Summit of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs
Alumni of the Malaysian AWE program present at a tech panel in Kuala Lumpur. [U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur photo]
AWE Summit expands networks for women’s entrepreneurship and fosters innovation across the Indo-Pacific
In celebration of International Women’s Day, the US Embassy Kuala Lumpur is hosting the first regional Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Summit March 6-9, bringing together nearly 200 exchange alumni, women entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the Indo-Pacific. The AWE Summit will leverage US business expertise and technology to strengthen business acumen, create sustainable growth and promote greater connectivity among women entrepreneurs across the region.
Launched in 2019 by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, AWE is an exchange program that gives women the knowledge, networks, and access they need to start and grow successful businesses. In partnership with the Office of the US Speaker Program, the summit will provide cutting-edge US expertise in technology and innovation with workshops by two business leaders from the fields of technology and finance.
Nancy Wang, general manager at Amazon Web Services, will deliver the keynote address on March 8, International Women’s Day. Passionate about advancing women in tech, Wang is the founder and CEO of Advancing Women in Tech (AWIT), a global 501(c)(3) nonprofit with more than 35,000 members on three continents. AWIT provides mentoring to advance women into product and engineering leadership roles in B2B companies and has trained 40,000 women through their product management and cloud computing courses on Coursera.
“I decided to start mentoring because I could see the global movement helping women gain financial independence by advancing in their career path, and I wanted to be a part of it,” Wang said.
At the AWE Summit, Wang will lead workshops to train AWE alumni on how to achieve product-market fit, future-proofing, creating a sustainable business model, and the importance of embracing equity. One of the key areas of growth for women entrepreneurs, Wang says, is understanding how to start businesses that will thrive and grow over time and allow women to be economically independent — which she believes women can achieve by doing that develop the right product and sell it in the right market.
Wang founded AWIT as a nonprofit organization that accelerates careers and addresses diversity gaps in leadership. In a recent AWIT press release, the organization announced that it is currently exploring ways to work with the US Department of State to support more women in AWE’s global network.
Rekha Pai Kamath, Angel Investor and Partner at the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund, will lead workshops focused on financing, address different avenues to fund your business, and design winning business presentations for investors. Kamath began working with the State Department in 2012 as a guest speaker for another US government program called TechWomen and was energized by the experience.
“It was very inspiring to see the State Department trying to match women in technology from emerging markets with women in Silicon Valley,” Kamath said. “And for me, as an engineer, I felt like this was an opportunity to connect, give back, share, and get involved.”
Born and raised in India, Kamath faced many obstacles in starting her own business and is determined to give back to other women. She hopes to inspire summit attendees to invest in startups and will share experiences on how to make a new company more attractive to investors – lessons she thinks many women entrepreneurs would like to learn.
“I hope women take more confidence from this summit,” Kamath said. “The journey may seem difficult at the moment, but there are resources anyone can tap into and I’m here to help.”
A US government exchange program, AWE empowers women by teaching them the strategic planning and business development skills they need to thrive. A key focus is on building more confidence and independent decision-making in women entrepreneurs – with the help of some of the best technical expertise in the United States.
“Owning your own business gives you economic freedom, and it’s my pleasure to share what I’ve learned to help women around the world achieve that,” Wang said.
background
The Academy for women entrepreneurs is a U.S. Department of State program that directly supports the U.S. National Strategy on Equality and Gender Equality. Since 2019, AWE has used DreamBuilder, an online learning platform developed by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, to empower more than 25,000 women entrepreneurs in 100 countries to realize their dream of starting their own business. Operating in countries across Asia and the Pacific, AWE helps around 1,200 women entrepreneurs grow their businesses and reach their full economic potential each year.
The Office of the US Speakers Program works with US embassies and consulates around the world to connect foreign professional audiences with American citizen experts on issues of strategic importance to the United States. The programs are conducted in person and via virtual platforms and focus on important foreign policy issues. The US Speaker program offers professionals the opportunity to connect with new audiences, expand their networks and exchange ideas with professionals around the world.
For more information about AWE, visit: https://eca.state.gov/awe
