Women -owed tech firms in Kenya are likely to benefit from Microsoft’s Cloud Accelerator Programme designed to help women-led companies start and build their businesses through its cloud distribution channels.
This after the firm announced expansion of the programme to eight more countries including Kenya besides United States of America.
The programme, which currently covers the US market, will be expanded to Kenya, South Africa, Canada, France, Germany, India, the UAE and the UK in partnership with IdeaGen and Women in Cloud.
The six- month programme will provide women-owned technology companies all around the world with access to the cloud, mentor-ship, networking communities and resources to bring women-led innovations to market.
‘’It is our goal that with this expansion and continued scaling, this program can help generate $1billion (Sh100 billion) in cloud opportunity by providing accessible cloud technology to more than 1,000 women-led tech companies annually,’’ said Charlotte Yarkoni, corporate vice president of Cloud at Microsoft.
She added that to date, the Women in Cloud Accelerator has provided opportunities to 30 women-owned companies, accelerating businesses such as while developing more than $30 million (Sh3 billion) of Cloud pipeline.
Formed two years ago, Women in Cloud, a community-led initiative built to empower women-led technology businesses to drive growth through cloud solutions and services, has become a leading community and resource for women innovators all over the world.
“As a woman leader at Microsoft, I’m proud of these initiatives, many of which have been established and are supported by women leaders within our organization,'' Yarkoni said.