Women in Business Challenge 2013: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs to Drive Growth

March 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Participate in the 4th edition of the business plan competition for women entrepreneurs in emerging markets.

The competition is open to women entrepreneurs of emerging countries who have created a business plan, which fulfills the eligibility and evaluation criteria. Since its creation in 2009, Women in Business has provided support, coaching, visibility and finance to over 600 women heading businesses in emerging countries. 15 finalists have been supported and coached, 4 of whom have been awarded as laureates.

* Receive feedback and support in writing your business plan
* Access our coaching program
* Win a business trip for training, b2b and investor meetings
* Get access to a network of more than 46,000 like-minded entrepreneurs, coaches and investors
* Win tailor made business coaching worth €5,000 from UnitedSucces

Before you submit your plan:

● January 31: Deadline for the coaching program. Make sure your online business plan is at least 30% complete, ideally 50% to facilitate assessment and coach matching.

● April 30: Deadline for full business plans. Your online plan must be 75% complete (or 30% complete + your own business plan attached in the Files tab) before April 30.

Need help when applying? Contact us at [email protected]

After you submit your plan:

You will receive feedback and suggestions in each stage.

● August 2013: Five finalists selected
● September 1 - 4: Women in Business Week
● September 5: Women in Business Challenge Award Ceremony

Whether or not you become a finalist, all high quality business plans are eligible for the BiD Network Investor Matchmaking Services.

Criteria:

To participate in this competition, women entrepreneurs should submit a business plan online for a for-profit business.
They should have a financial need of US$10,000 to US$1,000,000 over the next three years.
Their business should have a positive social and/or environmental impact.

http://www.bidnetwork.org/en/competition/women-business-2012-2013
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Code Girls Visualize.design.share

March 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Women in Tech: Challenges, Possible solutions

February 19, 2013 By

This particular meeting we just wanted to hang out with fellow WITs and find out what our challenges are, and how we can solve them working together

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The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship : Deadline extended!! till 8th FEB 2013

January 24, 2013 By
Anita Borg

“Her capacity to mix technical expertise and a relentless vision inspired, motivated and moved women to embrace technology instead of avoiding or ignoring it.”

Are you a female student studying computer science at a university in Europe, Middle East or Africa? Would you like to learn more about Google and the latest trends and advancements in technology? Are you interested in connecting with peers from all over Europe, Middle East and Africa at a networking retreat in one of our Google offices?

If so, apply today for our Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship. You can apply online here through February 1, 2013. Scholarship recipients will receive €7,000 (or equivalent) and all recipients and finalists will be invited to attend our annual Scholars’ Retreat.

Dr. Anita Borg (1949–2003)

Anita Borg (1949–2003) believed that technology affects all aspects of our economic, political, social and personal lives. A technology rebel with a cause, in her life she fought tirelessly to ensure that technology’s impact would be a positive one. It was this vision that inspired Anita in 1997 to found the Institute for Women and Technology. Today this organization continues on her legacy and bears her name, The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (www.anitaborg.org).

Dr. Anita Borg

The Scholarship

Dr. Anita Borg devoted her adult life to revolutionizing the way we think about technology and dismantling barriers that keep women and minorities from entering computing and technology fields. Her combination of technical expertise and fearless vision continues to inspire and motivate countless women to become active participants and leaders in creating technology.

As part of Google’s ongoing commitment to furthering Anita’s vision, we are pleased to announce The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship: Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Through the scholarship, we aim to encourage women to excel in computing and technology, and become active role models and leaders.
Multiple scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of candidates’ academic performance, leadership experience and demonstrated passion for computer science. A group of female bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD student finalists will be chosen from the applicant pool. The scholarship recipients will each receive a €7,000 (or equivalent) scholarship.
In June 2013, all scholarship recipients and finalists will be invited to visit a Google office in Europe for a networking retreat. It will include workshops with a series of speakers, panels, breakout sessions and social activities, and will provide an opportunity for all finalists to meet and share their experiences.

Eligibility requirements

Candidates must:

  • Be a female student enrolled in a bachelor’s, master’s or PhD program (or equivalent) for the 2013-2014 academic year.
  • Be enrolled at a university in Europe, the Middle East or Africa. Citizens, permanent residents, and international students are eligible to apply.
  • Be studying computer science, computer engineering, informatics, or a closely related technical field.
  • Maintain an excellent academic record.

How to apply

The scholarship for 2013 is now open. The closing deadline will be February 1, 2013.

Please complete the online application and submit all requested documents by February 1, 2013. All application documents must be in English. Scholars and Finalists will be notified in April 2013. Google recommends that you submit your application two weeks before the deadline to allow enough time for your referrers to submit the recommendation letters on time.

You will be required to submit the following:

  • Up-to-date copy of your CV
  • Answers to the following questions (Suggested word count is 400-600 words per question). You can find sample essay responses here. You should treat question 1 and 3 as technical reports or research papers:
    • Describe a significant technical project you have worked on. If you have worked on a major independent research project (such as research for a master’s or PhD programme), please describe that work here. Give an overview of the problem and your approaches to the key technical challenges. If this was a group effort, be sure to specify your individual role and contributions.
    • Give one or two examples of your leadership abilities. Explain how you were influential and what you were trying to achieve. These need not be demonstrated through formal or traditional leadership roles. Feel free to think broadly and examine the many ways you impact members of your technical community.
    • Suppose someone gave you the funding and resources for a 3- to 12-month project to investigate a technical topic of your choice. Write a short version of a proposal, including a description of the project, your planned methodology, and your expected results. Please pick something other than the project you described for the first question.
  • Transcripts
    • Bachelor’s: A copy of your current academic record.
    • Master’s: A copy of your previous and current academic records.
    • PhD: A copy of your previous academic records.
  • Enrollment confirmation for 2013/2014 or confirmation of graduation date
    • Please include with your application an official enrollment confirmation or a confirmation of your graduation date issued by an official authority of the university (e.g. your departmental administrator or a professor).
  • Recommendation letters
    • Two strong referral letters from individuals who are qualified to evaluate your academic and leadership accomplishments (e.g. from a professor, adviser or supervisor).
    • You can can find information for how to submit referral letters on the Frequently Asked Questions page
    • Recommendation letters must also be submitted in the system by February 1, 2013.
    • Google recommends that you submit your application two weeks before the deadline to allow enough time for your referrers to submit the recommendation letters on time.
  • Application examples: Below you’ll find two examples of applications written by formar scholars. Reviewing these applications will give you a better feeling and direction how to write your own uniqe application. It’s important to remember that those applications are only two out of hundres great diverse applications that are being submitted every year. These applications are given as a guildeline to help you. Please do not copy the application excaly.

For specific questions not answered on this page or in the FAQ section, please e-mail[email protected]. We look forward to receiving your application!

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WITU Networking Kicking off 2013 in style! 18th January 2013 @ katikati Lugogo

January 7, 2013 By

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Women in Technology: Finding Your Inner Geek Is The Key To Success

November 18, 2012 By

Article from http://www.forbes.com/sites/bonniemarcus/2012/07/09/women-in-technology-finding-your-inner-geek-is-the-key-to-success/

Like many other male dominated industries, the field of technology presents both challenges and opportunities for women today. To get a better understanding of how women can be successful in this field, I interviewed three women who have each started their own companies and are considered superstars in the technology industry today.

Michelle Zatlyn is co-founder of Cloudflare. She was named one of the 2011 Top Women to Watch in Technology by the Huffington Post and one of theTop 15 Women to Watch in Tech by Inc. Magazine.

Ellen Pack, co-founder of appSmitten.com has more than 20 years experience building online and service businesses. She was VP of Marketing for Elance and in the early 1990′s, founded Women.com and grew it into the largest internet destination for women.

Laney Whicanack is Federated Media Publishing’s Chief Community Officer. she joined FMP through the acquisition of BigTent which she founded in 2006.

1. What, in your opinion, is the best career path for a woman in technology?

Michelle Zatlyn
Two good rules of thumb: You want to work at a company that is growing and you want to work with high-performing people.

If you are early in your career (less than 10 years of experience), joining a high-performing technology company is a terrific way to build relationships, hone your skills, and work on a variety of projects. Over time, you may want to become an entrepreneur and build your own company, but that only makes sense if you find the right business idea.

Ellen Pack
The good news is that there is no one best career path for women to get involved in technology. Getting an engineering degree is a great way to understand how products are built from the ground up; however there are alternate options for women who don’t code. Product management, business development or getting involved in an early stage start up are some of the other avenues for working in consumer technology.

Laney Whitcanack
I think in the 21st century, almost every kind of business involves technology, so in essence, every company is a technology company. It’s important for women to think about the problem they are trying to solve and then think about/work with others to determine how technology can best help them address the problem they are trying to solve. If you focus just on the technology, without being really clear on your vision or what you’re trying to do, you will end up with an over-engineered product and very few users.

In general, I recommend looking for opportunities, especially early on in your career, that give you exposure to how a business runs and operates. Even if it is outside of your direct responsibilities, ask for opportunities to observe or learn the nuts and bolts of the business (attend meetings, meet with people on different teams, etc. etc.).

2. What do women need to know before they enter this field? How do they best prepare?

Michelle
Considering the diversity and range of the technology industry, here are some important things to know about the technology field.

  1. The industry changes quickly. This is a benefit, but also something that some people may not enjoy. Since things change so fast, there is an onus on you as an individual to stay up to date on emerging trends. Some are fads; some are here to stay. Sorting through what is important is hard and time-consuming.
  2. Good salaries
  3. Smart colleagues
  4. There is a big difference being at a high growth company and a big technology company that is growing 2 to 5% every year. If you can, you always want to be at a high-growth organization that is pushing the envelope rather than resting on their laurels of a large, installed customer base.

As a person thinking about working in technology, you will want to:

  1. Be interested in the underlying product or service that the company provides.
  2. Like trying new things and be a person that enjoys continually learning.
  3. Likely live in one of the following cities: Boston, NYC, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, Beijing or Shanghai. While there are technology companies everywhere, the core of what is being built is based in these geographic locations and you always want to be at a company that is leading in its field.

Ellen
Women should find their inner geek. The greater your understanding of technology and tech trends, the farther you will go. Being able to get out in front of trends and help companies of any size see how they can leverage technology will make someone a great asset to any company. Read the trade press, keep your skills fresh, and always think of new and better ways things can get done. Your education doesn’t stop when you leave school, it is just beginning and it is your job to create the curriculum every day.

Laney
I think the best preparation is working in service of an idea or challenge that is personally engaging and inspiring. I like the “can I sleep at night” test, when thinking about where I want to put my professional energy. If I could see myself up in the middle of the night thinking new thoughts and ideas about it, it’s probably something I need to follow. With that kind of passion, you will be driven to expend the time and energy often needed to work in the start-up world.

3. What are the pros and cons for women in technology today?

Michelle
It is a terrific industry for anyone who enjoys trying new things and continually learning. Of course, you would need to be genuinely interested in the product and or service you’re working on.

Ellen
While the statistics about the number of women in tech can seem discouraging, it means there are many opportunities for women to join tech companies and make their mark. It’s a very fast-paced field and one that is constantly evolving offering a challenging career path. That said, women entering this field have to get used to often being the only female in the room and they need to speak up so their opinions are heard and considered.

Laney
I definitely encourage women to enter the field of technology and the start-up world. As a parent of a 2-year-old and a six-month-old, I can definitely appreciate that founding and leading a start-up is a lot like raising a child – it requires incredible amounts of energy, passion, commitment and the ability to wear several hats each day (and sometimes each hour), but there is something really amazing about watching it mature. Pros are that tech is fast moving, always changing, and solving the biggest problems and challenges facing our world today. The cons are similar – it’s always moving and changing – so you have to be OK with relentless re-prioritization and working off of your assumptions, because you will never have all the information you need to make decisions related to pushing your business and strategy forward.

4. What is one lesson you’ve learned that you think other women would benefit from knowing?

Michelle
Opportunities present themselves any time, any place. Instead of trying to plan your entire life, focus on your current opportunity and get the most out of it. No matter how hard we try, we can’t predict the next five years. So, focus on what you’re doing today and making the most out of it. Once you start to get to the point where you’re no longer learning as much or you are no longer enjoying what you do, you’ll know it’s time to move on to a new opportunity. Not being able to predict the next five years is a gift. Embrace it.

Ellen
Network like crazy. Build and use your LinkedIn and social media platforms right from the start. The people you know will help you make good decisions along your career path, whether it’s about which company to join or which technology to implement once you are part of a team. What you know is key in tech, but who you know is equally important.

Laney
I am a strong believer in a personal board of directors. As you meet women (and men) as you build your career, create your own personal board of advisers who can help you with career growth and decision making, as well as act as a sounding board for you as you build your business. You only need a few, but they will offer you unbiased feedback and input, in your personal best interest, as you grow and develop your career.

 

The full interview is available on podcast GPS Your Career: A Woman’s Guide to Success.

Filed Under: Blog

12 Tips to Increase Your Productivity

November 18, 2012 By

By Kathleen Barton

 

Do you feel overwhelmed with your workload? In this day and age of doing more with less, we have too much to do in too little time. How can we slow down our frenetic pace and achieve our job goals without sacrificing our own well-being? Here are 12 tips to help you better manage your time and increase your productivity at work without stressing you out! 1. Have a clear understanding of your job responsibilities and expectations. 2. Know the priorities, i.e., which projects and tasks are most important. If not, then have a discussion with your boss. 3. Take five minutes at the beginning of your work day to plan your day. 4. Make a realistic list of tasks to complete each day. 5. Prioritize your task list based upon importance and urgency. Work on the most important things first. 6. Block out time on your calendar to complete important projects. Treat it like a meeting. 7. Close the door to your office and forward your phone to voicemail when working on high-priority projects. 8. Allow some flexibility in your schedule for the unexpected. Things will come up! 9. When asked to take on an additional project and your “plate is full”, negotiate deadlines with your boss. Ask him or her to help you determine where this project is on the priority list. 10. Set a deadline for yourself as to when you will leave the office each day. You’ll find that you make better use of your time, since you have limited time and are working toward a deadline. 11. Spend the last five minutes of each work day to review the day. Check off completed tasks and forward uncompleted tasks to the next day. By doing so, you’ll go home with a sense of completion and be able to leave work at work and not think about it. 12. Don’t take work home on the weekends. You need that time for family, friends, and household activities. Take time to relax and you’ll come back to work refreshed and ready to work. By practicing these tips, you’ll become more productive and effective - and be able to reduce your stress level as well! Kathleen Barton is a keynote speaker, workshop presenter, and life coach specializing in life purpose, career success, and work-life balance. She is the author of Passport to Priorities: Your Road Map to Balanced Living.

Kathleen can be reached at www.YourLifeBalanceCoach.com. original Article from WITI

Filed Under: Blog

RISE OF THE AFRICAN FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR

November 18, 2012 By

Guest Post by Barbara Birungi of Women in Technology Uganda and WITU

Original post written for and can be found at http://bfabafrica.com/

Kampala, Uganda: There certainly is a rise of female entrepreneurs in Africa in the last few decades, and statistics show that there are now more female-owned businesses on the continent, than male.

African women have moved away from the traditional belief that a man should be the sole provider, while the woman waits at home and looks after the children. This shift in cultural attitude, has been due finally to the education and understanding, that educating the girl child benefits the whole society.

Across Africa we are seeing a great increase of girls attending school, at least until secondary level. However, old attitudes and out-dated cultural thinking are often a hindrance for African women to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit. In Kampala, five years ago, I found the general thinking by many women, was it was better to find a job within a big corporation like MTN, E&Y or a government job, rather than start their own business. This is type of ideology is slowly vanishing, which is great news.

Even with the rise of the African female entrepreneur, many are still small scale traders, its only a few that have risen to a large scale practise, with many businesses seeing little or no growth over a number of years due to the challenges these women still face.

In Africa, anyone who sees a big manufacturing plant or fast growing business, the first assumption is to always think it belongs to a man. When it turns out to be a female-owned business, eyes still roll and eyebrows still rise – mostly by men. Some even say she was just lucky.

One of the biggest barriers African female entrepreneurs face; is easy access to finance. A few banks in Africa, have taken women business owners into consideration and tailored services suited for women borrowers. I believe many more are going to follow suit in the coming years. However, the current financial barrier, leaves many businesses crippled and unable to grow.

The other road block for African female entrepreneurs, is in them not embracing technology for business. This can save valuable processing costs in the chain, increase profitability, and create regional networks among other women business owners in different African countries.

In Uganda, female entrepreneurs can use their GSMA phone for Internet, many still believe that social media is just for young people to have fun, and not a vital tool that can enhance their business.

Luckily, the price of mobile phones have been reducing over the years, and we expect the trend to continue. I believe that manufacturers will begin to put focus on making the mobile phone experience more exciting for women and easy to use beyond voice and SMS.African women need to include more technology structures into their businesses. To encourage more African female entrepreneurs, we also require more African female role models for women and girls, in a variety of sectors.

We also need more female land-owners and a change in policy across the continent on property ownership in many African countries, which still forfeit a women’s right to her land should her husband die. This is last-century thinking.

Women who are fortunate enough to own land, need to recognize that its value can also be used as security to guarantee a bank loan, the old notion that ‘what if I fail to pay, I’ll lose my land” – keeps many women tied into a short-sighted economic future. Luckily, progress has hit African in all areas including traditional beliefs; many women can now own land! This very land will act as security when she goes to access a loan from a bank to expand her business.

In Uganda, we have WOUGNET, WITU and UWONET, all seeking to increase the use of ICT by women. Business networks have now been created which will enhance collaboration across many sectors. This grows relationships amongst different businesses with similar goals in the region, and everyone benefits.

The more women embrace entrepreneurship, the more cultures, education and rights of women will improve – because women are natural teachers, they pass on what they know and usually work with relatives and family members, who learn the skill from them and become entrepreneurs themselves.

With success stories being showcased more and more in the news media, and other women beginning to embrace entrepreneurship, I believe in the next coming decades, we will have more women embracing entrepreneurship on a much larger scale across Africa, than running to employment in the formal sector.

Edited by Shaheera Asante

Filed Under: Blog

WITU HACKATHON, WHAT WAS

October 27, 2012 By

WITU Hackathon,

Last Month Women In Technology Uganda held its first Hackathon that was a woman only with a theme: WOMANAPP: building apps for women by women!

For us it was about Fun, Meet people and build stuff!

From the team ladies came up with three application ideas

1.Neighbourhood watch

2.Motherapp

3.LAPP (ladies all round APP)

We wanted to build applications that will solve a problem in a woman’s life in Uganda and the world, one of the biggest reasons we identified in Uganda was a high child mortality rate and part of the reason for this is that many pregnant women in Uganda do not go for antenatal care during their pregnancy and will prefer to give birth at home due to high costs involved in antenatal checks and delivery, and the free services for pregnant mothers are often characterized by long lines that most mothers decide to go back home without receiving treatment, trusting in TBAs and not knowing where to go for certain complications during pregnancy.

From these two were combined into one and a team is building an application that will address the issue of the high child mortality rate in Uganda by working with pregnant mothers and new mothers on child care, pregnancy care and pregnancy advice.

 

The ladies worked in teams, a mobile app development team, the marketing, PR team and the web development team. These teams each worked to build the product that is going to be both a web and mobile application.

This app is where form meets function, has an innovative design and it will not only solve a problem but solving it in a new and innovative way.

We hope to launch this product in March 2013.

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, Featured

GSMA mWomen Design Challenge

October 11, 2012 By

User Experience and the Smartphone

 

The objective of The GSMA mWomen Design Challenge: Redefining the User Experience is to meet the needs of resource-poor women by improving the smartphone user experience.

Designers, programmers and innovators of all kinds are invited to consider the user experience of resource-poor women to reimagine a smartphone’s core user interface to be more intuitive and accessible. The more a woman can use her phone, the more value she’ll be able to realize from the pre-installed apps, widgets, and other functionality that can enhance her and her family’s lives.

Before I was in the dark, now I am in the light!

New female mobile phone owner, Papua New Guinea

Today, most mobile users in developing markets rely on basic feature phones, which generally offer little beyond basic voice and SMS functionality. But smartphones will drive the next stage of the mobile revolution, offering access to more phone features, as well as being the primary tool for internet access for many in the developing world. As competition grows and the phones become more popular, manufacturers will realize economics of scale and will reduce prices, creating a cycle that will ultimately lead to affordable smartphones throughout the developing world.

More info and how to enter here!

http://designchallenge.mwomen.org/en/challenge/mwomen-design-challenge

Filed Under: Blog
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