About – SCWomenInTech

The Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator Kenya is Africa’s leading incubator programme for female founded businesses, aligning with calls for more diversity in technology, entrepreneurship and for more opportunities for women to develop entrepreneurial and leadership excellence. The program is an initiative of Standard Chartered in partnership with @iBizAfrica Centre, Strathmore University.

The program combines world class startup support with local and international experience to provide a holistic startup incubation program focusing on immersive learning, mentorship & coaching, seed financing and business to business linkages for high potential startups tackling the continent’s most relevant challenges.

Incubation Component

The methodology for the incubator program will address the following core components of business development.

Immersive Learning

Entrepreneurs undergo an in depth evaluation of the current state of their company operation. This informs the methodology of curriculum delivery meeting unique needs of each venture.

Mentorship & Coaching

Inhouse mentors coaches walk the incubation journey with entrepreneurs by facilitating customized mentorship and coaching sessions addressing each company’s needs.

Access to Seed Financing

The program enables entrepreneurs to undergo rigorous preparation that allows them to effectively acquire and utilize investments in operations. The program invests 10,000 USD each, for five high potential companies in each cohort.

Business 2 Business Matching

Companies are able to access a rich network of enablers and partners within and outside the ecosystem; enabling them to create sustainable partnerships for business growth.

Eligibility Criteria

We are seeking to recruit the best entrepreneurial minds, women-led tech startups as key drivers of innovation in business.

The Eligibility criteria is as follows:

The business must be based in Kenya i.e. be aligned with the needs of Kenyans and operating in Kenya
The company must be a tech-enabled and/or leveraging on emerging technologies, including but not limited to; Internet of Things (IoT); Artificial Intelligence; Robotics; Augmented & Virtual Reality; 3D & 4D Printing; Cloud Computing; Big Data; Blockchain; Drone Technology and Biometrics.
The company must be founded or cofounded by a woman with an equal or majority stake.
The founder or co founder must be over 18 years old and Kenyan
Business models must have a clear focus on sustainability and alignment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
3 months to less than 2 years of operations.
Seeking support for proof of concept, customer, product and business model development.
Pre-revenue with early traction (users).
Post revenue is an added advantage, with the creation of a new business module.

Program Benefits

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

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

Terms & Conditions

Successful completion of the Women in Tech Virtual Incubation Program is compulsory. If a physical meetup is necessary, government regulations on COVID-19 health measures MUST be observed.

THE COHORT 6 PROGRAM