Impact Stories Archive
Ghazi Saddem’s participation in the Professional Fellows Program (PFP) in Austin, Texas, was initially intended to be an enriching experience focused around his fellowship at Tech Ranch, but it quickly evolved into something far greater. It became a deep dive into one of Austin’s most vital pillars—the city’s rapidly growing startup ecosystem. What started as a focused fellowship soon blossomed into an adventure that exposed Ghazi to a network of tech authorities, accelerators, incubators, hubs, and global tech leaders, as well as countless interactions with founders and key ecosystem enablers. The connections he forged, the stories he encountered, and the innovative Read More »
Chaimae Bahi Slaoui is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences, Ain Chock at Hassan II University, Casablanca. Chaimae’s journey through the Professional Fellows Program (PFP) led her to the University of Texas Austin, where she collaborated closely with her mentor Ruben Cantú on two programs: the Women’s Initiative for Entrepreneurship and Leadership Development (WIELD) program and the Product Prodigy Institute Program. This partnership fostered an environment of mentorship and support, helping Chaimae gain deeper insights into entrepreneurship, leadership, and work culture in the United States, which she could apply to her work back home. Read More »
by Sonia Rahmani “In the pursuit of fostering positive change and community empowerment, my journey through the transformative sphere of the Professional Fellows Program (PFP) unfurled a tapestry woven with learning, collaboration, and tangible impact.” Back in Tunisia, Sonia Rahmani reflects on her PFP Fellowship with GirlStart in Austin, Texas with the PFP Spring 2023 Cohort. You can see the color that a person like Sonia adds to the world just from her words, and beyond that illustrative statement was a force that continues to multiply her impact across Tunisia. Sonia’s experiences, lessons learned during the PFP Fellowship, and motivation Read More »
PFP Fellow Spring 2023 Between April and July 2023, Ahmad Abdelgalil, an alumnus of the Professional Fellow Program from Fall 2022, spearheaded a transformative initiative in the Manial Shiha community, near Giza, Egypt. His project focused on delivering workforce development skills to 20 recent female university graduates. The knowledge the women gained was a force that multiplied as they each, in turn, extended their knowledge to an additional 10 young women within the community. There are now 200 more women in Manial with increased confidence and knowledge to access the workforce and a wider opportunity of economic activity. Abdelgalil applied Read More »
Algeria PFP Fellow Spring 2023 Yousria Bouchouche could not be delayed by jet lag nor a much deserved rest after landing back in Algeria off her Professional Fellows Program (PFP) experience in Washington, D.C. with Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) in Spring 2023. From 15 June to 6 September 2023, Yousria partnered with the U.S. Embassy Algiers implementing her PFP follow-on project, “Empowering Young Entrepreneurs for Fundraising.” You could say she really opened up some EYEs for Fundraising! Yousria designed an “Investment Readiness” curriculum divided into two phases that applied her technical skills and engaged her professional network. Next, she Read More »