Standard Chartered Bank Ghana & the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre at Ashesi University have partnered to support women-led or women-owned businesses in the technology sector with business incubation support and grants of over US$150,000.
Through the SC Women in Tech Business Incubator programme, Standard Chartered Bank and the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre are promoting diversity and inclusion in the technology sector by offering opportunities for women to develop entrepreneurial excellence and drive economic growth.
Commenting on the initiative, Judge Professor Akua Kuenyehia, Independent Non-Executive Director of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited stated: “The more technology these women utilise in their jobs, the more our economy will develop, the more we will be able to develop as a nation, and the more we will be able to develop our education, health systems etc. Technology is key, and for StanChart and Ashesi University to collaborate in developing a programme that targets women-led and women-owned businesses is really something to be applauded”.
The SC Women in Tech Business Incubator is open to all women-led or women-owned tech firms or businesses applying technology in their operations. The programme will run for a tenure of nine months. To qualify into the programme, applicants must be Ghanaian females above 18 years with an equal or majority stake in the business. The Call for Applications for the first cohort officially closed on December 28, 2020.
Through a rigorous search and selection process, the first cohort of the programme will consist of 20 businesses selected and supported with a number of GCIC-initiated advisory and business incubation interventions, including but not limited to: GCIC’s High-Value Mini MBA programme; GCIC’s celebrated Women Entrepreneurs Transformation Programme®; bespoke one-to-one business advisory support from the Centre’s ‘venture builders’; and the opportunity to secure grants up to US$10,000 for scaling-up their business.
