Grace Ashiru
Standard Chartered Bank and Village Capital have recently joined forces to invest in impact-driven, women-led startups. This partnership aims to address the gender financing gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by launching a financing facility to support Standard Chartered’s Women in Tech program.
The primary goal of the financing facility is to provide crucial capital to empower women entrepreneurs, helping them overcome the challenges they often face in accessing investment and financing opportunities compared to their male counterparts.
Heather Matranga, Vice President of Impact Investments at Village Capital, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “We’re extremely excited to partner with Standard Chartered Bank to support their vision to lift participation of women globally by driving more investment capital to impact-driven women founders.”
In the initial phase of the program, Village Capital plans to invest $150,000 in two women-led startups: Bena Care, a Kenyan startup providing affordable clinical and supportive care to patients with life-limiting illnesses at home, and Mighty Finance, a Zambian fintech startup. Each startup will receive $75,000 as part of this initiative.
Joyce Kibe, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing at Standard Chartered, highlighted the success of the Women in Tech program, which has provided critical support to over 70 women-led businesses, enabling them to scale their operations to meet international standards.
Ms. Kibe also emphasized the broader economic impact of supporting women in business, stating, “We believe by supporting more women in business, we are stimulating more robust and resilient economic activity while providing support for inputs that are often neglected for startup businesses.”
