Women in tech to receive Sh22 million as seed capital

Standard Chartered WIT cohort-6 winners pose for a photo with the bank's CEO Kariuki Ngare. [Courtesy]

Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) has invested a further Sh22 million towards the Women in Tech programme.

Under the programme, each of the 16 women in tech will get $10,000 (Sh1.3 million) as seed capital.

Speaking during the launch of Cohort 7 of the StanChart Women in Tech Programme under their joint initiative, the Women in Tech Incubator programme, the lender‘s head of transaction banking in Kenya and East Africa Makabelo Malumane expressed the programme‘s commitment to fostering sustainable business practices among women-led startups leveraging technology.

“When women succeed, so do our economies. We cannot build sustainable economies without women. At Standard Chartered, we recognise we cannot empower them on our own and partnerships with like-minded and value-based institutions such as Ibiz Africa (Strathmore University) are why, today, we are continuing to build on our success and reaching more women with our 7th cohort,” she said.

“What stands out most is the impact and ripple effect the programme has on society. I am delighted to see businesses that have grown and employed others and expanded the ecosystem of tech and entrepreneurship. The success stories we have seen come out of the programme mirror the potential we see across the entire economy.”

StanChart, in collaboration with @iBizAfrica - Strathmore University, also said they are inviting more women with tech ideas to benefit from the programme.

The funding is aimed at helping women break the ceiling. Since its inception in 2017, the programme has trained more than 64 women-led businesses leveraging technology.

It offers mentorship, advisory, coaching, networking opportunities, access to seed capital, and investor forums that help mould their businesses to international standards.

With 32 startups benefiting from seed funding over Sh41 million with over 2,000 applications from the six cohorts, Women in Tech‘s impact on fostering innovation and sustainability in Kenya‘s business landscape is undeniable.

The lender said integrating environment, social, and governance (ESG) principles can yield benefits across all business scales, including improved resource utilisation and heightened employee productivity.

Startups can shape their organisational culture and attract funding by incorporating ESG principles into their strategies.