20 Women owned start-ups to benefit from incubator programme with 5 receiving seed funding to scale up their businesses
1st February 2023, Having successfully implemented two Cohorts of the Standard Chartered Women in Tech Incubator (SCWIT) Programme, the Bank in collaboration with the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre, an Ashesi University business incubator, this week, announced the third cohort of the Women in Tech Incubator (WIT) Programme
Launched in Ghana in 2020, the Women in Tech Incubator programme is specifically designed for women-led or women-owned businesses that are applying technological innovation to their operations, or women owned tech start-ups.
The SC Women in Tech Ghana Cohort 3 programme will focus on 20 shortlisted female-led businesses. The female business owners will take part in an incubator, where they will have access to subject matter experts. These experts will work with the help the businesses scale up and equip them with the necessary skills to thrive in today’s business environment. Upon completion of the training and workshops, the 20 shortlisted businesses will pitch their ideas/concepts and business plans to a panel of judges who will select the top five winners. They will each receive seed funding of $10,000 (GHS equivalent) from Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC. Additionally, these selected businesses will benefit from GCIC’s high value Mini MBA and the Women Entrepreneurs Transformation Programs, as well as mentoring and access to a wider network of other companies for these entrepreneurs.
Commenting on the announcement, Mansa Nettey, Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC said: ““Standard Chartered is committed to gender equity. The objective of the SC Women in Technology Incubator (SCWIT) programme is to help women-led entrepreneurs use technology to grow their businesses. The programme brings to life the Bank’s sustainability aspirations to help bridge the gender digital divide. We are driven by our ambition to lift participation and unleash the potential of women and small businesses in our communities.”
Ruka Sanusi, Executive Director, Ghana Climate Innovation Centre expressed pride in the third edition of the programme and said: “Women entrepreneurs in Ghana have the potential to make an enormous impact. Our goal with this programme is to help them realize their vision, aligned with the country’s broader economic goals and Vision 2030. Collaborating with Standard Chartered to build the insights and skills and resilience needed by female entrepreneurs to thrive in the technology sector is a huge privilege and responsibility and ties into the core principles and mandate of the GCIC. We are committed to building the tenets upon which women entrepreneurs can enjoy mindset optimization, vision clarity and tried and tested structure that aligns with the operations of their business and their overall personal aspirations.”
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK GHANA PLC
Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC is Ghana’s premier bank drawing its history from the Bank of British West Africa established in 1896. We are part of a leading international banking group, with a presence in 60 of the world’s most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity. Our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, here for good. We are committed to promoting economic and social development, doing so sustainably and equitably in line with our purpose. The Bank is made up of client segments supported by functions. Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
GHANA CLIMATE INNOVATION CENTRE (GCIC)
Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) is a pioneering business incubator with a unique focus on developing sustainable enterprises and climate-responsive SME ventures and entrepreneurs in Ghana. Our mission is to develop and support an exceptional set of transformational ventures and entrepreneurs who are pioneering innovation and adaptive or mitigating solutions for economic resilience and climate change issues in Ghana. We do this with a focus on key economic sectors, the provision of premium business advisory and business mentoring services, technical support in the development, prototyping and testing of their innovation, as well as financial grants to qualifying SMEs within our incubator.