Teenpreneurs
On the final morning of the TechWomen delegation trip to Egypt, the group met with participants of Teenpreneurs, an initiative started by Reham Nasser and Eman Moushe, both 2011 TechWomen fellows of Egypt. Teenpreneurs targets teenagers from 13 to 17 years old to unlock their potential and open their minds and eyes to how technology and entrepreneurship can bring a better future. The event was hosted at FabLab, a maker space in Cairo.
Reham and Eman spoke about how their experience with TechWomen inspired them to start Teenpreneurs. They credited TechWomen mentors with helping them to refine the scope of their idea, particularly during the 2013 delegation trip to Jordan. As a result of the support they received from the TechWomen community, Reham and Eman successfully applied for funding from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and with the help of the U.S. Embassy launched their first Teenpreneurs event in 2014.
Six Teenpreneurs alumnae were invited to speak on a panel moderated by Nermin Salah, 2013 fellow of Egypt. The alumnae, who ranged in age from 16-20, described Teenpreneurs as something that prepared them for the challenges they would face in life, inspired them to launch their own projects and gave them more self-confidence.
Following the panel, the delegation group held speed mentoring sessions with the Teenpreneurs alumnae and continued informal networking over lunch.
Youth Program Professional Development Sessions with Alwan Wa Awtar (AwA)
For the afternoon session, the delegation visited Alwan Wa Awtar (AwA), an NGO that provides professional development programs for children and youth living in the underserved Zelzal area in Mokattam, Cairo. Engy Abdalla, 2016 fellow of Egypt, gave the opening remarks, followed by a panel presentation where mentors Diana Macias and Katy Dickinson and fellows Dr. Nancy Cheseto (Kenya, 2015) and Majd Hemiemat (Jordan, 2014) spoke about their successes and challenges.
“You always have to have the confidence in yourself to say, ‘yes, i belong here’… You have to listen to your heart.” – Diana Macias on being the only girl in her computer science class.
The AwA participants were then invited to attend three professional development workshops with the TechWomen mentors:
- Presentation skills, led by Cathy Simpson and Lizz Noonan
- Self-representation (intro to self-branding), led by Katy Dickinson and Rekha Pai-Kamath
- Career planning (intro to resume building), led by Erin Keeley
Farewell Dinner
At the end of this productive and high-impact week of activities, the delegation group had a chance to celebrate at a farewell dinner cruise on the Nile River.
Catch up on the delegation activites at #TWegypt and please follow the upcoming activities of the delegation trip to Nigeria at #TWnigeria!
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