“Pakistan is a country where I, as a woman from a minority community, have been able to make a dent in the male dominated tech world without discrimination”
Whether representing Pakistan in the United States or working on communicative technological innovations, Danielle Sharaf knows what a successful role model is about. She is the founder of Switch-ITC, a technological entrepreneur, former fellow of the US State Department, and a member of the Pakistan – US Alumni Network!
As a CEO of Switch – ITC and a technology enthusiast, Sharaf focuses on mobile product development to tailor to the needs of the community and bring social change. This is done by identifying segments, analyzing needs, mobile service ideas, focus group testing, idea pitching, and product launching. Together, it allows for the translation of “ideas that connect into meaningful mobile solutions [and] spread across a wide range of wireless technologies, including SMS, IVR, USSD, and WAP”.
Through the success of making a difference for 15 million+ cellphone users across Pakistan and presenting professional talent by being the only woman CEO of the VAS industry, she was selected to represent the talent of Pakistan in The Fortune – US Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership Program. This program offered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs connects talented, emerging women leaders selected by US Embassies around the globe. It allows them to collectively reflect on their experiences and discuss future leadership opportunities over the course of four weeks.
From industry mentorship, Sharaf learned from the inner workings of development executive Jill Wilson of Jam City, a multibillion-dollar mobile game industry. Moreover, she gained hands-on experience with the non-governmental Vital Voices Global Partnership organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women’s political participation, and human rights. While building upon her learnings of processes of investment in human capital, product development, and leadership skills, she also made lifelong friends and came to recognize the similar stories of struggles and challenges regardless of country, color, or status.
Sharaf plans to continue to apply her learning experience with ongoing work including her recently-launched healthcare app, Zoya, for girls in Pakistan. This effort is to solely bring health solutions to young girls as well as empower them across all socioeconomic strata through job searching from cellular technology. Her mission: “To ensure that no girl loses her life due to lack of healthcare knowledge or access to medical professionals”. You can download it here.
On behalf of the US Embassy and our team, we welcome Danielle Sharaf to the Pakistan – US Alumni Network. With over 25,000 alumni countrywide, we aim to build upon the shared values of the people of Pakistan and United States to promote trust and understanding while creating links between alumni. Welcome Danielle!
