Futuremakers Women in Tech Program Completes First Cycle in Egypt

• The first cycle of the Futuremakers Women in Tech (FWIT) program in Egypt has been completed
• The initiative is part of the global Futuremakers programme and funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation

The inaugural cohort of the Futuremakers Women in Technology Programme has recently concluded in Egypt and is part of the Futuremakers initiative by Standard Chartered Bank; this initiative was sponsored by the Standard Chartered Foundation.

The programme's goal was to empower and support female entrepreneurs while also increasing the level of innovation across the various tech-enabled industries in Egypt.

The completion of the first cohort represents yet another step forward in demonstrating Standard Chartered Foundation's commitment to enhancing gender diversity and developing a more inclusive environment for entrepreneurial development in the Egyptian technology industry.

A highly competitive application and selection process culminated in the selection of 12 women-led startups in Egypt from 240 applicants to participate in the programme. Eleven of the twelve startups completed over 35 sessions of training and 40 sessions of mentorship and roundtable discussions prior to their graduation from the programme.

The training curriculum included training seminars from experts, investors, and technology entrepreneurs working in the fields of technology, finance, marketing, and innovation management.

Participants also had in-depth training on their business strategies for growth and how to pitch their businesses to investors.

The culmination of the programme took place in the form of Demo Day, where the participating startups had the opportunity to showcase their business ideas and solutions in front of a judging panel comprised of senior executives from Standard Chartered Bank, AUC Venture Lab, SalesARM, and Dar Ventures.

Three startups were awarded as winners and received USD 10,000 each in equity-free funding to assist them in their scaling efforts and to make an impact on their communities: Aziza, Tribe and Learning Rockets.

"Graduating our first cohort of female entrepreneurs has been a significant milestone that reflects Standard Chartered's support of the advancement of women in leadership positions in the technology sector," said Mohammed Gad, CEO and Head of Banking & Coverage, Standard Chartered Egypt.

"The bank is committed to the ongoing development of an inclusive digital economy and to supporting women's contributions to innovation and economic growth."

Dr Ayman Ismail, Founding Director, AUC Venture Lab, spoke of the collaboration between Standard Chartered, Village Capital and AUC Venture Lab to provide the graduates of the cohort with tailored support. "The entrepreneurs have demonstrated incredible strength and achieved tremendous progress and development throughout the cohort programme," he said.

All the startups successfully completed the program and joined Demo Day. Beyond graduation, support from AUC Venture Lab will be extended through mentorship, connections with investors, participation in events, and chances to interact with future cohorts.

Though this is the inaugural FWIT cohort in Egypt, the Futuremakers initiative has been active across various other markets including Bahrain, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the UAE, Uganda, and Zambia. So far, the programme has supported over 4,000 women founders across 17 countries.