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"Profile of Success - AWTAD"

Think of all the cities in the world where the “green” movement is taking hold. Cairo, Egypt, a desert megalopolis of 17 million people, probably isn’t at the top of your list. But don’t tell Shereen Allam.

Shereen, of Maadi, Cairo, is co-owner of Eco-Tek, an innovative printer cartridge recycling company she launched ten years ago with her husband, Mr. Ahmed Hegazy. Since then, she’s convinced scores of businesses, schools and universities all over Cairo to buy into the program, and the list of partners keeps growing. It’s a win for Shereen and a win for the environment. Eco-Tek grows its business and Cairo is spared thousands of spent printer cartridges choking its landfills. “I would love to start an environmental awareness campaign where all the official, nonprofit and individual parties get involved and a complete plant could be established to recycle all parts – plastics, metal, electronic parts, etc. This would develop the sense that by recycling you save lives, help society and generate money at the same time,” says Shereen.

With the same entrepreneurial drive that makes Eco-Tek a success, Shereen “gives back” to her country as President of AWTAD (Association for Women’s Total Advancement and Development). In just one year as a Network Hub in the MENA Businesswomen’s Network, the association grew its membership to over 50 in record time.

“We started off very small, and we wanted to work with businesses and other groups in an innovative way,” explains Shereen. “We also knew we could help in the development of civil society, particularly for women, in the areas of health, education and training, and entrepreneurship.”

So Shereen put her business and marketing skills to work. “We promoted AWTAD all over – through word of mouth and on our Web site. We also recruited volunteers – by offering a free one-year membership in the association.” The effort quickly paid off. Professionals from a range of industries and specializations have joined AWTAD, and many are clamoring to serve as mentors to the next generation.

AWTAD’s signature programs include a professional mentoring program the organization developed, “Steps into the Future,” and a breast cancer awareness program in the workplace called “Making it Our Business.” Vital Voices Global Partnership administers “Making it Our Business” and has trained several MENA BWN Hub leaders in the program.

In June, AWTAD’s Corporate Ambassadors Program will take shape around the theme, “Surviving and Thriving in Turbulent Times,” with Isisara Bey, vice president of programs and education at Count Me In, the leading U.S. not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women entrepreneurs. Other Network Hub members and upwards of 150 additional attendees are expected to participate, including members of the Egyptian Ministry of Finance.

When asked what worked so well for the nascent MENA BWN Hub, Shereen sums it up this way: “Create partnerships with other NGOs and associations and work as a team. You have to think in unconventional ways all the time. If you think of it as a business – it’ll make a profound difference.”

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