By providing a group of skilled women from Africa and the Middle East access and opportunity to advance their careers, pursue their dreams, and become role models the TechWomen 2013 exchange programme has recently come to an end with the hope to inspire the next generation in Africa and the Middle East.
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TechWomen is an initiative of the US Department of State, administered by the Institute of International Education. As part of an extensive exchange programme, the initiative takes professional women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields from the Middle East and Africa to Silicon Valley for month-long mentorships.
In total, ranging from 16 countries, the group of women spent about 5 to 6 weeks in Silicon Valley building professional resources, meeting with leaders and venture capitalists in their fields and getting a the essential know-how of their aspiring tech lifestyle.
As you’d guess, the initiative uses technology to empower women and girls from Africa and the Middle East. As mentioned in San Francisco Gate “The projects these women suggest — they’re not like Instagram for dogs, they’re trying to solve real issues,” said LinkedIn executive Florina Xhabija who has also been involved in the mentorship process.
For instance, Guillaine Neza is interested in building community platforms. She says that they want “to start collecting and using big data for community good.” She is planning on developing an app that can alert neighbours and police alike about nearby crime.
Emma Marie Ndoringoma is also from Rwanda and has applied for TechWomen hoping to learn from successful women through their experiences. Emma currently works for Promelec, a World Wide distributor for professional broadband wireless solutions and voice & video broadcasting using “Over IP” Technology.
In a recent blog post, Hanna Kabir Ahmed sheds some light on what she values most of her experience in the programme:
I learned the importance of knowing the business and market well enough to give value, taking opportunities that are not often on the well-trodden path, networking, telling a great story, and giving back. There is no one recipe for great businesswomen, but they seem to have one thing in common: passion.
Ultimately, by “mentoring across borders” the idea is that these ideas and support gathered in the US are then eventually executed and used as a model for inspiration back in their home countries.
