Yemisi Izuora
Standard Chartered Nigeria has announced the winners of the first edition of its Women in Technology Incubator.
Launched in June 2019, the SC Women in Tech Incubator was established to support and promote the economic and social development of women in Nigeria through innovation or technology led entrepreneurship.
From over 600 applications, 10 candidates with the most compelling ideas where selected to go through the program. At the end of the training period, 5 winners emerged and received USD10,000 each to support the growth and sustained expansion of their businesses. Implemented for the Bank by the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), the programme targeted female-led entrepreneurial teams and provided the candidates with training, mentorship and knowledge exchange sessions with industry experts and thriving businesses in the country.
Commenting on the success of the first edition, Dayo Aderugbo, Head Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, Nigeria, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria said, “We are pleased about the successful completion of the first edition of the SC Women in tech Incubator and congratulate the winners who have emerged from this session. We are optimistic about the impact this programme will have on their businesses. The resources the beneficiaries have received from the sessions will go a long way in ensuring the sustainability of their businesses while creating employment for more women and youths in the country. We are excited about the endless growth opportunities and ripple effect this growth will have on the economy. This initiative builds on the Bank’s track record of increasing women’s access to entrepreneurial finance, employability and supporting adolescent girls and women through financing and capacity building.”
Through the Women in Technology program, the Bank focuses on capacity building for women-owned small enterprises, under its Futuremakers by SC Community Investment initiative, and sees this as a great opportunity to support greater diversity in gender representation within technology entrepreneurship for women in the country.
The Bank first launched the programme to support women in technology in 2014 at the City College of New York, USA where it created the Women Entrepreneurs Resource Centre. Similar initiatives by Standard Chartered have also been implemented in Kenya, Pakistan, UAE and more recently in Bahrain.
The second edition of the program commences in June 2020.