Stanchart Women in Tech incubator programme takes off
Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Plc and the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre at Ashesi University have held induction ceremony for the first cohort of the Women in Tech Business Incubator Programme (WIT) which seeks to support women led business in the technology sector.
The event which was held virtually welcomed the 15 women entrepreneurs from across several regions in Ghana into the business incubator.
The ceremony was also used as a platform to give more information about the details and content of the program which would run for nine.
The Project Lead of the WIT incubator at the GCIC, Mr Ahuma Adodoadji, said the induction ceremony provided an opportunity for the businesses selected for incubation to be better acquainted with GCIC and Standard Chartered’s values, expectations and goals for the program.
He said it was also meant to assess the contributions that the selected women entrepreneurs in the technology sector could make to the economy through their businesses.
Support for women led businesses
For her part, the Head External Communications, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC, Mrs Clemencia Tetteh, said “as a Bank, we thrilled to support female-led entrepreneurial teams with business management training, mentoring and seed funding.
“Our Women in Tech incubators are designed to help address gender disparity in the technology sector and use technology to tackle social challenges faced by communities. They are an important part of our entrepreneurship offering within Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, our global initiative to tackle inequality and promote economic inclusion.
“The rationale for the induction was to ensure a smooth transition for the businesses into the incubator. We look forward to all the achievements they will acquire during and after their time in the programme,” she stated.
Application process
A total of 221 businesses applied to the business incubator, out of which 15, cutting across various industries including fashion, digital marketing, agriculture and food processing, and software development, were selected through a rigorous 3-stage process.
Under the scope of the 9-month programme, participants will benefit from business advisory and financial interventions, including: (i) High-Value Mini MBA programme, (ii) Women Entrepreneurs’ Transformation Programme, (iii) opportunities to pitch for and secure financial grants for scaling up their business, and (iv) access to portfolio managers.
The incubator programme, which aims to provide more opportunities for women in the technology sector to develop entrepreneurial excellence and bridge the financing and industry gaps for early-stage ventures, is an initiative by Standard Chartered in collaboration with the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre at Ashesi University.