Standard Chartered Women in Tech Cohort 6 Program

What is the Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator Kenya Program?

The Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator Kenya is Africa’s leading women in tech incubator, aligning with calls for more diversity in technology and for more opportunities for women to develop entrepreneurial and leadership excellence. The program is an initiative of Standard Chartered in partnership with Strathmore University’s @iBizAfrica incubator. It combines world-class startup support with local and international experience to provide Africa’s most competitive and attractive startup incubation program focusing on immersive learning, mentorship, building and growing Africa’s next iconic startups taking on the continent’s most relevant challenges and opportunities with the support of seed capital.

Who are we looking for?

We are seeking to recruit the best entrepreneurial minds, women-led tech startups as key drivers of innovation in business.
The principle founder must be:

1. A woman.
2. Above 18 years of age.
3. Of Kenyan nationality or permanent residency.

Eligibility criteria

1. The startups must be Kenyan registered companies which are building technological solutions aimed at mitigating Kenyan socio-economic challenges.
2. The selected startup ventures may be sector agnostic.
3. The startup ventures must embed components of emerging technologies in building their solutions ie. Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things; Big Data; Machine Learning; Robotics; Augmented & Virtual Reality; 3D & 4D Printing; Cloud Computing; Big Data; Blockchain; Drone Technology and Biometrics e.t.c within their respective sectors.
4. The applicants must be Women led startup ventures and the teams should be made up of at least 50% women.
5. Principal applicant must be the founder with a majority stake.
6. 3 months to less than 2 years of operation seeking support for proof of concept, customer, product and business model development.
7. Pre-revenue with early traction (users). Post revenue is an added advantage.
8. Not received investment of more than KES. 500,000 and not participated in a similar program in the last 1 year.
9. Companies solving for any of the 17 SDGs.

Program benefits

1. 12 weeks of an immersive learning experience
2. Access to a leading network of coaching experts
3. Access to B2B networking opportunities
4. Personalized mentorship sessions to address your unique business needs
5. Opportunity to join a supportive Women in Tech Alumni Network
6. KES 1,000,000 equity-free grant seed funding for the top 7 finalists
7. 9 months ongoing support from Standard Chartered and @iBizAfrica to assist with go-to-market and scale for the top 7 finalists.

Terms and conditions

Successful completion of the Women in Tech Incubation Program is compulsory, whether in-person or virtual sessions.