Impact Stories from Environmental Sustainability Policy Area

Fellow authors book chapter on MENA energy transitions

Fellow(s): Jessica Obeid

Country: Lebanon

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Fellow authors book chapter on MENA energy transitions

Fellow Jessica Obeid (Lebanon, 2012), founding partner at New Energy Consult, has contributed a chapter entitled “The Next Big Thing in MENA Power – Grids and Energy Storage” to the Middle East Institute Policy Series book, “Energy Transitions in the Middle East.”
The book published in January 2024 with anthology editors Katherine Wolff and Karen E. Young, is described as “an account of the challenges Middle Eastern states will face in navigating the global energy transition, as well as their key areas of opportunity.”
Jessica is an energy expert with experience in engineering, thinks tanks and consulting on the development of sustainable energy systems.

Report Date...: 04/29/2024

Fellow addresses Kazakh British Technical University

Fellow(s): Chinwendu Nweke

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Fellow Chinwendu Nweke (Nigeria, 2022) recently delivered a lecture on her journey as a female agricultural entrepreneur at the Kazakh British Technical University (KTBU) in Almaty. She shared her experiences overcoming obstacles faced by women in Nigeria’s agricultural sector—including limited access to resources, land ownership and decision-making processes—to found Bridge Merchant, a successful social enterprise dedicated to connecting smallholder farmers with diverse markets. “During our recent event at KBTU,” an event organizer shared in a recent post, “Chinwendu Nweke enthralled the audience with her remarkable story, unveiling the challenges she faced and the continuous process of learning and unlearning that kept her vision and passion for Bridge Merchant alive.”

Report Date...: 04/22/2024

Fellow honored with dinner by Swedish Ambassador

Fellow(s): Mahitab Elramal

Country: Egypt

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Fellow Mahitab Elramal (Egypt, 2022), as a 2018 winner of the She Entrepreneur Award, was recently invited by Swedish Ambassador to Egypt H.E. Mr. Håkan Emsgård to attend a Ramadan dinner honoring Egyptian women entrepreneurs. She Entrepreneurs, sponsored by the Swedish Institute, is an exchange leadership program that promotes skill-building and networking for social entrepreneurs from the Middle East and North Africa. In 2017, Mahitab founded Elzeet Initiative to promulgate the recycling of used cooking oil into biofuels. She currently works as a team member on the Egyptian Ministry of Environment’s Green Climate Fund National Designated Authority.

Report Date...: 04/15/2024

Fellow interviewed on MTV Lebanon’s “Digital World” show

Fellow(s): Dana Abdel Khalek

Country: Lebanon

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability

Fellow Dana Abdel Khalek (Lebanon, 2022) was recently interviewed on MTV Lebanon’s “Digital World” with Jessy Tannous in an episode entitled “Dana Abdel Khalek: Supporting the Role of Women Technologically.” There she discussed the critical role of women in technology and the initiatives working to support them in Lebanon, including TechWomen, TechGirls, and most recently, her team’s seed grant-winning impact project, TAQA, which is working to provide renewable energy solutions to women-led family-owned businesses impacted by the 2020 Port of Beirut explosion. Throughout the 15-minute segment, Dana shared her Techwomen journey, from the selection process to her experiences in Silicon Valley, including the measurable skills she developed during her mentorship at LinkedIn that proved instrumental in helping her contribute to the successful development of her team’s TAQA project. She also spoke of how program alumnae utilize social media platforms to amplify awareness of these programs and engage “eligible women and rising talents” in these opportunities. “Reflecting on this journey, it’s clear that initiatives supporting women in technology play a pivotal role in bridging the gender gap,” she expressed in a reflection on the interview. “By fostering mentorship, collaboration, and social media outreach, we empower women to excel in STEM and drive positive change in their communities. As I continue this journey of empowerment and advocacy, I’m committed to ensuring that opportunities like TechWomen and TechGirls reach and benefit women in Lebanon and beyond.”

Report Date...: 04/01/2024

Fellow speaks at Green Climate Fund event in Namibia

Fellow(s): Mahitab Elramal

Country: Egypt

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Fellow Mahitab Elramal (Egypt, 2022) recently represented Egypt at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Regional Dialogue with Africa in Windhoek, Namibia. As a representative of the GCF National Designated Authority at the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, Mahitab served as a keynote speaker of a panel discussion, during which she to discussed the role of the updated GCF Strategic Plan in achieving Egypt’s climate ambitions and national program priorities. She also addressed potential challenges and ways to foster GCF engagement in Egyptian climate finance in coming years. “It was an excellent [opportunity] to meet with National Designated Authorities from Africa, accredited entities, and other GCF partners from all-over the globe,” Mahitab shared in a post. “The dialogue offered new modalities to access GCF finance and advance programs at the national and regional levels.”

Report Date...: 03/25/2024

Alumnae & Mentors host Tech Community Impact Week in Abuja to honor International Women’s Day

Fellow(s): Binta Moustapha, Fatima Abdulaziz Sule, Flora Asibe, and Rumana Kabir, Kathy Giori, Katy Dickinson

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020-2021, 2022, 2023

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Youth Engagement

Collaborating with a variety of governmental organizations, NGOs, educational institutions, non-profits and startups, Nigerian fellow Binta Moustapha (Nigeria, 2014) led the organization of fellows Rumana Kabir (Nigeria, 2023), Fatima Abdulaziz Sule (Nigeria, 2018), Ebenezer Ajah Chris (Nigeria 2023), Tolulope Erinosho (Nigeria, 2022), Flora Asibe Ohazurike (Nigeria 2021), Stella Uzochukwu (Nigeria, 2019), and Carolyn Seaman (Nigeria 2015), alongside mentors Kathy Giori and Katy Dickinson, to bring Tech Community Impact Week to Nigeria from March 2 to 9, 2024. With the aim of providing activities, discussions and networking opportunities for anyone from novice to established leader in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,the dynamic lineup of events included panel discussions, speed mentoring, physical computing workshops, and courtesy visits to schools, universities, and influential organizations and companies, mainly aimed at uplifting and empowering women and girls in tech. Highlights of the week included an opening event at Baze University Jabi Abuja with akeynote address delivered by Katy and a design-thinking workshop led by Kathy, a local celebrity panel discussion moderated by Kathy at Cosmopolitan University Abuja, a panel discussion featuring Flora, Fatima and Katy, speed mentoring with Katy and Rumana, and several hands-on physical computing workshops and demonstrations at three local schools and the FabLab in Abuja led by Kathy with fellows acting as teaching assistants. Partners and sponsors of Tech Community Impact Week included 100 Women in Tech Nigeria, Bridge 4 Innovation, Climate KIC, Creeds Energy, Developers FabLab, ECOWAS Liaison Lead, FCT College of Education Zuba, Mentoring Standard, MicroBlocks, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) of Nigeria, Office of the Director of ICT Federal Ministry of Education Abuja Nigeria, She&Tech, SheTechAfrica, Wademos Regional Advocacy, and Young Scholars Initiative of the Institute of New Economic Thinking (YSI INET). Events coincided with the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8. Mentor Jessica Dickinson Goodman and fellow Eyitayo Alimi (Nigeria, 2019) supported as co-organizers remotely.

Report Date...: 3/04/24

Fellow publishes article on conservation & green skills

Fellow(s): Zebo Isakova

Country: Uzbekistan

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Fellow Zebo Isakova (Uzbekistan, 2019), as Project Manager for the Saiga Conservation Alliance, recently published the article, “Saiga Day: Role and Importance in the Development of Green Skills.” Saiga Day is a spring festival marking nature’s lifecycle and serves to unite communities across the animal’s natural range in Central Asia and Russia. As the article explains, Saiga Day “acts as a key factor in the formation of sustainable habits …[examining] green skills, such as conserving biodiversity, environmental education, promoting sustainable lifestyles and creating social connections through participation in environmental activities.”

Report Date...: 3/04/2024

Fellow green tech org wins $1000 Social Impact Award

Fellow(s): Olamide Ayeni

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Fellow green tech org wins $1000 Social Impact Award

Fellow Olamide Ayeni (Nigeria, 2017) recently won the Social Impact Award and a $1,000 USD prize at the Bob Mark Business Model Pitch Competition for HOPCYKU, a sustainability-as-a-service organization for which she serves as Chief People Officer and co-founder.

Hosted by Michigan Technological University, where Olamide is currently pursing a Master of Engineering and Industrial Management, the competition offers professional business coaching to students of all disciplines and the chance for them to present four-minute entrepreneurial concept pitches before an audience and panel of judges. Winners are awarded prize money for their businesses.

HOPCYKU, formerly Pearl Recycling, is a circular economy company expanding from a waste-to-furniture upcycling startup into a more holistic green tech organization.

Report Date...: 02/12/2024

Mentor(s): Reshma Singh

Company: Berkeley Lab

Mentor Type: Impact, Professional

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Mentor joins steering committee for FEED conference

Mentor Reshma Singh has recently joined the steering committee of the 2024 Forum on Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization (FEED), which will be hosted in New Delhi, India this February 28 and 29.

Presented by the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy, FEED allows stakeholders in India’s energy ecosystem to come together in alignment with the agenda of the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration and COP28.

Reshma is a leader and innovator in the clean technology sector with over 12 years of experience. She holds two clean technology patents, is a published author, and works as a Senior Advisor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Office. As a program lead at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, she heads several tech-focused entrepreneurship initiatives including IMPEL, Cradle to Commerce, and the Climate Smart Women Energy Leaders program (CS-WEL).

Report Date...: 01/22/2024

Fellow(s): Aiymzhan Baitureyeva, Kyzzhibek Ryszhanova, Uldanay Moldagaliyeva and Zhibek Akasheva

Country: Kazakhstan

Cohort: 2023

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Team Kazakhstan profiled in article on seed-grant victory

Team Kazakhstan 2023, composed of Aiymzhan Baitureyeva, Kyzzhibek Ryszhanova, Uldanay Moldagaliyeva and Zhibek Akasheva, was profiled in DigitalBusiness.kz for their recent $3,000 seed grant win, which will be used to develop Irrigate Smart, a mobile AI application to assist farmers and the state in efficiently and fairly allocating water resources to agriculturalists across the country.

In addition to highlighting the TechWomen program, the article delves into their efforts gaining community and government buy-in, and how they plan to utilize their diverse career skills and expertise towards business development, AI implementation, scientific documentation, information systems development and data protection.

“As soon as we succeed at home, the project can be scaled,” Uldanay explained. “There are water problems not only in Kazakhstan. Almost every country in the world has the same questions.”

Report Date...: 01/15/2024

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