TechWomen Delegation in Rwanda to Expand Network of African Women in STEM Fields

STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

Office of the Spokesperson
Department of State
Washington, DC
February 3, 2014

Fusing technology with efforts to empower women and girls, the U.S. Department of State announced today that a delegation of 30 U.S. TechWomen mentors is meeting in Rwanda February 2-7 to collaborate and connect through workshops and visits with local organizations. An innovative public-private partnership, TechWomen pairs emerging women leaders in technology from the Middle East and Africa with American women mentors from the greater Silicon Valley area.

TechWomen, has brought almost 80 women from the Middle East and North Africa and the United States together for month-long mentorships. This year, TechWomen expanded to include women from sub-Saharan African countries. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan will join the TechWomen for this first meeting in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The U.S. TechWomen mentors traveling to Rwanda represent 23 companies in Silicon Valley and the Greater San Francisco Bay Area including: Blackberry, Calix, Citrix, Cisco, EMC, Ericsson, Fairrer Samani Group Ventures, Families Without Borders, Genentech, Intel Corp., Juniper Networks, Katy Dickinson Consulting, Law Offices of Patricia Bovan, NestGSV, Nisum Technologies, Salesforce.com, Santa Clara University, Sf.citi, Shakour Marketing, Sun Run, Symantec, and Twitter.

While in Rwanda, the TechWomen will meet with nonprofits, innovation centers, and girls’ schools that focus on expanding technology networks and careers for women and girls in STEM fields. They will also meet with Rwandan Minister of Youth and Information & Communications Technologies (ICT), visit the University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology, and attend a Science and Technology fair hosted by the U.S. Embassy Kigali.