Skoll World Forum Ecosystem Day 2022

Paving the Path Forward: Investment in Women

Friday, April 8, 2022 | 8:00 AM PST, 11:00 AM EST, 4:00 PM BST

Duration: 90 Minutes

Session Description

Women hold up half the sky, and with the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that women disproportionately carry the brunt of its impact. According to a UN Report, Rapid Gender Assessment (RGA) surveys indicate that 29% of working-age mothers living with children lost their jobs compared to only 20% of working-age men living with children. Women with children in the household were also more likely to report increased domestic work and childcare.

Despite the gaps, women have adapted and persevered to support their workplaces, communities, and families. How are women paving the path forward? In what ways are women continuing to make significant strides in the face of challenge? How can we better support women and invest in women-led organizations? This session examines how women continue to lead the way in reimagining the future of social entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, and other areas.

Speakers

Almaz Negash is a recognized thought leader and sought-after expert on entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment for international markets, especially high growth African and Diaspora. Leveraging 25 plus years of experience in international trade, business management, and social innovation, Negash is able to build successful partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, including Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, investors and entrepreneurs based in the USA and around the world. As a result, she is named as one of the 100 outstanding Silicon Valley Women of Influence for her work in social innovation. In 2010, Almaz founded African Diaspora Network (ADN) to inform and engage Africans in the diaspora and facilitate direct collaboration with social entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders to invest and improve the lives of everyone on the continent.

Latanya Mapp Frett is President and CEO of Global Fund for Women, one of the world’s leading foundations for gender justice. Global Fund for Women has fueled feminist movements across the world for over 30 years, putting resources directly in the hands of courageous activists who are working to end oppressive policies and change entrenched norms. As a feminist fund, Global Fund for Women offers flexible support to a diverse group of partners—more than 5,000 groups across 175 countries so far—to create meaningful change that will last beyond our lifetimes.

Dana Weeks is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MedTrans Go. MedTrans Go is a B2B healthcare appointment optimization platform solving the $150B problem of medical appointment cancellations in the US. Their tech-enabled portal provides healthcare facilities access to a customizable suite of services to address the root causes of their cancellations in one easy-to-use, integrated digital platform. Dana previously led several entrepreneurial ventures and held leadership positions at Pfizer, AT&T, and the Black Angel Tech Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization she co-founded to support and increase the number of underrepresented minorities in technology.

Sunny Satva is a global citizen based between Kenya and the United States. Sunny is a bioengineer by training, environmental activist, and passionate web3 builder. They began angel investing in several Kenyan-owned start-ups in 2021 and recognized a need to scale production of plant-based alternative proteins and vegan leather materials produced in Africa. Sunny started the Vegan Africa Fund to support African eco-entrepreneurs in some of the highest-growth product sectors during the decades to come.