Rinchi
TechInAfrica – Standard Chartered and @iBizAfrica have joined forces to support women entrepreneurship in Kenya. They will guide women and their small enterprises through mentorship and grants worth Ksh 20 million.
Both of them have partnered with Strathmore University to organize the Women in tech incubator cohort three. The program is open for women-led SMEs specializing in technology. According to Kariuki Ngari, Standard Chartered Bank CEO, the Ksh20 million will support them in capacity building.
“To date, from cohort one, 4 out of 5 of the companies have received investor funding ranging from USD 50,000 – 150,000, and their businesses have grown revenue and sales in double digits. In addition to growing their businesses, some of the companies have been able to form strategic partnerships with multinationals like MasterCard and Uber,” Kariuki explained.
At an event took place at the Strathmore University in Nairobi, it showed the applications are opened online from September 11 – November 31, 2019. The Standard Chartered Bank will select 10 finalists who will take part in a 12-week incubation. Five of them will be selected to get access to a seed funding of KES 1,000,000 each.
According to the Vice-Chancellor of Strathmore University, Dr. Vincent Ogutu, the Women in tech incubator Program @iBizAfrica has supported more than 20 women-led startups in which 10 of them received US$10,000 in funding. The support has included mentorship, coaching, legal, and financing advice to help them expand their ideas and access more opportunities in the Kenyan market.
Ogutu added that this year’s edition will be another opportunity for more Kenyan women to apply for the program and get benefit from it.
“The Women in tech incubator program will help identify, grow and bring to the market unique business ideas and change the fortunes of women entrepreneurs and business owners in Kenya,” added Betty Maina, the Permanent Secretary for Trade.
Maina added that the program is in line with the government’s Big Four Agenda as some of the women entrepreneurs play an active role in different sectors like Food Processing, Healthcare Services, and Manufacturing.
The Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator Kenya provides Africa’s most competitive incubation program with its local and international experience. It focuses on immersive learning, mentorship, building, and growing Africa’s most potential startups tackling Africa’s most challenging issues.
Source: cio.co.ke
