Making an Impact: CALI at CESV 2024

If you attended the Central Eurasia @ Silicon Valley 2024 Conference (#CESV), you probably noticed a woman in an eye-catching look with vibrant patterns. And if you're from Central Asia, you might have felt a sense of familiarity. That woman was Cora Lam, Techwomen Mentor and Senior Principal Engineer at Marvell Technology. She joined other distinguished professionals in our panel discussion, Central Eurasia - Women Shaping the Future of Tech, as part of the conference. Cora shared that her look was a mix of traditional elements from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. When she said she is a fan of Central Asia, you truly believe she means it. Cora Lam portrayed Central Asian women as “soft.” CALI redefines the image of Central Asian women seen as soft and yielding, and represents that we are also ambitious and self-driven, especially in career and personal development. 

Panelists and Kanykei Omurzakova

Asset Abdualiyev and Asror Arabjanov, lead organizers of this event, described Central Eurasia as “the last untapped part of the world,” also historically known as the Great Silk Road. “No one knows us here,” they mentioned about Silicon Valley, where people are often unfamiliar with the countries and people from the Central Eurasia region. This conference, with over 1200 participants, 100+ exhibiting startups, 150+ venture capitalists, and 300+ founders, carried an important mission: to showcase our potential and what we bring to the technology industry.

We introduced CALI in the expo hall alongside other startups. Our panel discussion explored how women in Central Eurasia can advance in a tech world, covering various aspects like education, government policy, venture capital, and the value of guidance and mentorship with expert speakers:

• Nazira Nurbayeva, General Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan 

• Cora Lam, Techwomen Mentor, Marvell Technology, Senior Principal Engineer 

• Nora (Nargiza) Juraboeva, Director of Partnership at Grammarly 

• Rania Helmy, MIT, Senior Advisor for Strategy & Partnership 

• Christy Canida, Alchemist, Accelerator, Senior Director

Christy Canida drew attention to the main challenges for women entrepreneurs from Central Eurasia: access and assumptions. She recommended focusing on one-on-one interactions. In her experience, people have opinions about groups based on certain characteristics like gender, age, culture, or geography, but introducing yourself in a one-on-one setting gives another person an opportunity to know you individually. 

CALI - Central Asian Ladies Initiative was founded at the beginning of this year with the goal of empowering and connecting women and helping them develop professional skills. CESV was one of the highlights in our journey to make an impact in this space.