Impact Stories from Economic Impact Policy Area
Fellow moderates panel with Iraqi female founders
Fellow(s): Shahrazad Shehab
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2019 fellow Shahrazad Shehab moderated a panel on women and entrepreneurship in Iraq, inviting three Iraqi female founders to share lessons and successes from their businesses in celebration of International Women’s Day. The talk was hosted by Takween Accelerator, the first accelerator in Iraq that supports local startups. The accelerator is based at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani. Shahrazad, an entrepreneur and Takween Accelerator’s startup accelerator trainer, first became involved when TechWomen mentor Eileen Brewer, then the accelerator’s director, invited her to serve as a mentor for an event. During the panel, the founders introduced their businesses, the problems they are solving and what motivates them as entrepreneurs. They also spoke about key elements that drive an entrepreneurial spirit: creativity, continuous learning and a commitment to help their communities. “I believe that passion is very important when any person wants to start a business,” said Shahrazad. “Being passionate about you’re doing drives success. I believe solving a problem and making the world a better place is what every entrepreneur should think about.”
Read More »Report Date...: 3/28/2022
Fellow featured for being an automotive industry trailblazer
Fellow(s): Oduwa Agboneni
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2019 fellow Oduwa Agboneni was featured in a spotlight from United Bank of Africa, highlighted for her work as an entrepreneur, mechanical engineer and founder of Nenis Auto Care, an auto garage with a mission to empower women and girls in Nigeria. In addition to founding Nenis Auto Care, Oduwa established Nenis E-Learning Hub where she hosts courses on electric vehicles and trains women with essential skills like changing a tire and checking a car battery. Nenis Auto Care also works with the University of Lagos to host its women engineering students for hands-on internships, and, in 2019, Oduwa created Girls Auto Squad, an automotive training program that addresses the skills shortage and gender gap in the Nigerian automotive industry through empowering underserved girls. “There are very few women in this field because of lack of interest due to societal beliefs that it’s a man’s world,” Oduwa said in the feature. “I’ve tried as much as possible to encourage females…there’s a pride that comes with this field. It comes with respect; it comes with dignity…ladies should not be cut off from benefiting from the automotive industry.”
Read More »Report Date...: 3/28/22
TechWomen alumnae support Technovation Turkmenistan
Fellow(s): Maral Hudaybergenova, Radha Basu, Eileen Brewer, Janice Campbell, Erin Keeley, Cora Lam, Zulya Achilova, Zeenat Anjum, Ozoda Ismailova, Sitora Salaeva
Country: Pakistan, Turkmenistan, United States, Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2016, 2018, 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2018 fellow of Turkmenistan Maral Hudaybergenova recently brought together the TechWomen community to help girls from Technovation Turkmenistan build their confidence, refine their pitches and prepare for Technovation’s global technology competition. Maral, the chapter ambassador for Technovation, launched the first season of the program in Turkmenistan last year. This month she organized a Live Speed Mentoring event, bringing in mentors Radha Basu, Eileen Brewer, Janice Campbell, Erin Keeley and Cora Lam as well as 2019 fellow of Turkmenistan Zulya Achilova, 2019 fellow of Pakistan Zeenat Anjum and fellows of Uzbekistan Ozoda Ismailova (2016) and Sitora Salaeva (2019) to serve as mentors. Together, the fellows, mentors and other supporters met with the Technovation Turkmenistan girls, helping them with their projects that aim to use technology to address leading issues in their communities. 18 teams of girls ages eight to 18 had the opportunity practice pitching their projects to the mentors and gather feedback on their projects and pitch delivery.
Report Date...: 3/21/2022
fellow shares passion for uplifting women and girls, In interview fellow shares passion for uplifting women and girls
Fellow(s): Joy Makumbe
Country: Zimbabwe
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2015 fellow Joy Makumbe was featured in Harare-based newspaper The Sunday Mail, interviewed about her passion for engineering and her commitment to bringing more women and girls into the field. Joy, a civil and water engineer and project manager, recently published Tech Girl Diaries, a book that chronicles her personal and professional journey in STEM. Through a series of essays, Joy shares lessons and practical advice on how parents, communities and workplaces can support girls and women on their STEM journeys and work together towards addressing the gender imbalance in STEM fields.
In the interview, Joy spoke about her hope for women and girls: “My vision to see more women in Africa take up positions of impact and influence in the engineering and science fields led me to start the Joy Makumbe Trust…a trust dedicated to empowering women with entrepreneurial skills and career guidance.” She also spoke about her role as secretary for the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities, sharing her projects that will house Zimbabweans in need.
Report Date...: 3/14/2022
Fellow discusses Black women entrepreneurs at Embassy event
Fellow(s): Michelle Sesay
Country: Sierra Leone
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2013 fellow Michelle Sesay served as a panelist at a U.S. Embassy Freetown film screening themed on Black History Month and the upcoming International Women’s Day. The event, a screening of the documentary “She Did That” at Fourah Bay College, featured a discussion on Black women entrepreneurs with women alumni and entrepreneurs of U.S. exchange programs. Michelle is a civil engineer, entrepreneur and YALI fellow. In her panel, attended by aspiring entrepreneurs and university students, Michelle and fellow U.S. exchange program alumni talked about impostor syndrome, lack of funding for female-owned startups and the need for more women in leadership to acknowledge and celebrate their successes. The group also discussed similarities and differences among women entrepreneurs in the U.S. and Sierra Leone, speaking about the need to support Black-owned businesses. “We spoke about superwoman syndrome, where we take it upon ourselves to do everything and not delegate roles to our staff,” said Michelle. “Women generally don’t give themselves credit or acknowledge how far they have come.”
Report Date...: 2/28/2022
Fellow speaks about work-life balance for mothers at live event
Fellow(s): Dalia Shurrab
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2018 fellow Dalia Shurrab was featured in a Startups without Borders online event, speaking about how to balance motherhood and entrepreneurship. Dalia is the project manager of Mompreneur, a 2020 AEIF-winning project that supports mothers from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with training, workshops and starting their own online businesses. At the Instagram Live event, Dalia spoke about challenges that women in MENA face juggling start-up life and family life and offered solutions to women who are seeking better work-life balance. “Moms should find and create a support system and never feel shy or ashamed to ask for help,” said Dalia. “She does a great job as a mom and she should put herself on top of her priority list to give herself some time to meditate, self-heal and to take care of her mental health.” Dalia also shared freelance platforms and ways to find jobs online, offering tools and tips for women entering or re-entering the workforce.
Read More »Report Date...: 2/28/2022
Mentor(s):
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
108 Emerging Leaders from 20 countries arrived in the U.S. for TechWomen 2022, embarking on five weeks of professional development, mentorship and exchange. In the spring 2022 hybrid program, Emerging Leaders will be guided and supported by nearly 300 Professional Mentors, Cultural Mentors and Impact Coaches and will be learning together in interactive professional development workshops and Professional Interest Groups. After Wednesday’s arrival day, Emerging Leaders gathered online as a group for the first time at the Welcome Orientation, where they learned about essential program information, additional details on their mentorship and other important logistics about the spring program. At Friday’s Cultural Kickoff, Emerging Leaders had the opportunity to share their country’s cultures and engage in cross-cultural dialogue and exchange with their fellow Emerging Leaders and the TechWomen mentor community. The event was presented in an online world café format, where each country group shared about their country and cultures in a fun and creative way during four breakout room sessions. The event also featured five presentations: a language lesson from Cameroon, a traditional dance lesson from Kyrgyzstan, a cooking lesson from Lebanon, a sing-along from Morocco and a lesson in tribe totems from Zimbabwe.
Report Date...: 2/21/2022
Fellows’ TechWomen social impact project hosts STEM event
Fellow(s): Flora Asibe, Ehiaghe Aigiomawu, Olayinka Fagbemiro, Oluwatoyin Adegoke, Happy Amos and Damilola Asaleye
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
During TechWomen 2020-2021 action planning alongside their Impact Coaches, fellows Flora Asibe, Ehiaghe Aigiomawu, Olayinka Fagbemiro, Oluwatoyin Adegoke, Happy Amos and Damilola Asaleye created EduChamps, a social impact project that provides educational supplies like school bags, textbooks, writing materials and sanitary pads for girls, as well as empowerment trainings in recycling, gardening and more. This month, the fellows held an event with 30 girls from the African Church Grammar School, hosting a day of mentorship and skills training. Jennifer Foltz, U.S. consulate deputy public affairs officer, delivered closing remarks to the students. The day featured workshops in upcycling as well as tech talks from fellows on automotive engineering, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and space science. The students also received solar lanterns and educational supplies such as bags, uniforms, textbooks and sanitary pads to encourage them to stay in school. “My favorite moment was answering the questions from the girls on the career paths they could have in the technical industry,” said Damilola. “Thank you to TechWomen for supporting us with a seed grant for the project, an enabling environment, sisterhood, networks and much more.”
Read More »Report Date...: 2/21/2022
Fellow delivers workshop on public speaking for 300 students
Fellow(s): Omnia Tayari
Country: Libya
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2013 fellow Omnia Tayari delivered a webinar on the foundations of public speaking to 300 students from North Africa and the Middle East this month, sharing tips and strategies to help students succeed in their careers. Omnia is the co-founder of BulbulHub Academy of Public Speaking as well as the founder of Oratoriia, an online program that educates and empowers young leaders. The students in attendance are enrolled in a full stack developer course from Edraak, an online course portal established by Queen Rania al Abdallah of Jordan; Omnia has been supporting this credential course as a communications and public speaking instructor. In her workshop, Omnia spoke about why public speaking is essential for career success, sharing tools and simple strategies for overcoming the fear of public speaking. “I was welcomed with great energy,” said Omnia. “The engagement was amazing that I could hardly manage to read the answers when I asked a question. Their insights, honesty and obvious desire to learn and grow was overwhelming.”
Read More »Report Date...: 2/21/2022
Fellow launches Tech Women Club for women in Nigeria
Fellow(s): Stella Uzochukwu-Denis
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Recently, the American Corner Abuja reached out to 2019 fellow Stella Uzochukwu-Denis with an interest in bringing together women and girls interested in STEM fields for mentorship, networking and support. After strategizing together, Stella and the American Corner officially launched the Tech Women Club, a monthly gathering for women in Abuja that will meet at the American Corner space. Stella is the country director for Odyssey Educational Foundation, an NGO with a mission to equip African children, particularly girls, with STEM skills. Under her leadership, the Tech Women Club will host women and girls who are in STEM fields or interested in pursuing STEM. “The mandate is to demystify technology, especially for those who do not have a tech background,” said Stella. At the club’s first meeting, 10 women gathered to speak about their interest in technology and discuss local opportunities for women and girls. Stella shared an upcoming training she is leading for 25 women on gaming and VR. “This was born out of my TechWomen experience,” she said. “I was mentored at Unity, a video game software development company, and I wouldn’t be thinking about a gaming training for girls and women here in Nigeria without that exposure.” Stella and the American Corner Abuja also collaborated for an International Day of Women and Girls in Science event this week, introducing attendees to innovative ways to teach STEM education and sharing scholarships for young students.
Report Date...: 2/7/2022
