Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund, U.S. State Department

Code on the Road: Empowering Migrant Women and Girls through Business Entrepreneurship and Software Training

Code on the Road is the winning program founded by Aya Burweila and her international team of dynamic women and men to empower migrant women and girls through software and business entrepreneurship training in both Athens and Amman.

Since 2011, the wars in Syria and Libya have sparked a largescale refugee crisis. In Greece, the total number of refugees is over 40,000 while in Jordan, there are over 1.5 million refugees who have fled conflict and strife. Job market integration is a crucial foundation that will have strong benefits not only for migrant women themselves but also for their children, family members and society at large. Despite this, migrant women face additional challenges in accessing both educational and employment opportunities in comparison with their local peers. At the same time, local authorities around the world struggle with ICT skills gap and there is a sharp shortage of women with software skills. Nonetheless, women consistently receive messages both implicit and explicit that computer science and entrepreneurship is not a field for them. Our solution, with our distinguished local partners such as FUNZI, Kalam Research & Media, Finn Church Aid, the Melissa Network, iforU, Hadeel al-Qaq, Mataroa, and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Excellence (CIEE) at Al-Hussein Technical University (HTU) is to provide beneficiaries with a two-pronged and complementary solution: 1) FUNZI training courses in business entrepreneurship, and 2) Software and coding workshops to teach beneficiaries the basics of what they need to launch their virtual businesses.

Our holistic program will be available in both Arabic and English and accessible to both native and migrant women to further promote integration and equality. Nonetheless, women consistently receive messages both implicit and explicit that computer science and entrepreneurship is not a field for them. Our solution, with our distinguished local partners such as FUNZI, Kalam Research & Media, Finn Church Aid, the Melissa Network, iforU, Hadeel al-Qaq, Mataroa, Integrated Technology Solutions, Qasid Arabic Institute, and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Excellence (CIEE) at Al-Hussein Technical University (HTU), is to provide beneficiaries with a two-pronged and complementary solution: 1) FUNZI training courses in business entrepreneurship, and 2) Software and coding workshops to teach beneficiaries the basics of what they need to launch their virtual businesses. Our holistic program will be available in both Arabic and English and accessible to both native and migrant women to further promote integration and equality.

PROJECT PARTNERS