Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area
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Fellow app funded $10k USD for English teaching bot
Fellow(s): Bermet Dosmambetova (Kyrgyzstan, 2022)
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow Bermet Dosmambetova (Kyrgyzstan, 2022) and her team recently placed in the top three of the Accelerate Prosperity incubation program, earning $10,000 USD in investment capital for their startup application, ooQU. OoQU is a Telegram bot which allows users to practice and improve their spoken English pronunciation and vocabulary. The product was developed out of the Startup Nation Kyrgyzstan hackathon, which Bermet attended in September. At the time of reporting, they have over 200 users, 10% of whom are using a paid subscription. “I am burning with the idea that as many people as possible in my country will become fluent in English, because it opens up endless opportunities,” Bermet shared in a recent post.
Read More »Report Date...: 10/30/2023
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Fellow(s): Baratang Miya (South Africa, 2015)
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Baratang, co-founder of GirlHype Women Who Code, was recently interviewed by world-renowned Ebony magazine on her journey to bridge the digital divide in South Africa.
Fellow Baratang Miya (South Africa, 2015), co-founder of GirlHype Women Who Code, was recently interviewed by Ebony magazine to discuss her entrepreneurship journey and efforts to overcome the digital divide for women in her home country. EBONY magazine, founded in 1945, is one of the premier international magazines dedicated to spotlighting the brightest among people of African-descent. GirlHype is a registered nonprofit organization that has trained more than one million women and girls in coding. “I started working on GirlHype 20 years ago before there was social media presence and platforms like Facebook,” Baratang shared. “For me, it was more about making sure that women and girls have access to opportunities.” Baratang is a leader in her tech community, often serving as a speaker, writer and advisor for publications and events. She is also the founder of Women Tech Policy Hub (WTPH), which teaches policy entrepreneurship to leading women in STEM.
Read More »Report Date...: 07/10/2023
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Fellow helps launch Central Asian mentoring program
Fellow(s): Darika Aldasheva (Kyrgyzstan, 2022)
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Darika spoke at Kurak Women’s Forum’s recent launch of a groundbreaking pan-Central Asian entrepreneurial mentoring program for women in the clothing industry.
Fellow Darika Aldasheva (Kyrgyzstan, 2022), recently participated in the launch a first-of-its-kind pan-Central Asian entrepreneurial mentoring program for women in the garment industry. This is an initiative of the Kurak Women’s Forum NGO (Kurak), where Darika serves as a board member, with the support of the USAID Trade Program in Central Asia and the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic. Darika will serve as both a mentor and coach for the initiative, which features entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia working alongside coaches from Europe and the U.S. “By supporting and inspiring women in business, we believe that we create a positive effect for society as a whole,” Darika wrote in a recent post. “A happy woman with burning eyes can work wonders.”
Read More »Report Date...: 07/10/2023
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Fellow-founded incubator joins AfriLabs network
Fellow(s): Ichraf Jarray (Tunisia, 2022)
Country:
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Ichraf’s incubator, Hive 12, has recently partnered with AfriLabs along with 19 other tech and innovation hubs on the African continent.
Hive 12, a multi-faceted incubator founded by fellow Ichraf Jarray (Tunisia, 2022), has recently entered into a partnership with AfriLabs, one of Africa’s leading networks of technology and innovation hubs. In a milestone expansion event, Hive 12 represented one of 19 new hubs from Angola, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia and Zimbabwe to join the AfriLabs network this spring. “This partnership marks the first step towards developing African markets for our startups, creating opportunities for both parties, and expanding our network,” Ichraf shared in a recent post. Hive12 operates as not only an incubator, but also a co-working space and consulting practice with the recent addition of a research and development department all to serve early-stage startups for women and youth.
Read More »Report Date...: 07/10/2023
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Fellow shares biz insights on Startups Arabia Podcast
Fellow(s): Eman Hylooz (Jordan, 2016)
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow shares biz insights on Startups Arabia Podcast
Fellow Eman Hylooz (Jordan, 2016), was interviewed on a recent Startups Arabia Podcast’s episode focused on the power of listening to one’s customers. Eman is the founder and CEO of Abjjad, the first subscription-based, Arabic-language e-book platform. Eman has a background in marketing and communications and has been recognized as one of the top female entrepreneurs in the Middle East. She previously worked at world-renowned auditing and tax firm, KPMG, for just four months before quitting to found her business. “One day after another, it felt like I was killing myself,” she discloses on her experience in corporate work. “When I went to [a startup bootcamp], I was so happy and energized. I realized there may be more to life than career and salary… that maybe I should just go after what makes me shine.” Eman goes on to share her story of winning $15,000 USD in seed grant funding, quitting her corporate job and bootstrapping her e-book business for several painful and insightful years before raising $1 million USD of venture capital in her 2020 series A investing round. “I always say it took a pandemic for publishers to realize the importance of digital and for investors to realize [the profitability] of digital.” Today, Abjjad is the largest Arabic e-book platform online with thousands of texts available to subscribers.
Read More »Report Date...: 06/19/2023
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Fellow speaks at water and sanitation conference
Fellow(s): Sylvia Nyaga (Kenya, 2022)
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow speaks at water and sanitation conference
Fellow Sylvia Nyaga (Kenya, 2022) led a session entitled, “Gender and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) financing: Overcoming challenges faced by women-led SMEs (small and midsized enterprises)” at the National Conference on Bankability and Blended financing for SMEs and WASH initiatives, held in Nairobi this spring. “Billions of people worldwide, including 1 billion people with #disabilities, still live without safely managed drinking water, safely managed sanitation and basic hygiene services,” Sylvia wrote in a recent post. “The financing of water and sanitation infrastructure projects in emerging markets is at the heart of this global challenge.” Sylvia is the founder of Syna Consultancy, a social enterprise dedicated to providing safe, inclusive and dignified sanitation experiences, with a focus on elderly, sick, and mobility-impaired individuals. Through Syna, she has developed the UTULAV toilet, an accessible and portable device for the physically challenged.
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Report Date...: 06/19/2023
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will travel to U.S. for whirlwind visit to NASA and more
Fellow(s): Dania Maraqah (Palestinian Territories, 2022)
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow mentors winning high school team in Tech-Talent 2023, will travel to U.S. for whirlwind visit to NASA and more
Fellow and physics teacher Dania Maraqah (Palestinian Territories, 2022) recently mentored a winning team in the Tech-Talent 2023 Grand Finale, a science and entrepreneurship competition for high school students in Gaza and the West Bank. As the supervising teacher, Dania and her team, along with 11 other teams selected from hundreds of students, have won the opportunity to experience a 10-day trip to the U.S. to visit NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the University of South Florida College of Marine Sciences and the Imagineers at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The Tech-Talent program, created by Al-Nayzak (the Meteor Foundation), offers the opportunity for Palestinian high school students to innovate and present unique STEM projects intended for real-world applications. The U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs partners with the Meteor Foundation to help sponsor this event. “As an alumna of TechWomen 2022 Fall,” Dania shared in a recent post, “I am truly grateful for the profound impact the TechWomen program has had on my life, inspiring me to step up and become a mentor for a team of incredible girls in the tech-talent contest.”
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Report Date...: 06/12/2023
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Fellow featured in article on Technovation Girls’ success
Fellow(s): Maral Hudaybergenova (Turkmenistan, 2018)
Country: Turkmenistan
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow featured in article on Technovation Girls’ success
Fellow Maral Hudaybergenova (Turkmenistan, 2018) was featured in a recent article for her role in the success of Technovation Girls Turkmenistan as their Regional Ambassador. The story covers the program’s second year in the country, during which participants engaged in 12 weeks of training and project development that included market research, application buildout and video production. The Regional Pitch Day, held at Ashgabat International School, was attended by U.S. Ambassador Matthew Klimow and resulted in four teams, double over the year prior, being selected for the world finals. Finalists, to be announced June 30, will attend the World Summit in Silicon Valley this October. “Technovation is not just a competition,” Maral shared. “There are no winners and losers. All participants are part of a global community of like-minded people striving to change the world for the better.”
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Report Date...: 06/12/2023
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Fellow speaks at Africa Energies Summit in London
Fellow(s): Sondos Samara (Jordan, 2018)
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow speaks at Africa Energies Summit in London
Fellow Sondos Samara (Jordan, 2018) recently met with U.S. First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, during a USAID event organized with the U.S. Embassy of Jordan in Amman. Sondos Samara was one of four women entrepreneurs currently receiving USAID Business Growth Activity (BGA) support who were invited to the event, where they had the opportunity to discuss their businesses and the contributions that they are making to their sectors. The USAID BGA is a five-year project implemented by Financial Markets International that provides technical and financial support to qualifying small and medium enterprises in Jordan. Sondos is a quality manager at the Environmental Laboratory for Microbiological and Chemical Analysis in Jordan and the founder of Sanadyme, a medtech social entrepreneurship startup.
Read More »Report Date...: 06/05/2023
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Fellow co-hosts groundbreaking IT mega expo in Pakistan
Fellow(s): Ayesha Hammad Zaman (Pakistan, 2022)
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow co-hosts groundbreaking IT mega expo in Pakistan
Skills Todo, a company owned and operated by fellow Ayesha Hammad Zaman (Pakistan, 2022), successfully hosted Skills Gala & Talent Hunt 2023, a first-of-its-kind IT and Training ecosystem mega expo that took place on May 27 and 28 in Lahore, Pakistan. The event united tech stakeholders from all sectors under the shared goal of retaining tech talent in Pakistan while also contributing to the export of IT from Pakistan to the world. With nearly 20,000 attendees, the expo brought together software companies, government entities, training companies and academic institutions with tech freelancers and professionals. “We have fresh graduates and those with strong experience who tend to spend two to three years working in Pakistan before brain draining out of the country, as well as freelancers and under skilled professionals not equipped to participate in the full-time workforce,” Ayesha explained during a recent call. “With both Skills Todo and the Pakistani government working to fill these skills gaps and keep talent in the country, it made sense for us to join forces.” Ayesha has also recently announced a freshly-inked partnership with UAE-based Trainocate, which has granted Skills Todo exclusive licensing in Pakistan, starting this year with the distribution of 5,000 Microsoft training certificates. Skills Todo has similarly partnered with Google to disburse 500 Google Professional Certifications scholarships, at a value of 200 to 500 USD each, in her country.
Read More »Report Date...: 05/29/2023