant winning action plan project created during the TechWome program. During the action planning process of TechWomen, fellows Kanykei Alipova, Azem Bakasova, Tursunai Bektemirova, Elvira Kyshtobaeva, Ainura Mitalipova, Jyldyz Moldosanova, Fatima Turgunbaeva and Gulzada Urgunalieva created Kamkor, a portal that will support working mothers by connecting them to childcare. Through Kamkor, the fellows hope to provide resources to the 57% of educated women in Kyrgyzstan who cannot work because of the lack of childcare in the country. “Many educated women in Kyrgyzstan are forced to leave the labor market, they said. “Mothers will be able to find a nanny for themselves at their request for an hour, for a day, for a month. With easy access to childcare, mothers can go back to work and create conditions for gender equality.”

Report Date...: 5/2/2022

Fellow selected as youth speaker at UN event

Fellow(s): Tala Qawasmi

Country: Palestinian Territories

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement

2022 fellow Tala Qawasmi was a featured speaker at the 2022 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, joining the Arab States Region breakout session to discuss supporting youth in developing their skills and finding job opportunities. ECOSOC is focused on advancing economic, social and environmental sustainable development. Their 2022 Youth Forum, “COVID-19 recovery: Youth taking action for a sustainable future,” brought together youth to contribute their ideas and innovations to create sustainable change. Tala is a Geographic Information System (GIS) expert at Preventative Security, an intelligence service of the Palestinian Territories. She previously collaborated with the UNDP to create Get That Job, an initiative that addressed youth unemployment in her community by connecting new graduates with consultants to support with training and job services. At the Youth Forum, Tala shared her story, the challenges she has overcome and how she has made an impact in youth unemployment. Although Get That Job did not officially launch, Tala will soon merge the platform with Josour, the social impact initiative she created alongside her country team during TechWomen 2022. Josour, which means “bridge,” will support women and youth with soft skills training and provide resources on local and international opportunities. “When I worked with my team during TechWomen, I thought it would be better to have this platform in-person and focus on all soft skills that not only fresh graduates need but also students in colleges and schools,” said Tala. “These two initiatives have the same goal. UNDP and Sharek Youth Forum are our partners now and will cooperate with us to make this project a success.”

Report Date...: 4/25/2022

Fellows recognized for their LinkedIn leadership

Fellow(s): Zeenat Anjum, Asna Javed

Country: Pakistan

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

2019 fellows Zeenat Anjum and Asna Javed were named to the 2022 Top 20 Most Influential Pakistani Women on LinkedIn list, recognized for their leadership and LinkedIn writings that share their experiences as women in technology. The list was created by Connected Women Pakistan, a women’s empowerment social enterprise. Zeenat is the founder of Digiwrite, a community where freelancers can share their experiences and best practices in their industries. Recently, Digiwrite has branched out to include job creation and training services. “The vision further extends to Digiwrite facilitating women who want to enter the freelancing or entrepreneurship domain and do not have the direction to earn active or passive income,” said Zeenat in her feature. Asna, a data and AI technical sales specialist at IBM Pakistan, speaks about her TechWomen 2019 mentorship at LinkedIn in her spotlight: “I was taught a number of things but one of the key takeaways for me was ‘If you have done/achieved something, talk about it. You are not showing off, you are only stating the facts.’ This has helped me tremendously in my career and personal branding. I started sharing things that I learned and achieved on LinkedIn which did not just give me visibility but also inspired many other men and women in the IT sector.”

Report Date...: 4/25/2022

Fellow named a Geospatial World Rising Star

Fellow(s): Marie Makuate

Country: Cameroon

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Professional Growth

2022 fellow of Cameroon Marie Makuate was named to the Geospatial World 50 Rising Stars for 2022 list, celebrated for her accomplishments in her industry. The annual list recognizes professionals under 40 who are passionate about geospatial science and technology and use their expertise to contribute to economy and society. Marie is a geospatial data analyst researcher with a focus on GIS (Geographic Information Systems) for environmental management. She also the co-founder of the Network of African Geomatics Professionals as well as the Central Africa zonal representative for African Women in GIS. During TechWomen, Marie worked alongside Sheryl Walton, her mentor at Autodesk, to meet scientific researchers, sharpen her entrepreneurial skills and learn new methodologies in the field of geospatial sciences. “I am very fortunate to be working in the geospatial field,” said Marie. “It represents the future. This is a great accomplishment, but also the beginning of a great adventure.”

Report Date...: 4/25/2022

Fellow(s): Hamis Elgabry

Country: Egypt

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth

2022 fellow Hamis Elgabry is part of the founding team of Mozare3, an agri-fintech platform that supports smallholder farmers with improved digitization, tracking, supplies and agricultural supervision. Recently, Mozare3 won first place at El Forsa, an Egyptian televised entrepreneurial competition. Hamis, the product development and innovation manager at Mozare3, is an agritech entrepreneur who specializes in water, climate and food security challenges. El Forsa, which airs on one of the largest channels in the Arab world, awarded Mozare3 over $50,000 as the first-place winner. Hamis was featured in a video promotion for the show, speaking about the company’s mission to empower small farmers through technology by providing them access to supplies, financial accounts and contracts on Mozare3’s mobile app. Hamis and the Mozare3 team, who just celebrated one year in business, will use the award prize to strengthen their Series A funding.

Report Date...: 4/18/2022

2020-2021 fellows create campaign for social impact initiative

Fellow(s): Ainur Kuanyshbayeva, Kymbat Yeltayeva, Moldir Kussainova, Raushan Nurdillayeva

Country: Kazakhstan

Cohort: 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth

During TechWomen 2020-2021 action planning, fellows Ainur Kuanyshbayeva, Kymbat Yeltayeva, Moldir Kussainova and Raushan Nurdillayeva created an initiative with a mission to raise awareness about domestic violence in Kazakhstan, a country where over two million women report suffering from domestic abuse. In memory of friend lost to domestic violence, the fellows conceived of a project that aimed to educate, inform and empower both men and women to create change.
Collaborating with an illustrator, the fellows recently debuted a visual campaign meant to reframe societal views on violence. Through a series of illustrated cards, the fellows dispel myths about gender dynamics in romantic relationships, encouraging people to reconsider harmful gender stereotypes. “The topic is quite difficult, so we decided to approach it creatively,” said the fellows. “We created such cards so that we all reconsider the stereotypes created in society regarding women and romantic relationships.” The campaign was released on Kozy Korpesh and Bayan Sulu, a Kazakh national holiday known as the Day of Love. One card shows the common phrase “She asked for it” crossed out, replaced by “The abuser is at fault.” Another reads, “Endure it, and you will grow to love it,” crossed out and replaced by ““Don’t endure it, love will not come.” In the coming weeks, the fellows will release an animated video of a “modern fairytale” that will educate viewers on the signs of domestic violence.

Report Date...: 4/18/2022

Fellow’s project selected for Mozilla Technology Fund Cohort

Fellow(s): Wiebke Toussaint Hutiri

Country: South Africa

Cohort: 2018

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Fair EVA, a project led by 2018 fellow Wiebke Toussaint Hutiri, was recently selected for Mozilla’s first Technology Fund Cohort, an initiative that contributes to more trustworthy AI and a healthier internet. Wiebke, Fair EVA’s project lead, is a PhD candidate at Delft University of Technology studying smart cyber-physical systems. The Mozilla Technology Fund’s Bias and Transparency in AI Awards will provide up to $50,000 to the five selected teams in the next year. Fair EVA is an open-source project that addresses bias in voice technologies and builds tools to reduce discrimination in voice biometrics. The project was highlighted in a recent article from the Mozilla Foundation that outlined the issue of racial bias in services like Voice ID, Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, and Fair EVA’s efforts to evaluate bias and increase reliability in voice technology for all users. Fair EVA is currently compiling a database of vendors and service providers who use voice biometrics for voice ID applications to better evaluate bias: “Bias is at least partially preventable, which is why we are looking at ways of identifying and addressing it in voice biometrics,” said Wiebke.

Report Date...: 4/18/2022

Mentor(s): Jeannice Samani

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

TechWomen mentor Dr. Jeannice Fairrer Samani recently spoke at a capacity-building session at the WELLTI Summit in Dubai, joining a panel that shared their careers in technology, their experiences with cross-border collaboration and the role that technology plays in empowering women. WELLTI, or Women Empowered Leave Legacies through Trade and Investment, is an initiative of the International Trade Administration’s Middle East and Africa Regional Office. Their 2022 Summit brought together women-owned and women-led businesses to connect, network and learn about resources available for doing business in the MENA region. Dr. Samani is the executive information technology architect for Fairrer Samani Group as well as the founding director of Fifth Wave STEaM Education Initiative. In the panel, she spoke about her early interest in technology, sharing her experience as the only girl learning to code in a special program in high school. In addition to sharing the Fairrer Samani group’s dedication to agility, diversity and curiosity, Dr. Samani spoke about the future of AI and the need for it to be both inclusive and ethical. “Diversity is at the forefront of it,” she said. “We need more people of color, and we need more women.” ALUMNA

Report Date...: 4/11/2022

Fellow wins award from Ministry of Economy and Finance

Fellow(s): Rachida Khtira

Country: Morocco

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth

2019 fellow Rachida Khtira won the Excellence Award at a ceremony hosted by Morocco’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, recognized for her leadership, exemplary work and dedication. Rachida is a computer science engineer for the Department of Studies and Financial Forecast in Morocco’s Ministry of Economy and Finance. Last month, in celebration of International Women’s Day, the Ministry of Economy and Finance honored its women employees who have distinguished themselves through the quality of their work and their commitment the Ministry’s mission. Rachida, who was nominated by her department, won the Homage prize, given to women have been in the workforce over 20 years including 10 years of service in their current position

Report Date...: 4/11/2022

Fellows travel to London for Goldman Sachs Fellowship

Fellow(s): Oluremi Hamid, Lamia Fikrat

Country: Morocco, Nigeria

Cohort: 2016, 2019

Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

2016 fellow of Nigeria Oluremi Hamid and 2019 fellow of Morocco Lamia Fikrat were accepted to the annual Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Growth Fellowship, traveling to London last month for training, networking and learning. 10,000 Women has a mission to close the gender gap by investing in women’s education. Their three-month online course, free for women around the world, provides access to training in business, leadership, sales and more. Their annual Fellowship selects a small cohort of course graduates, providing six months of mentorship, training events and networking opportunities. This year, the Fellowship’s culminating event was held in four locations: London, New York, India and China; Lamia and Oluremi were two of four women selected for the London event. Lamia is a strategy and business development consultant as well as a coach for entrepreneurs. Oluremi is the CEO of Hydren Energy, a company that provides solar solutions to small businesses and homes. During the Fellowship, Oluremi learned about the innovation process, expanded her knowledge of successful problem solving and gained valuable lessons in entrepreneurship. “Being vulnerable is a superpower,” she said. “Never be afraid to collaborate with others as it makes you more resilient. Don’t stifle your team of innovation and ideas — allow exchange of ideas.”

Report Date...: 4/4/2022

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