Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area
Fellow featured in article as a prominent woman in STEM
Fellow(s): Madina Samakbaeva
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2020-2021 fellow Madina Samakbaeva was recently featured in an article written in partnership between Girls in Science, Kyrgyzstan’s Child Protection Center and UNICEF. Madina is a quality control chemist for the Kyrgyz Republic’s Center for Veterinary Diagnostics and Expertise, as well as the founder of Easysciencekg, a platform that provides easy and accessible chemistry lessons to both children and adults. She has also contributed to TechWomen fellow-led Techaim, most recently creating a video for kids on determining pH and how it affects our health on their new STEAM channel, WeSTEAM. Beginning in 2019, Madina began volunteering with the Girls in Science Project, first creating STEM curriculum and now mentoring 12 girls on their career planning. “My TechWomen experience as a mentee has helped me to build and organize their mentorships,” she said.
In the article, Madina spoke about the challenges she faced as woman in chemistry, remembering how she was often told a career in science would interfere with getting married and having children. “Even those closest to me said, ‘You chose science, so, you will never build a family life,’” Madina said. “At the same time, none of them thought about what useful things I can do as I develop in science.” Madina also gave advice for youth in Kyrgyzstan who are considering STEM fields: “Science is not something unattainable. Do not be afraid to go into science — you need to be open, try and find your own way,” she said.
Report Date...: 6/28/21
At CodeHack fellows come together to support girls
Fellow(s): Ruth Kaveke and Joan Nabusoba
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2017, 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, fellows and co-founders of Pwani Teknowgalz Ruth Kaveke (2017) and Joan Nabusoba (2020-2021) invited three fellows to serve as judges for CodeHack, their latest project that trains young women with digital skills. With five STEM Café programs at American Corners throughout Kenya, coding classes, conferences and more, Pwani Teknowgalz aims to educate and empower girls through STEM education.
Their first CodeHack cohort – referred to as their “COVID-19 Edition” – worked with 150 young women ages 17 to 28 from marginalized communities in six Kenyan counties, training them in website development, mobile development and digital marketing. “This is geared toward empowering these young women in Kenya with technology skills that have proved crucial during this COVID-19 pandemic,” the fellows said. In the closing session, young women from the CodeHack cohort shared their mobile application solutions that solve community problems in front of a panel of judges that included fellows Serah Kahiu (2014), Alice Mbui (2015) and Gladys Maina (2020-2021). “All the three fellows are role models and mentors that the aspiring young women could connect to and seek further mentorship after the program,” said Ruth. Together the fellows judged the most innovative solutions that align with the UN SDG goals, giving the teams feedback and ultimately choosing the top three winners. “Whether you’re a semi-finalist or finalist, we still count all of you as a success,” said Joan. “We are celebrating all of you, and all your efforts.”
Report Date...: 6/21/21
Fellow leads session on financial independence for women
Fellow(s): Syeda Mehak
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2017 fellow Syeda Mehak was featured in an Instagram Live session
on financial independence for women, sharing about her mission to
support women in STEM and beyond. The event was sponsored by
Every Day We are Hustling, a business that provides women
resources to achieve financial independence.
Syeda is the co-founder of ElleTech, a social enterprise for women
working in technology, education, art, math and science. Through
the ElleTech platform and its programs, Syeda hopes to train,
connect and amplify women in Pakistan. In the session, Syeda spoke
about ways women can use their skills and begin to earn online,
including using freelancing sites such as Upwork and Fiverr. “Since
you are your own boss, you have to have immense self-belief,” she told the audience. Despite its challenges,
Syeda emphasized that freelancing will often lead women to their goals of financial freedom. “The next step of
freelancing is entrepreneurship, which is amazing,” she said.
Report Date...: 6/21/21
Fellow’s social impact initiative wins youth award
Fellow(s): Hiba Awaysa
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week it was announced that Sawaed19, the initiative founded by 2020-2021
fellow Hiba Awaysa, was named a winner of the Taawon Youth Award, an award
that supports social entrepreneurs in the Palestinian Territories that are creating
both economic and societal impact. Sawaed19 was one of five winners selected
out of over 100 projects.
Hiba established Sawaed19 in 2019 with a mission to match volunteers to nonprofits
around the world. The Sawaed19 website allows users to search by
location, industry and company, supporting them in contributing to the volunteer
ecosystem in their communities. Through Sawaed19, Hiba hopes to empower her
local community, particuarly youth, to create positive change. She will use the
award funds to further develop the platform, adding features that better
facilitates the volunteering process and management. She’ll also create a new
outreach campaign to encourage volunteering. “When you give others some
time, effort, or money to help them get better life, your are actually investing to
yourself in return,” she says.
Report Date...: 6/21/21
TechWomen begins virtual delegation to Cameroon
Fellow(s): Cameroon fellows and mentor delegates
Country: Cameroon, United States
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
The TechWomen delegation to Cameroon has officially begun, bringing engaging events to young students, recent university graduates, women leaders, entrepreneurs and more. Although this year’s delegations are virtual, the mission remains the same as ever: to strengthen an international network of women in STEM fields, creating partnership and exchange between the United States and TechWomen program countries.
In a kick-off U.S Embassy Briefing, fellows and mentor delegates had the opportunity to hear from representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde about Cameroon, its tech landscape and their priorities within the region. Week two began with Branding and Networking in a Virtual Era, a session that brought together mentors, fellows and university students in STEM fields to talk about creating meaningful and lasting networks in a virtual world. Mentors presented on cultural intelligence, building an online brand and managing virtual teams and more. “Be your authentic self. Don’t try to be someone else when you are online — be who you are,” mentor Janice Campbell said in her talk. In the third event, Design Thinking and Physical Computing, mentors and fellows met with over 100 girls from both Douala and Yaounde to explore the power of tangible computing and constructionism through making. At the end of the day, the students shared out what they learned: “When I came here I learned how to create a game, I learned about design thinking, and I also learned about people and the things they invented,” said one student.
Report Date...: 6/14/21
In panel fellows share advice and inspiration for women
Fellow(s): Israa Mousa, Nadiah Sabaneh
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2015, 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2020-2021 fellow Israa Mousa and 2015 fellow Nadiah
Sabaneh were featured in an online panel for an event
that spotlighted inspiring women in the Palestinian
Territories who spoke about their challenges, resilience
and advice for women in technology. The event was
hosted and live-streamed on YouTube by Women in
Tech Dubai.
On the panel, Israa shared her achievements in tech
despite the barriers she has faced, speaking about how
she has supported young entrepreneurs in Gaza, empowered girls with digital inclusion skills and recently
launched a new startup that helps women bring their handicraft businesses online. “As humans we
underestimate ourselves and our efforts,” Israa said when asked about impostor syndrome. “Don’t be hard on
yourself, find the balance between work and family and your needs.” Nadiah, a tech hub manager, program
manager and mentor, spoke about her career path and her dedication to empowering women in her
community: “The reason is to pave the way for other women, so they don’t need to go through the same
challenges we went through,” she said.
Report Date...: 6/14/21
Fellows graduate first cohort of girls from Techkyzdar
Fellow(s): Nazira Sheraly, Aiturgan Zulpukarova, Elena Chigibaeva, Gulzire Minbaeva Screen reader support enabled. Nazira Sheraly, Aiturgan Zulpukarova, Elena Chigibaeva, Gulzire Minbaeva
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2016, 2017, 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
For four months, the TechWomen fellows behind the AEIF-winning
project Techaim – Nazira Sheraly (2016), Aiturgan Zulpukarova (2017)
Elena Chigibaeva (2018) and Gulzire Minbaeva (2018) – have been
working with their first cohort of girls through their newest program,
Techkyzdar. Their program pilot has officially concluded after
empowering the girls with tech skills, teaching them how to create
mobile apps and sharing about professions in STEM fields.
To commemorate their graduation from Techkyzdar, the girls in the
program created a website where they highlighted the importance of
working in a team, how they grew as individuals and how they created
mobile apps for the Technovation challenge. They also shared their
own profiles and skills as mobile app designers, video editors and graphic designers. “This project has changed a
lot in my life,” wrote one participant. “For example: I overcame the fear of communicating with people, became
more confident in myself, all thanks to this project.”
Report Date...: 6/14/21
Fellow named Global Woman of Choice Award winner
Fellow(s): Ouafa Benterki
Country: Algeria
Cohort: 2012
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2012 fellow Ouafa Benterki was recently named a Global Woman of
Choice Award winner, recognized for her contributions, accomplishments
and efforts to inspire the next generation. Ouafa is the founder and CEO
of MTY Intelligent Software as well as a Microsoft regional director.
The award is sponsored by She Leaps, an initiative that supports women
entrepreneurs through mentorship, networking and learning
opportunities. Ouafa was the winner in the Technology and Innovation
category, selected for creating high-impact and innovative solutions that
serve her community. This month, Ouafa was also featured by the U.S.
Embassy Algiers in an interview about her career and participation in the
TechWomen program. There, she also spoke about her role in the 2020-
2021 virtual program as a Peer Advisor, serving as an in-country support
system to the Emerging Leaders as they developed their action plan projects.
Report Date...: 6/7/21
AfriTech Hub hosts its inaugural STEM Club Competition
Fellow(s): Sabina Nforba
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2020-2021 fellow Sabina Nforba organized the first STEM Club Competition hosted by her STEM education initiative, bringing together students to engage in technology and learn about STEM. Sabina is the co-founder and president of AfriTech Hub, an organization that empowers young students to pursue STEM education and STEM careers. AfriTech Hub has worked with over 3,000 students through its clubs, workshops and summits.
AfriTech Hub launched STEM clubs at the beginning of the academic year in schools throughout five cities in Cameroon. Despite setbacks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of resources, Sabina, in partnership with STEMpreneur, trained AfriTech Hub team members to serve as facilitators for the STEM clubs. “Like every leader faced with challenges, I knew that they were inevitable, and what makes people different is their attitude when faced with these challenges,” wrote Sabina. Last week’s STEM Club Competition convened student representatives from AfriTech Hub’s partner schools to congratulate them for their hard work and facilitate activities in video game development, animation, electronics and more. “The students, ever so enthusiastic, developed video games and build a traffic lights system and a lie detector machine using Arduino electronics,” wrote Sabina. “We are extremely proud of what these students have accomplished in the course of the year and during this event. The energy here was contagious.”
Report Date...: 5/31/21
Fellow shares how she led Technovation through COVID-19
Fellow(s): Mutriba Akhmedova
Country: Tajikistan
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2015 fellow Mutriba Akhmedova was interviewed this month by
Technovation founder and CEO Tara Chklovski, speaking about
Technovation’s success in Tajikistan and how she worked to
engage girls through the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to
working as a project coordinator of TechWomen fellow-led
T.I.M.E for Women, Mutriba launched Technovation in Tajikistan
and serves as its chapter ambassador.
In the interview Mutriba shared that, in year two of Technovation
Tajikistan, enrollment went from 50 to 300 girls. Year three, held
during the pandemic, Mutriba and her team registered 600 girls while expanding to new regions of the country.
She also spoke about the challenges the girls faced during the pandemic as Technovation programming
transitioned to a virtual format and offered new ways of learning. Mutriba engaged girls online via Telegram,
assigning them weekly tasks and creating friendly competition. She also provided professional development
opportunities for the mentors, encouraging them to expand their skills. When asked what inspires her, Mutriba
said, “What inspires me is when I hear that I’ve helped inspire someone else.”
Report Date...: 5/31/21
