Impact Stories from Professional Growth Policy Area

Fellows debut STEM empowerment project Heya Caravan

Fellow(s): Salma Bekkouche, Amel Djenidi, Fatima Zohra Benhamida, Amina Salesse

Country: Algeria

Cohort: 2017, 2018, 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

After TechWomen 2018, fellows Salma Bekkouche and Amel Djenidi began working with 2017 fellow Fatima Zohra Benhamida to create Heya Caravan, a project that empowers girls and women through STEM education. After securing a grant from the U.S. Embassy Algiers’ Alumni Small Grant Competition in 2019 – and after delays caused by the pandemic – the fellows, with 2020-2021 fellow Amina Salesse as a new team member, launched Heya Caravan in Hassi Messaoud last month, bringing a day of workshops, talks and networking opportunities to women in the region. Heya (Arabic for “She”) Caravan collaborated with local STEM leaders, inviting them to share their career paths in STEM, host Q&A’s and deliver workshops meant to educate and empower the professionals and students in attendance. In Fatima’s session, “Which hat would you like to wear?” she spoke about her journey in higher education as an assistant professor at the National School of Computer Science, her diverse work experience and her mission to combat stereotypes of women in technical fields. In a leadership workshop, participants learned about different leadership styles and their respective strengths and weaknesses. The day concluded with Q&A session themed on mental health challenges and work-life balance during the pandemic. “From preparation to the event itself to the post-event parts…every single task we made with love, and enjoyed it to the extreme,” said Amina. The Heya Caravan team hopes to replicate the programming in other Algerian cities as well as create online content for community members. “I’m proud to see the project become a reality after almost three years full of challenges,” said Salma.

Report Date...: 5/2/2022

Fellow brings STEM training to girls in Ethiopia and Tanzania

Fellow(s): Amanda Obidike

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement

2022 fellow Amanda Obidike recently launched STEMNovation, a STEM initiative that trains girls in mobile app development, 3D modeling, 3D printing and basic computer skills. Amanda is a data scientist, general manager for the Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation and founder of STEMi Makers Africa, an organization that trains young Africans with 21st century skills. She was recently named to the Most Distinguished African Women Changemakers list by Humanitarian Awards Global. Last month, STEMi Makers launched STEMNovation’s first bootcamp in Tanzania and Ethiopia, bringing young female students through training courses that will prepare them for STEM careers. At the Ethiopia bootcamp, supported by Addis Ababa University and Abugida Robotics Technology Center, girls ages 10-16 learned about computer software, coding and 3D modeling. At the bootcamp’s conclusion, trainees demonstrated their work for other students, parents and community supporters. In Tanzania, STEMi Makers partnered with the Timizandoto Initiative and dLab to support 40 girls in Dar es Salaam with training on AI, drone technologies and data analytics. “We understand that the increasing demand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are vital to the development and economic growth of a nation,” said STEMi Makers. “As such, women and girls should not be left behind.”

Report Date...: 5/2/2022

BBC News Kyrgyz features fellows’ TechWomen 2022 project

Fellow(s): Kanykei Alipova, Azem Bakasova, Tursunai Bektemirova, Elvira Kyshtobaeva, Ainura Mitalipova, Jyldyz Moldosanova, Fatima Turgunbaeva, Gulzada Urgunalieva

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Cohort: 2022

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

The 2022 fellows of Kyrgyzstan were featured in a video spotlight from BBC News Kyrgyz that highlighted their seed-grant winning action plan project created during the TechWome program. During the action planning process of TechWomen, fellows Kanykei Alipova, Azem Bakasova, Tursunai Bektemirova, Elvira Kyshtobaeva, Ainura Mitalipova, Jyldyz Moldosanova, Fatima Turgunbaeva and Gulzada Urgunalieva created Kamkor, a portal that will support working mothers by connecting them to childcare. Through Kamkor, the fellows hope to provide resources to the 57% of educated women in Kyrgyzstan who cannot work because of the lack of childcare in the country. “Many educated women in Kyrgyzstan are forced to leave the labor market, they said. “Mothers will be able to find a nanny for themselves at their request for an hour, for a day, for a month. With easy access to childcare, mothers can go back to work and create conditions for gender equality.”

Report Date...: 5/2/2022

Fellow selected as youth speaker at UN event

Fellow(s): Tala Qawasmi

Country: Palestinian Territories

Cohort: 2022

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

2022 fellow Tala Qawasmi was a featured speaker at the 2022 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, joining the Arab States Region breakout session to discuss supporting youth in developing their skills and finding job opportunities. ECOSOC is focused on advancing economic, social and environmental sustainable development. Their 2022 Youth Forum, “COVID-19 recovery: Youth taking action for a sustainable future,” brought together youth to contribute their ideas and innovations to create sustainable change. Tala is a Geographic Information System (GIS) expert at Preventative Security, an intelligence service of the Palestinian Territories. She previously collaborated with the UNDP to create Get That Job, an initiative that addressed youth unemployment in her community by connecting new graduates with consultants to support with training and job services. At the Youth Forum, Tala shared her story, the challenges she has overcome and how she has made an impact in youth unemployment. Although Get That Job did not officially launch, Tala will soon merge the platform with Josour, the social impact initiative she created alongside her country team during TechWomen 2022. Josour, which means “bridge,” will support women and youth with soft skills training and provide resources on local and international opportunities. “When I worked with my team during TechWomen, I thought it would be better to have this platform in-person and focus on all soft skills that not only fresh graduates need but also students in colleges and schools,” said Tala. “These two initiatives have the same goal. UNDP and Sharek Youth Forum are our partners now and will cooperate with us to make this project a success.”

Report Date...: 4/25/2022

Fellows recognized for their LinkedIn leadership

Fellow(s): Zeenat Anjum, Asna Javed

Country: Pakistan

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

2019 fellows Zeenat Anjum and Asna Javed were named to the 2022 Top 20 Most Influential Pakistani Women on LinkedIn list, recognized for their leadership and LinkedIn writings that share their experiences as women in technology. The list was created by Connected Women Pakistan, a women’s empowerment social enterprise. Zeenat is the founder of Digiwrite, a community where freelancers can share their experiences and best practices in their industries. Recently, Digiwrite has branched out to include job creation and training services. “The vision further extends to Digiwrite facilitating women who want to enter the freelancing or entrepreneurship domain and do not have the direction to earn active or passive income,” said Zeenat in her feature. Asna, a data and AI technical sales specialist at IBM Pakistan, speaks about her TechWomen 2019 mentorship at LinkedIn in her spotlight: “I was taught a number of things but one of the key takeaways for me was ‘If you have done/achieved something, talk about it. You are not showing off, you are only stating the facts.’ This has helped me tremendously in my career and personal branding. I started sharing things that I learned and achieved on LinkedIn which did not just give me visibility but also inspired many other men and women in the IT sector.”

Report Date...: 4/25/2022

Fellow named a Geospatial World Rising Star

Fellow(s): Marie Makuate

Country: Cameroon

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Professional Growth

2022 fellow of Cameroon Marie Makuate was named to the Geospatial World 50 Rising Stars for 2022 list, celebrated for her accomplishments in her industry. The annual list recognizes professionals under 40 who are passionate about geospatial science and technology and use their expertise to contribute to economy and society. Marie is a geospatial data analyst researcher with a focus on GIS (Geographic Information Systems) for environmental management. She also the co-founder of the Network of African Geomatics Professionals as well as the Central Africa zonal representative for African Women in GIS. During TechWomen, Marie worked alongside Sheryl Walton, her mentor at Autodesk, to meet scientific researchers, sharpen her entrepreneurial skills and learn new methodologies in the field of geospatial sciences. “I am very fortunate to be working in the geospatial field,” said Marie. “It represents the future. This is a great accomplishment, but also the beginning of a great adventure.”

Report Date...: 4/25/2022

Fellow(s): Hamis Elgabry

Country: Egypt

Cohort: 2022

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

2022 fellow Hamis Elgabry is part of the founding team of Mozare3, an agri-fintech platform that supports smallholder farmers with improved digitization, tracking, supplies and agricultural supervision. Recently, Mozare3 won first place at El Forsa, an Egyptian televised entrepreneurial competition. Hamis, the product development and innovation manager at Mozare3, is an agritech entrepreneur who specializes in water, climate and food security challenges. El Forsa, which airs on one of the largest channels in the Arab world, awarded Mozare3 over $50,000 as the first-place winner. Hamis was featured in a video promotion for the show, speaking about the company’s mission to empower small farmers through technology by providing them access to supplies, financial accounts and contracts on Mozare3’s mobile app. Hamis and the Mozare3 team, who just celebrated one year in business, will use the award prize to strengthen their Series A funding.

Report Date...: 4/18/2022

2020-2021 fellows create campaign for social impact initiative

Fellow(s): Ainur Kuanyshbayeva, Kymbat Yeltayeva, Moldir Kussainova, Raushan Nurdillayeva

Country: Kazakhstan

Cohort: 2020-2021

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

During TechWomen 2020-2021 action planning, fellows Ainur Kuanyshbayeva, Kymbat Yeltayeva, Moldir Kussainova and Raushan Nurdillayeva created an initiative with a mission to raise awareness about domestic violence in Kazakhstan, a country where over two million women report suffering from domestic abuse. In memory of friend lost to domestic violence, the fellows conceived of a project that aimed to educate, inform and empower both men and women to create change.
Collaborating with an illustrator, the fellows recently debuted a visual campaign meant to reframe societal views on violence. Through a series of illustrated cards, the fellows dispel myths about gender dynamics in romantic relationships, encouraging people to reconsider harmful gender stereotypes. “The topic is quite difficult, so we decided to approach it creatively,” said the fellows. “We created such cards so that we all reconsider the stereotypes created in society regarding women and romantic relationships.” The campaign was released on Kozy Korpesh and Bayan Sulu, a Kazakh national holiday known as the Day of Love. One card shows the common phrase “She asked for it” crossed out, replaced by “The abuser is at fault.” Another reads, “Endure it, and you will grow to love it,” crossed out and replaced by ““Don’t endure it, love will not come.” In the coming weeks, the fellows will release an animated video of a “modern fairytale” that will educate viewers on the signs of domestic violence.

Report Date...: 4/18/2022

Fellow’s project selected for Mozilla Technology Fund Cohort

Fellow(s): Wiebke Toussaint Hutiri

Country: South Africa

Cohort: 2018

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Fair EVA, a project led by 2018 fellow Wiebke Toussaint Hutiri, was recently selected for Mozilla’s first Technology Fund Cohort, an initiative that contributes to more trustworthy AI and a healthier internet. Wiebke, Fair EVA’s project lead, is a PhD candidate at Delft University of Technology studying smart cyber-physical systems. The Mozilla Technology Fund’s Bias and Transparency in AI Awards will provide up to $50,000 to the five selected teams in the next year. Fair EVA is an open-source project that addresses bias in voice technologies and builds tools to reduce discrimination in voice biometrics. The project was highlighted in a recent article from the Mozilla Foundation that outlined the issue of racial bias in services like Voice ID, Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, and Fair EVA’s efforts to evaluate bias and increase reliability in voice technology for all users. Fair EVA is currently compiling a database of vendors and service providers who use voice biometrics for voice ID applications to better evaluate bias: “Bias is at least partially preventable, which is why we are looking at ways of identifying and addressing it in voice biometrics,” said Wiebke.

Report Date...: 4/18/2022

Mentor(s): Jeannice Samani

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

TechWomen mentor Dr. Jeannice Fairrer Samani recently spoke at a capacity-building session at the WELLTI Summit in Dubai, joining a panel that shared their careers in technology, their experiences with cross-border collaboration and the role that technology plays in empowering women. WELLTI, or Women Empowered Leave Legacies through Trade and Investment, is an initiative of the International Trade Administration’s Middle East and Africa Regional Office. Their 2022 Summit brought together women-owned and women-led businesses to connect, network and learn about resources available for doing business in the MENA region. Dr. Samani is the executive information technology architect for Fairrer Samani Group as well as the founding director of Fifth Wave STEaM Education Initiative. In the panel, she spoke about her early interest in technology, sharing her experience as the only girl learning to code in a special program in high school. In addition to sharing the Fairrer Samani group’s dedication to agility, diversity and curiosity, Dr. Samani spoke about the future of AI and the need for it to be both inclusive and ethical. “Diversity is at the forefront of it,” she said. “We need more people of color, and we need more women.” ALUMNA

Report Date...: 4/11/2022

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