W MAN LEADERGLOBAL W MAN LEADERGLOBAL 9 SEPTEMBER2026RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, owns the NWSL's Portland Thorns and the WNBA's Portland Fire. The alliance will fund a women-specific high-performance training facility built around female athletes' needs, alongside youth clinics, camps, mentorship programmes and product support to widen access to sport for girls in Portland. Nike executive Ann Miller and RAJ Sports' Merage both framed the deal as reinforcing Portland's growing status as a women's sports hub, alongside the newly opened Kaiser Permanente Performance Center. Standard Chartered Foundation, Entlaq and Village Capital have launched the second Egypt cohort of the Women in Tech Accelerator, selecting 12 women-founded tech companies for investment readiness training, mentoring and business development support. Three finalists will share USD 35,000 in equity-free grant funding at the program's conclusion. Entlaq co-founder Aya Ismail said the initiative responds to a US$2.2 billion funding gap facing Egyptian women-led startups, addressing limited access to mentoring and investment networks. The global accelerator has supported more than 4,000 women entrepreneurs across 17 countries since launch, and in 2026 will distribute over USD 600,000 in grants across 12 markets, helping founders scale without giving up equity. Sohar International has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lahunna Oman to back the Siraj SME Mentorship Programme, supporting Omani women-owned small and medium enterprises in line with Oman Vision 2040's push for economic diversification. The 22-week programme, aimed at women running registered, revenue-generating businesses of at least a year, will pair participants with mentors and workshops on financial literacy, business planning and growth strategy, culminating in a Demo Day. The MoU was signed by Sohar's Dr Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi and Lahunna founder Shatha Salim Al Maskiry, and builds on the earlier She's Next competition with Visa, which awarded OMR 38,000 to Omani women-owned businesses before concluding in April 2026. Texas Woman's University has secured industry backing for its new sports management program through a partnership with professional women's soccer club Dallas Trinity FC, ahead of the program's autumn launch. The collaboration between TWU's Merrilee Alexander Kick College of Business and Entrepreneurship and DTFC will offer nine internship positions to sports management students across the academic year, giving them hands-on experience in marketing, operations and strategic partnerships. In return, TWU will provide DTFC players with academic resources and a mentorship program connecting them to career professionals, backed by the university's Jane Nelson Institute for Women's Leadership. Both MAK College and DTFC leaders described the tie-up as bridging classroom learning with real-world sports industry experience. Indonesian fintech PT Kredit Utama Fintech Indonesia (RupiahCepat) has launched a Womenpreneurship Business Bootcamp under its GROW with RupiahCepat program, offering free capacity-building support to women entrepreneurs. More than 270 female-led MSMEs registered between 10 and 22 August from regions including Java, Sumatra and Bali, spanning sectors from culinary to sustainable crafting. Following evaluation, 1520 top applicants will join the bootcamp running from 5 September to 3 EGYPT WOMEN IN TECH ACCELERATOR SELECTS 12 FEMALE-LED STARTUPSSOHAR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS WITH LAHUNNA TO SUPPORT WOMEN SMESDALLAS TRINITY FC & TWU JOIN TO EXPAND SPORTS CAREER PATHWAYSRUPIAHCEPAT LAUNCHES BOOTCAMP TO EMPOWER WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSOctober, receiving training and mentoring in business strategy and digital marketing. CEO Anna Maria Chosani said the strong turnout reflects demand for skills-building among women-owned MSMEs, with 7-10 finalists set to receive IDR 30 million in venture capital funding and market exposure.
<
Page 8 |
Page 10 >