business woman Kenya Women Led Businesses to benefit from KSH 5M set aside for Cohort Four of the Women in Tech Incubator by Standard Chartered and Strathmore University.
The Search for Women-led businesses is back! @iBizAfrica-Strathmore University in Partnership with Standard Chartered Bank Kenya is excited to Launch the IV Cohort of the Women in Tech 2020 programme. The call for applicants is now open for women-led SMEs leveraging on technology and new business models to drive change and grow communities.
The online launch showcased how @iBizAfrica and Standard Chartered Bank have supported and guided over 40 female-led startups in Kenya through training, mentorship, coaching and funding over the last three years through the Women in Tech programme.
The programme theme for this year, Accelerating the Digital Economy through Women-Owned Businesses reinforces the importance of scaling the gains of female-focused entrepreneurial programs and expanding their mandate in bridging financing and industry gaps for early-stage ventures.
Standard Chartered Chief Operating Officer (COO) Peter Gitau, said, “Since the launch of the Women in Technology Programme in 2017, over 1,100 entrepreneurs have applied to be a part of the programme. 120 start-ups have been shortlisted with 30 taking part in the incubator program. 15 outstanding start-ups have benefitted from the seed funding of Kes 1 million each to grow their businesses. To date, over 75 per cent of innovations in different cohorts have attracted additional funding from both development partners and equity investors ranging from $50,000 – $150,000, and their businesses have grown revenue and sales in double digits.” As a bank, we are committed to supporting small businesses through the provision of finance, especially during this pandemic, and most importantly with the necessary business management skills through our financial literacy programmes, added Gitau.
“Over the last three years, we have seen a large number of women-led businesses apply for the Women in Tech programme. Last year alone over 700 applicants showed interest in the programme This, combined with applications from Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 shows the appetite and demand for such support framework for women-owned businesses. These women-led businesses have received support in the form of training, mentorship and coaching at Strathmore University through our supportive network with Standard Chartered Bank. This year with the Cohort 4 we want to focus on scaling women-owned businesses who are building technology apps and technology-enabled solutions, ranging from but not limited to Internet of things (IoT), Artificial […]