Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area

Mentor(s): Zanoon Nissar, Paria Rajai and Pamela O’Leary

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

Mentors Zanoon Nissar, Paria Rajai and Pamela O’Leary and TechWomen Lead Jillian Scott participated as panelists and moderators in the inaugural Women of MENA in Tech conference. The conference was organized by Persian Women in Tech and hosted by Oath.

Zanoon, founder of Women4Good, and Jillian spoke on a panel about community builders empowering women, which was moderated Paria, former director of marketing at Hackbright Academy. Pamela, a diversity and inclusion expert, shared insight about how organizations can transform workforce cultures.

The mission of the conference was to bring together powerful catalysts of change to intentionally create a new paradigm centered around equity, inclusion and diversity.

Report Date...: 2/12/2018

Fellow Named One of Top Ten Women in Tech

Fellow(s): Ala’a Agha Karss

Country: Jordan

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Ala’a Agha Karss, 2017 fellow of Jordan, was named one of the ten leading women in tech from the Middle East and Africa by OPENLETR. Ala’a has a degree in software engineering from the Jordanian Hashemite University and founded Superiors ICT Solutions, an IT support and training organization. Ala’a and fellow Jordanian alums are also launching Ozwah, their action plan project developed as part of the 2017 TechWomen program. Their pitch was one of the winning seed grant proposals and offers a digital platform to help orphans overcome psychological and financial obstacles to higher education by providing social skills workshops and mentorship programs to increase long-term university enrollment rates.

PENLETR is a digital platform founded by a woman with the mission to explore the boundaries of creativity.

Report Date...: 2/5/2018

Fellow Interviewed as Rising Star in STEM

Fellow(s): Nomso Faith Kana

Country: South Africa

Cohort: 2013

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

2013 fellow of South Africa, Nomso Faith Kana, was interviewed by Levers in Heels, a digital platform featuring rising African women in STEM. The piece highlights Nomso’s training as a nuclear scientist and role as founder and managing director of Sun ‘n Shield Technologies, a group that provides solutions for smart cities, most recently by producing locally-made fiber optic cables to improve internet connectivity.

In the interview, Nomso talks about her mission to inspire young women in her capacity as co-founder of Taungana STEM, an initiative to empower rural African high school girls to access and explore futures in STEM fields.

Report Date...: 1/29/2018

Fellow Receives #Shabab2030 Award

Fellow(s): Layal Jebran

Country: Lebanon

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

2017 fellow of Lebanon, Layal Jebran, received the #Shabab2030 award from Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC Group) on behalf of her company. Layal is the CEO of Moubarmij, an initiative that helps to connect experienced programming instructors with young learners by providing a video sharing platform.

As a recipient of the award, Layal will receive advanced leadership training as well as mentoring, advocacy, networking opportunities and funding for her project. MBC Group is the largest private media company in the MENA region and is responsible for establishing MBC Hope, a program that empowers Arab youth to engage in social action, education and entrepreneurship. MBC Hope provides the funding for #Shabab2030.

Report Date...: 1/29/2018

Morocco's First Google Business Group

Fellow(s): Maha Ech-chefaa

Country: Morocco

Cohort: 2016

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Maha Ech-chefaa, 2016 fellow of Morocco, is the co-founder of the first Google Business Group in Morocco as well as the co-organizer of her country’s Google Developer Group (GDG) in Rabat. Maha is also featured as a Women Techmakers Lead for driving diversity and inclusion through her participation with the Rabat GDG.

Maha’s passion for community empowerment led her to launch Leeha, a program providing disadvantaged women in Morocco with business opportunities. Since completing the TechWomen program, she also co-founded Moroccan CISE (Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship), a not-for-profit dedicated to finding ground-breaking solutions for social challenges.

Report Date...: 1/15/2018

3D Printer

Fellow(s): Saltanat Alieva

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Cohort: 2016

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Inspired by her time with TechWomen and her mentorship at Autodesk, 2016 fellow of Kyrgyzstan Saltanat Alieva successfully constructed her own 3D printer.

Saltanat returned to Kyrgyzstan motivated to make a positive impact on her country by making prosthetic hands more accessible and affordable to amputees by using a 3D printing method. When she could not find a 3D printer anywhere in her country, with encouragement from the TechWomen community, Saltanat decided to construct her own. She spent months researching and finding necessary components, and this month shared the finished product.

Report Date...: 12/4/2017

Silicon Mountaim Conference

Fellow(s): Mpara Faith

Country: Cameroon

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Mpara Faith, 2017 fellow of Cameroon, recently led a plenary session at the Silicon Mountain Conference in Cameroon. The panel focused specifically on financial models and policies that support profitable and scalable ventures. Mpara co-founded New Generation Technologies LTD., and is one of the few women who owns a start-up in her community.

Each year the Silicon Mountain Conference is organized to consult, network, exchange ideas, showcase products, meet stakeholders and discuss solutions to common challenges.

Report Date...: 11/27/20017

HapaKenya Interview

Fellow(s): Chao Mbogo

Country: Kenya

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Youth Engagement

Dr. Chao Mbogo, 2017 fellow of Kenya, was highlighted in an in-depth interview on the Kenyan news platform HapaKenya. Chao details her personal and professional journey to become a computer scientist, researcher, teacher, mentor, and recently, the Head of the Computer Science Department at Kenya Methodist University. Chao also provides updates on KamiLimu, a mentorship program she launched in 2016 for university level computer science students, and Project Digniti, the seed grant-winning action plan project she developed with the other 2017 fellows of Kenya. Chao has also received grant awards from Anita B.org and Google for her work with KamiLimu.

Report Date...: 11/20/2017

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub

Fellow(s): Haja Safiyatu Sovula, Blessing Matshaka, Ola Elgaddar

Country: Egypt, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

In its first year as a host company for TechWomen Emerging Leaders, the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub (Biohub) hosted three Emerging Leaders: Haja Safiyatu Sovula of Sierra Leone, Ola Elgaddar of Egypt, and Blessing Matshaka of Zimbabwe. As outlined in this interview, the fellows’ time at Biohub was not only inspiring, but also contributed substantially to the innovative work being done at the lab. Collaboration between the fellows hosted at Biohub and their mentors is continuing post-program, as Ola and her Professional Mentor, Amy Kistler, are working together on a project to combat Hepatitis C in Egypt.

Report Date...: 11/20/2017

Committed to Good Blog

Fellow(s): Eman Abusaada

Country: Palestinian Territories

Cohort: 2015

Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship

Eman Abusaada, 2015 fellow of the Palestinian Territories, has been working with Committed To Good (CTG), a non-profit consulting firm that implements humanitarian projects in 25 countries around the world. Eman is highlighted in a recent blog post about the work of female engineers in Gaza supporting CTG with material monitoring and redevelopment projects, and she cites the TechWomen program as being a catalyst in confirming her passion for her chosen career path. Only 14% of the paid workforce in Gaza is female, and Eman hopes to be a role model for young women and that “the example [she presents] will contribute towards rebuilding a strong and sturdy Gaza and maybe that will help to achieve long-awaited peace in the region.

Report Date...: 11/13/2017

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