women entrepreneurs are setting the pace by challenging societal biases and norms. Strathmore is proud to complement the advancements made by women entrepreneurs by providing training and capacity-building facilities
Standard Chartered give Ksh.1M in funding to 5 businesses in the Women in Tech program
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Standard Chartered Bank has awarded 5 businesses Ksh. 1,000,000 each in the end of the 4th cohort of the Standard Chartered Bank Women in Tech incubation program. The businesses awarded as part of the Women in Tech program which is run in partnership with @iBizAfrica, a business incubator at Strathmore University.
The winning firms include:
Ecila Films which produces films of authentic African stories
Ufasiri Halisi SLI Innovations Limited which focuses on revolutionizing assistive technology for the deaf and hard of hearing
The Viwanda Africa Group which improves flight safety through a cloud-based AI platform for aircraft maintenance and spare parts planning
Ecila Films & Runnovate among 5 businesses to receive Ksh. 1 Million funding from the Stanchart Incubation program hapakenya.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hapakenya.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
· Ecila Films which produces films of authentic African stories
· Ufasiri Halisi SLI Innovations Limited which focuses on revolutionizing assistive technology for the deaf and hard of hearing
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. The Viwanda Africa Group, which improves flight safety through a cloud-based AI platform for aircraft maintenance and spare parts planning
· Runnovate which helps business owners save time and reduce the cost of running their businesses by working with a team of virtual assistants.
· Mandevu Beardcare, which is a men’s grooming company offering a beard care product line.
The funding recipients 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.
Commenting during the announcement, Kariuki Ngari Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank, said, “through our Women in Tech incubation program – now in its fourth cohort, we learned that the biggest impediment of most women-led businesses was access to financial products and services.”
“Growing a business from its inception is critical especially for women in enabling poverty alleviation and helping build better livelihoods for their families and the society at large. By making it easier for women to access financial aid, we are giving them opportunities for success,” Kariuki added.
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Most Women-led enterprises are unsuccessful in securing finance as a result of high collateral requirements and failure by lenders to understand their business opportunity. The initiative will provide entrepreneurs access to interest-free and collateral-free loans. Additionally, the bank has lined up training and engagement sessions with the WiTs to drive banking behavi