Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area
Fellow(s): Joy Makumbe
Country: Zimbabwe
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability
Joy Makumbe, 2015 fellow of Zimbabwe, discusses her startup challenges and the impact of TechWomen on her personal and professional life in an interview featured on She Leads Africa. SunPower hosted Joy for her mentorship, where she “realized that there was so much untapped potential in Zimbabwe for solar power on the domestic, industrial and agricultural fields,” Joy stated.
Read More »Report Date...: 6/12/2017
IEEE Women in Engineering International Leadership Conference
Fellow(s): Nadiah Saba’neh; Salima Kaissi
Country: Morocco, Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2013, 2015
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Nadiah Saba’neh, 2015 fellow and Head of the Technical Development Directorate at the Palestinian Higher Council for Innovation and Excellence, presented an overview of the Palestinian entrepreneurship ecosystem at the IEEE Women in Engineering International Leadership Conference, May 23 in San Jose, Calif. The session was moderated by Salima Kaissi, 2013 fellow of Morocco and co-founder of eSTEM Morocco, who chaired the entrepreneurship track of the conference.
Report Date...: 5/22/2017
Hello World Kids
Fellow(s): Eman Hylooz, Hanan Khader
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2013, 2016
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Youth Engagement
TechWomen fellows are transforming generations around the world. The World Economic Forum and International Finance Corporation named 100 Arab startups shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution, including Abjjad, founded by 2016 fellow Eman Hylooz of Jordan, and Hello World Kids, founded by 2013 fellow Hanan Khader of Jordan. The Jordanian entrepreneurs will meet with King Abdullah ll to discuss the future and the challenges of the tech startup scene in Jordan.
Read More »Report Date...: 5/15/2017
Fellow(s): Rawan Abukhadrah
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship
On April 2, Rawan Abukhadrah, 2016 fellow of Jordan, launched her mobile application, Jeel. The application aims to support parents in developing physical, cognitive and emotional skills of their children, from infants to preteens. Jeel is based on more than two years of research conducted with Ulm University in Germany and focuses on both parents and their children by utilizing online and offline platforms and activities
Read More »Report Date...: 4/17/2017
Fellow(s): Afnan Ali
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2011
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Youth Engagement
Afnan Ali, 2011 fellow of Jordan, founded Eureka Tech Academy in 2013 to teach children the concepts of engineering and invention to transform ideas into products. Since then, more than 500 students have participated in her programs, and she has developed a team of three full-time and 19 part-time employees. In December 2016, Afnan pitched Eureka at the Rise Up Summit in Cairo, Egypt. She was one of six entrepreneurs selected out of 23 pitches to participate in a 10-day acceleration program hosted by RiseUp and TechWadi in Silicon Valley.
Report Date...: 4/10/2017
Fellow(s): Abiola Illupeju
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship
Abiola Ilupeju, 2015 fellow of Nigeria, founded Moat Academy in 2016 to support locally developed, high-quality software by providing training to ICT graduates to increase their qualifications and employability. In January, the academy’s first cohort graduated, followed by another cohort in March.
Read More »Report Date...: 3/27/2017
Craftista
Fellow(s): Mariam Keriakos
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship
Mariam Keriakos has utilized the skills and confidence gained during the TechWomen program to start her own business. On March 6, Mariam launched Craftista.me, an online marketplace, which sells Egyptian and Middle Eastern handmade crafts to a global customer base. She describes her company as a social business, which aims to empower artisans and to harness the power of technology. With this platform, designers and manufacturers can sell their products, including jewelry, fabrics and clothing, on a global marketplace. In addition to her newest enterprise, Mariam created the ASPIRE program, which teaches children in under-resourced areas about technology and innovation, upon returning home from the program.
Read More »Report Date...: 3/13/2017
Eurasia Mobile Challenge
Fellow(s): Nazira Sherlay
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship
Nazira Sherlay, 2016 fellow of Kyrgyzstan, traveled to Yerevan, Armenia, to participate in the Eurasia Mobile Challenge Regional Final from January 24-25. For the competition, her team developed a mobile application, Charba, which serves as an educational and trading platform for farmers. It provides information on market prices and trends to help farmers be more profitable. Nazira’s team was selected as one of 24 finalists from nearly 1,000 registered teams representing Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Report Date...: 1/23/2017
Mentor(s): Anar Simpson
Company: Mozilla
Mentor Type: Impact
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship
Anar Simpson, six-year TechWomen mentor, attended the 2016 Women’s Forum Global Meeting from November 30 – December 2 in Deauville, France. At the event, she participated in a panel on how influencers can better promote women’s entrepreneurship in new sectors. She also discussed what others can do to help female entrepreneurs, as venture capitalists adopting blind pitch reviews, companies like Google actively encouraging women’s entrepreneurship with programs like #40Forward, and governments creating funds for female entrepreneurs
Report Date...: 11/28/2016
e-learning startup
Fellow(s): Ghana Bteich
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Youth Engagement
Ghana Bteich, 2015 fellow of Lebanon, recently co-founded a startup that is developing an e-learning platform to provide after-school support for students in need. She has more than 10 years of experience in telecommunications and is applying for the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program under the field of educational planning to acquire more knowledge related to developing curriculum and program designs.
Report Date...: 8/15/2016
