The Standard Chartered Bank in partnership with @iBizAfrica-Strathmore University has Wednesday awarded five businesses Kshs 1 million each in the culmination of the fourth cohort of the Standard Chartered Bank Women in Tech incubation program.
The winning firms are Ecila Films, Ufasiri Halisi SLI Innovations Limited, Viwanda Africa Group, Runnovate and Mandevu Beardcare.
Ecila Films produces films of authentic African stories.
Ufasiri Halisi SLI Innovations Limited focuses on revolutionizing assistive technology for the deaf and hard of hearing.
The Viwanda Africa Group works on improving flight safety through a cloud-based AI platform for aircraft maintenance and spare parts planning.
Runnovate helps business owners save time and reduce the cost of running their businesses by working with a team of virtual assistants.
Mandevu Beardcare is a men’s grooming company offering a beard care product line.
The beneficiaries were picked after a rigorous judging process undertaken by accomplished professionals from Dry Associates Limited, Viktoria Ventures, Standard Chartered Bank and @iBizAfrica- Strathmore University who judged the businesses on scalability, technology adoption, entrepreneurial and leadership excellence.
The fourth cohort of the Women in Tech program was launched virtually on 15th October 2020, attracting 111 applicants, among whom 10 were chosen to participate in the incubation programme.
The ten companies have successfully undergone training, coaching and mentorship offered by the @iBizAfrica- Strathmore University network of key industry experts, faculty, business leaders, experienced mentors, and professionals.
Commenting on this Standard Chartered Bank Kenya CEO, Kariuki Ngari, said, ‘’Sub Saharan Africa has a substantial number of women entrepreneurs, yet female led tech startups only account for a very few of these. This is despite research showing that technology firms led by women experience a 35% higher return on investment. Having this in consideration and through engagement with the past participants of the program, we understand that there is a need for enabling ecosystems for women entrepreneurs especially in the technology space which carries enormous potential for growth across many industries.’’
The incubator programme this year focused on accelerating the digital economy by leveraging on emerging technologies such as Internet of among others Things, Robotics, Augmented & Virtual Reality, Cloud Computing, Drone Technology and Biometrics.
‘’Our partnership with Strathmore University’s @iBizAfrica, aims to bridge this gap by offering entrepreneurial training, incubation and financial support which are all instrumental in building sustainable businesses. We are proud of all the applicants and participants of this year’s Women in Tech program and look forward to seeing their businesses thrive even as we continue running the program for further impact, ‘’ Ngari said.
Some of the past participants of the programme have recorded a massive increase in revenue since incubation and secured further independent seed funding.
Dr. Joseph Sevilla, Director @iBizAfrica and @iLabAfrica Research and Innovation Centre, Strathmore University said: “During this incubation period, we’ve seen these impressive women led businesses increase the number of staff, carry out product enhancements, receive funding and obtain new clients. These milestones are very encouraging and a testament of the success of the program and we look forward to facilitating the growth and scalability of even more enterprises across the continent.’’
Women in Tech program is part of the Bank’s community engagement strategy, Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, that aims at tackling the issue of inequality and promoting greater economic inclusion for young people in various communities and economies, with a focus on girls and women.
Each year the programme trains 10 small and medium businesses leveraging on technology by offering mentorship, advisory, coaching, networking opportunities, access to seed capital and investor forums that help mould their businesses to international standards.
So far, 30 start-ups have participated to date, and 15 have been awarded Kshs 1 million each in seed funding. Forty-one businesses have so far gone through the incubation process with the first four cohorts attracting 1,150 applications.