Five winners have emerged from the first Nigeria edition of SC Women in Tech Incubator. The program which was established to support and promote the economic and social development of women in Nigeria through innovation and technology-led entrepreneurship was launched in June 2019.Each of the five winners received USD10,000 to support the growth and sustained expansion of their businesses.
Over 600 applications were received from which 10 candidates with the most compelling ideas were selected to go through the program which was implemented for the Bank by the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC). Similar initiatives by Standard Chartered have also been implemented in Pakistan, Kenya, UAE and Bahrain.
In the words of Dayo Aderugbo, Head Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, Nigeria, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria ‘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 the 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.’
The program 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.
Standard Chartered Bank,through the Women in Technology program, focuses on capacity building for women-owned small enterprises, under its Futuremakers by SC Community Investment initiative. The bank 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 program to support women in technology in 2014 at the City College of New York where it created the Women Entrepreneurs Resource Centre. The second edition of the program commences in June 2020.
