Impact Stories from Entrepreneurship Policy Area
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Fellow recognized among 100 Technologists to Watch
Fellow(s): Ouafa Benterki (Algeria, 2012)
Country: Algeria
Cohort: 2012
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow recognized among 100 Technologists to Watch
Fellow Ouafa Benterki (Algeria, 2012) has recently been recognized as one of 100 Technologists to Watch by Women Who Code. Ouafa is the CEO & Founder of MTY Intelligent Software, the first women-led Algerian tech startup specializing in artificial intelligence and natural language processing. She is also an expert advisor at the Arab international Investor Forum and the first Arab/African woman named Microsoft Regional Director, a title that Microsoft annually awards to 100 top IT professionals in the world. She has been selected in the blockchain, front end, data science and software category of this award. Women Who Code aims to elevate diverse leaders in technology by acknowledging their groundbreaking contributions to the industry. “By recognizing 100 Technologists to Watch,” the organization notes, “this list aims to inspire the next generation of diverse leaders and promote gender equality in the industry, thus contributing to a more inclusive field.”
Read More »Report Date...: 05/15/2023
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Fellow to serve as jurist for Project Afaq competition
Fellow(s): Nadiah Saba’neh (Palestinian Territories, 2015)
Country: Palestinian Territories
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow to serve as jurist for Project Afaq competition
Fellow Nadiah Saba’neh (Palestinian Territories, 2015) was recently selected to serve as a jury member for Project Afaq in Jericho. Supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by Ma’an Development Center, Project Afaq aims to promote economic empowerment for low income residents of the Jericho and Jordan Valley Governorate, with a focus on women aged 19 to 50. Technical and financial support will be provided to assist women in establishing and leading their own initiatives with the goal of promoting their economic participation and reducing poverty in the targeted regions.25 out of 50 women will compete for the chance to secure grants for entrepreneurial ventures and 18 women will receive vocational training opportunities targeted at their specific interests and passions. Through a comprehensive intervention,” Nadiah wrote in a recent post, “we strive to empower them economically and enhance their resilience in a sustainable manner. Nadiah is the founder of FINOMENA (Female Innovators & Investors of MENA), a digital platform for women entrepreneurs. She also recently completed the European Elective module offered by the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA Program in Vallendar, Germany.
Read More »Report Date...: 05/22/2023
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Eight TW fellows recognized in Empower Africa Top 30
Fellow(s): Chepkemoi Magdaline (Kenya, 2019), Emma Mphahlele (South Africa, 2022), Ghada Amina (Egypt, 2018), Henrica Makulu (Zimbabwe, 2022), Ines Umuhoza (Rwanda, 2022), Nevien “Magdy” Farag (Egypt, 2019), Sophie Ngassa (Cameroon, 2014) and Wadzanayi Kimberley Bwanya (Zimbabwe, 2022)
Country: Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Cohort: 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Eight TW fellows recognized in Empower Africa Top 30
Fellows Chepkemoi Magdaline (Kenya, 2019), Emma Mphahlele (South Africa, 2022), Ghada Amina (Egypt, 2018), Henrica Makulu (Zimbabwe, 2022), Ines Umuhoza (Rwanda, 2022), Nevien “Magdy” Farag (Egypt, 2019), Sophie Ngassa (Cameroon, 2014) and Wadzanayi Kimberley Bwanya (Zimbabwe, 2022) have recently been recognized by Empower Africa’s list Celebrating 30 Women Driving STEM Advancement in Africa. “Their unwavering dedication and tireless efforts are shaping the future of our continent and creating opportunities for generations to come,” Empower Africa notes in a recent post. Empower Africa connects and supports businesses and professionals working to create long-term value with Africa-based projects.
Read More »Report Date...: 05/22/2023
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Team Pakistan launches seed grant-funded mobile app & campaign to address climate change
Fellow(s): Team Pakistan 2022
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Team Pakistan launches seed grant-funded mobile app & campaign to address climate change
Fall 2022 Team Pakistan, made up of fellows Amara Dar, Sadaf Gul, Ramla Hassan, Sadafi Shah, Anum Sadiq and Shehnaz Zakia, has recently launched their climate change awareness campaign as part of their TechWomen seed-grant winning initiative. The project, AGAHi, seeks to help people understand, prevent and protect themselves from the devastating effects of climate change following the catastrophic floods that took place in Pakistan last summer. The cornerstone of the campaign is the AGAHi SOS mobile application, available in the Google Play store. It provides real-time flood warning notifications, location risk tracking, local emergency and service contacts, safety tips, and the option to report floods, road blockages and other climate-based hazards. The campaign includes in-person events, such as a recent visit and clean-up project hosted at a girls’ middle school, the distribution of physical literature teaching how to take action and reduce one’s carbon footprint, and a social media push featuring photos of Pakistani women, men and children holding signs with messages such as, “global warming isn’t a prediction, it is happening,” and “the earth is what we have in common.”
Read More »Report Date...: 05/15/2023
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Fellow podcast to be broadcast on VIU streaming
Fellow(s): Thulile Khanyile (South Africa, 2022)
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development
Fellow podcast to be broadcast on VIU streaming
“Let’s Talk Science with Thuli”, a podcast developed by fellow Thulile Khanyile (South Africa, 2022), is now available as a televised show on the VIU video streaming platform, which is available in 16 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. With a three season distribution deal, Thulile aims to communicate the relevance of STEM to mainstream society through relatable stories of the innovations and solutions of scientists, engineers and technologists. Season 2 of the show features TechWomen fellows Dilnoza Ibragimova (Uzbekistan, 2022) and Emna Harigua (Tunisia, 2022). The podcast version is also still available on most popular audio streaming platforms, with new episodes coming out this summer.
Read More »Report Date...: 05/15/2023
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Fellow & founder of agritech company named Young Global Changemaker
Fellow(s): Chinwendu Nweke (Nigeria, 2022)
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development
Fellow & founder of agritech company named Young Global Changemaker
Fellow and CEO Chinwendu Nweke (Nigeria, 2022) and her Aladinn Project recently won first place out of 15 finalists among 50 semifinalists for the 2023 Young Global Changers (YGC) Recoupling Awards. The Aladinn Project is spearheaded by Bridge Merchant Enterprise, an agritech company founded by Chindwendu in 2019. It is based on a social impact model that works to eliminate post-harvest waste and promote food security with an online application connecting small holder farmers with local and international markets. Through Bridge Merchant Enterprise, Chinwendu hopes to “see hunger and poverty eradicated using technology and people-empowered solutions,” YGC related in a recent post. Chindwendu received her award at the Global Solutions Summit 2023 in Berlin, Germany from May 15 to 16, during one of many powerful networking and development opportunities afforded to annual winners. YGC is a project of the Global Solutions Initiative. Founded during the 2017 German G20 Presidency, it proposes policy responses to major global problems addressed by the G20, the G7 and other global governance assemblies.
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Report Date...: 05/08/2023
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Fellow initiative wins Oxford Map the System Final
Fellow(s): Aliaa Ahmed (2022)
Country: Egypt
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow initiative wins Oxford Map the System Final
Nomken, an initiative co-founded by fellow Aliaa Ahmed (2022), recently won the University of Oxford Map the System Final, a competition where which students map systems to address global systemic challenges. The initiative will continue on to the inaugural Map the System Semi Final hosted on Hopin, a state-of the art online event and conferencing platform, showcasing students systems-mapping projects from across the world. Nomken, established in December 2022, raises awareness of how nutritional intervention can enhance the quality of life for children and adults with Down Syndrome. Nomken holds workshops on a variety of topics, such as nutrition, psychological support and success stories for individuals with Down Syndrome and their caregivers. It also raises awareness about Down Syndrome, challenges misconceptions about it and highlights the potential of individuals with Down Syndrome to contribute positively to society given the right support and opportunities. Aliaa is the head of the nutrition and research unit at Egyptian Food Bank. She is also the founder of Alma, a virtual nutrition clinic. She is deeply inspired by her young daughter, who was born with Down Syndrome.
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Report Date...: 05/08/2023
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Fellow NGO collaborates with Riga TechGirls in Latvia
Fellow(s): Fellows: Elena Selezneva, Saida Yusupova
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow NGO collaborates with Riga TechGirls in Latvia
Tech4Iimpact, an NGO founded by fellows Elena Selezneva and Saida Yusupova (Uzbekistan, 2016) recently sent a delegation to the TechChill conference in Latvia, April 26 to 28, as part of their program, “Female Founders Across Borders (FFAB),” which was co-organized with Riga TechGirls and funded by the Ministry of foreign affairs of Latvia. The delegation of finalists from the FFAB program, including startup founders and mentors, participated in panel discussions, pitch sessions, master classes and networking opportunities with global contemporaries. A cornerstones of the trip was the “Women in Tech Community Networking” event, held in Riga Castle, the official residence of the President of Latvia, which was attended by the First Ladies of Latvia and Estonia, Andra Levite and Sirje Karisas. Tech4Impact was founded in 2019 to support innovation, IT entrepreneurship and green tech among youth and women in Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region.
Report Date...: 05/08/2023
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Fellow(s): Eman Herawy (Egypt, 2022)
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Fellow innovation, Geni, wins prizes at web 3.0 event
Fellow Eman Herawy (Egypt, 2022), co-founder of NoonDAO (decentralized autonomous organization) and Arab Blockchain Week, recently won three prizes at ETHDenver’s BUIDLathon for her co-creation Geni, an AI-based tool that generates requirements for smart contract security tools. Geni won Best Developer Tooling Solution for Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM), Best Developer Infrastructure/Tooling on Mantle and the Open Aurora Bounty. #BUIDLathon is a conference held in Denver, Colorado that brings together developers and advocates of distributed computing on the Ethereum blockchain. There weren’t many bounties for security-related items,” Eman wrote in a recent post, “but we wanted to hack for security-related products and WE DID IT!” Eman co-founded NoonDAO, an Arab women-led DAO, to advocate for Arab women’s empowerment. In 2021, she was featured by Fintech Reviews on International Women’s Day as one of the top 21 blockchain leaders.
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Report Date...: 05/01/2023
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Fellow energy co. hosts children’s solar training academy
Fellow(s): Fortunate Farirai (Zimbabwe, 2022)
Country: Zimbabwe
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow energy co. hosts children’s solar training academy
Sustenergy, of which fellow Fortunate Farirai (Zimbabwe, 2022) is Founder, Managing Director and CEO, conducted its two-day Solar for Kids program this spring. Under its training division, Sustenergy Training Academy, the company trained 26 kids from over 15 primary schools and high schools on how the solar power system works. “Our most [sic] gratitude goes to our kids,” Fortunate wrote in a recent post, “who were engaging and interactive in making the program successful.” Sustenergy is an energy company centered on developing renewable energy technologies that can deliver affordable, modern, safe and environmentally friendly energy on a global scale.
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Report Date...: 05/01/2023