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40 women start-ups eye StanChart’s Sh20m fund

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The 40 were selected from a pool of over 200 applications. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Forty Kenyan start-ups are set to battle for Sh20 million from Standard Chartered Bank #ticker:SCBK Women in Tech Incubator Fund in collaboration with the Strathmore University.

The 40 were selected from a pool of over 200 applications. The fund targets women-led start-ups drawn from the public, schools, colleges and universities.

The start-ups should have teams of two to three individuals, leveraging on technology as a key driver of innovation in business.

“This marks the beginning of a journey of innovation that will see top 10 female-led start-ups transform into viable businesses,” said Director of @iBizAfrica-Strathmore University Dr Joseph Sevilla.

“It is very encouraging that we received applications from all over the country and we believe the shortlisted teams have great potential for advancing to the finals.”

The 40 teams will advance to the selection pitch, a two-stage process (semi-final and final) that will see only 10 of the best selected for the incubation programme to compete for up to Sh1 million in seed funding.

The teams were shortlisted based on their performance in the programme’s 100 points criteria such as female founder being above 18 years, teams of at least three people who demonstrated capacity to execute clearly defined roles and balanced skill set — business development, product development and marketing.

Their pitches had to also address problems through innovative solutions.