Nezha Alaoui, Founder & CEO at Women Choice & the Social Innovation Incubator (SII) discusses the importance of empowering & enabling women across all fields and how her organization is working with governments & institutions to achieve this.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself
I am a Moroccan serial entrepreneur based in the United Arab Emirates, an enabler for women-led tech start-ups, an advocate for diversity, and the Founder & CEO of Women Choice & the Social Innovation Incubator (SII). SII’s mission is to employ 1 million women across Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) by 2030, in alignment with the Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations (SDG2030). I gather more than 12 years of experience in supporting the development and implementation of women’s empowerment initiatives in USA, FRANCE and the MEA region and, as of now, I have already helped over 15,000 women across various industries advance their careers globally.
What is Women Choice, please run us through its mechanics?
Women Choice is an international organization that works hand in hand with companies, institutions and governments committed to advancing impactful leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Women Choice expanded its impact activities from New York to the MENA region to launch its five-year plan of achieving 1M jobs for women across the Arab world. You can find more information on our website at www.womenchoice.org. By end of 2023, we are already planning to expand to other regions.
What is the Social Innovation Incubator?
The Social Innovation Incubator (SII) provides comprehensive support for women entrepreneurs and create employment opportunities in their chosen field over the next five years. SII will also provide mentorship and training on topics such as business planning, capacity building, human resources, and recruitment expertise. First chapters will be launched in the UAE and Morocco followed by the entire MENA region. The goal is empowering & enabling women to take initiatives and grow social businesses both at a local and regional level.
How are these initiatives different from other existing programs that support women?
There are several great initiatives out there but most of them focus on connecting women to each other, which is great, but our vision is to go further and actually hold ourselves accountable for those women’s journey by ensuring they either find actual jobs or get the necessary technical or financial support to make their entrepreneurship dreams come true. The SII initiative is divided into three clear programs:
- the Impact Program which will be composed of real cohort/classes of women being trained by specialists in their respective fields such as cybersecurity, communication or leadership, and who then each commit to the employment of a number of women once their start-ups and projects come to life
- the Advocacy Program which allows women and also men to connect and network together, discussing key steps to ensure of gender parity in an organization. And it is also a unique opportunity for attendees to meet with top leaders from our partner companies such as Mastercard, Logitech, Dubai World Trade Centre, Arab Women Authority, Hays and more
- the Job Readiness Academies are more dedicated to the youth and either current women students or graduates who are struggling with employment or a lack of technical skills. In the hubs, which are physical structures created within universities, they receive continuous support and access to the resources they need for their search.
Tell us about how one can participate in these programs.
If you are a woman entrepreneur based in the Middle East and North Africa region struggling and you are willing to commit to create employment yourself after joining SII, then the Impact Program is for you. For women employees in the corporate world looking for networking and answers on how to advance your career, then our Advocacy Program with its series of offline and online events is for you. If you are a student trying to upskill or if you just graduated but cannot find a role due to a lack of technical skills, then our Job Readiness Academies are made for you. We have something for each woman, no matter her current situation so anyone can reach out to someone from our team really.
What sort of role do Women Choice and the Social Innovation Incubator play in the tech industry?
SII is dedicated to empowering & enabling women entrepreneurs and professionals regardless of their positions (junior or senior) or their industry. Of course, the tech industry is often leading the way in digital transformation and innovative initiatives, and it is looked at as an example by many, so it’s obvious that it is an important segment to focus on. It is also because unfortunately, the gender gap in technical roles is still one of the biggest and we want to help change that. Also, leaders from the tech industry have stepped up to join us and are making real commitments to that change.
