Deadline: 14-Jan-23
Standard Chartered Bank Zambia launched the SC Women in Tech (WiT) incubator programme in partnership with BongoHive. The entrepreneurship programme will support Zambian female-led tech enterprises and female business owners who would like to leverage technology to grow their businesses.
The program is designed to provide targeted support in areas of business operations, digitalization and digital transformation, accounting and financial management.
The WiT programme is part of the bank’s new ‘Futuremakers’ programme, which aims to help communities to learn, earn and grow – under the ‘Entrepreneurship’ pillar.
Funding Information
$10,000 equity-free grant seed funding for the top five finalists from the incubation program to assist with the implementation of technology in their businesses.
Program Duration
- The incubation period is 12 weeks for the 10 successful applicants;
- This will be followed by an acceleration phase providing 5 months of ongoing support to the Top 5 winners of the incubation period.
Benefits of Applying for the Women in Tech Program
- Business Incubation;
- Three months of learning experience in business management and operations.
- Personalized Mentorship;
- Personalized mentorship for all participants and their business needs.
- Access to legal, accounting, financial planning and tech support;
- Access to networking opportunities with fellow successful applicants and industry experts;
- Five months ongoing support from Standard Chartered, Bongo Hive and a network of coaches and mentors to assist with go-to-market strategies and scaling-up for the top five finalists;
- An opportunity to join Bongo Hive’s Supportive Alumni Network.
Expected Outcome
The outcome of the program is to support female-led entrepreneurial teams with training, mentorship and seed funding.
Eligibility Criteria
- The business owner must be a Zambian female founder or co-founder over 18 years of age and with an equal or majority stake;
- The business must be based and operating in Zambia;
- The business must already be using digital technology, or have a clear need to incorporate digital technology to enable their business to grow;
- The business owner must be of Zambian nationality;
- The business must have been registered with PACRA for at least 3 months;
- The business owner may be seeking support for customer, product, and/or business model development;
- Key persons of the business (preferably 2 founders) must be available to undertake the 3-month incubation program from March to May 2022;
- The top 5 winners of the incubation program must be able to attend a 5-month acceleration program from June to November 2023.
For more information, visit https://scwomenintech.co.zm/programme-2022/