Empower

Empower

Building a Future of Financial Inclusion in Africa: My Preliminary Experience with FinTech Pezesha in Leading the Way in Embedded Financing by Elisabeth Di Domenico (A24)

by tuftsigl
Building a Future of Financial Inclusion in Africa: My Preliminary Experience with FinTech Pezesha in Leading the Way in Embedded Financing by Elisabeth Di Domenico (A24) Jul 16

This summer, I am working remotely as a Communications and Business Development Consultant for Pezesha Africa, a fintech startup based in Nairobi, Kenya. Pezesha was founded by its CEO, Hilda Moraa (pictured bottom left on the poster), an award-winning entrepreneur and author. She has more than ten years of experience in fintech, regulations and working with multinationals like Coca-Cola to develop innovations across Africa. She previously founded WezaTele, another fintech startup in Kenya that was acquired in 2015. Pezesha is a holistic, digital financial enabler ecosystem empowering underserved small and micro enterprises (SMEs) in Sub Saharan Africa by connecting them with affordable financial services. These affordable financial services come in the form of a financial literacy curriculum, low interest loans and connections to capital holders.

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Jul 13
Empower

Pride, Protest and Power: Balancing International Journalism with Local Compassion in Brazil by Laura Harvey (A’24)

by tuftsigl

This summer, I am lucky to be interning with the International Indigenous Rights NGO, Cultural Survival. I have mainly been working on communications and on a project called Indigenous Rights Radio, which sources and creates radio programs to be distributed to Indigenous community radio stations.

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End of the day prayer and at the assembly before leaving for home
Jul 08
Empower

Light on the hill: the global impact of Tufts International community by Derick Athiri (A’23)

by tuftsigl

I wish I could say I am a stranger to Kenya. I wish I could describe the country with the awed language of a tourist. But mine is an even better perspective: one of a local boy and seasoned teenager who is a returning sojourner.

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Aug 19
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Working at the International Labour Organization (ILO), by Tasfia Zaman (F’20)

by tuftsigl

When I think about my beloved childhood home of Dhaka, Bangladesh, I remember the busy streets, the smell of incense in the air, and my grandmother cooking while debating the ideals of feminism. Believe me, my grandmother and I have had some very enlightening conversations about navigating life as a woman.

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Aug 07
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Why is albania’s talent leaving the country? by Alfred Sogja (F’1G)

by tuftsigl

U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim visits U.S. technology company Mozenda in their offices in Tirana, Albania. Photo taken by U.S. Embassy-Tirana.

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Aug 03
Empower

Can Grassroots Initiatives Foster Innovation in Guinea-Bissau? by Marcia Almeida Mendes (F’20)

by tuftsigl

Can grassroots initiatives foster innovation in Guinea Bissau? This is a question I came up with last summer while spending time in Guinea-Bissau, a small nation in West Africa, for my capstone research and a consultancy project. This summer, I have been working with a grassroots organization based in the country to try and answer it.

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Nov 12
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The Current Status of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Nutrition (WASH-N)in Ruhango, Rwandaby Magnifique Mukundwa (E’20)

by jtijssen

As part of my Empower fellowship, this summer I was able to visit companies and social enterprises doing work related to water, sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition (WASH-N) as well as both primary and secondary schools.

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Nov 08
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To the Waters Initiative by Magnifique Mukundwa (E’20)

by jtijssen

This summer, I was fortunate to go to Rwanda to conduct internal market research for To The Waters, a social enterprise that aims to use engineering, innovation, and entrepreneurship to promote access to water, sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition (WASH-N) in developing nations.

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Sep 13
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Stories from the Field by Geoffrey Tam (F’20)

by jtijssen

During my first stakeholder meeting with Kwangu Kwako, Ltd. (KKL), I had the opportunity to meet Milka Achieng, a charismatic young woman who has grown up in Kibera’s Gatwekera neighborhood. Kibera is referred by many as Africa’s largest slum with an estimated population of around 250,000 people.

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Jul 23
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Arriving in Dubai, Acclimating, and Beginning Work by Connor Doyle (A’21)

by tuftsigl

The 13-hour flight to Dubai consisted of me sleeping and conversing with the Bangladeshi woman sitting next to me; she was traveling with her daughter to see her family and parents back home. Two-thirds of the world’s population lives within an eight-hour flight from Dubai.

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