Seven women-led businesses have been awarded $70,000 (Sh 10.5 million) through the Women in Tech (WiT) incubator programme marking the conclusion of the 6th cohort of the incubation.
They include Imani Health, Instruct Africa, Know Learning Ltd, PanaCare, Rhea Soil Health Management, Saidiwa Rides and Sign-With Us.
Launched in March through a partnership between Strathmore University’s iBizAfrica and Standard Chartered Bank, the programme attracted a pool of over 250 startups from different sectors.
They include the agriculture, finance, transportation, health, and construction industries.
The seven were part of the initial 15 women-led startups that were shortlisted to undergo a 3-month incubation training model.
They were trained around the fundamentals of business idea conceptualisation, strategy formulation, Internet of Things (IoT), marketing, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence.
Speaking during the graduation of the WiT cohort, Strathmore VC Vincent Ogutu said it is important to recognise the role of technology in our daily lives.
He noted that if women receive the right mentorship, training and coaching, the African tech ecosystem will thrive even more.
“Recent study has shown that only 14.6 per cent of startups in Africa are founded by women but there is hope for a bigger representation,” Ogutu said.
“Currently, 30.9 per cent of all new tech roles are filled by female candidates, showing a slight increase from 29 per cent in the previous year, according to recent statistics.”
“Academia and the private sector need to collaborate more for programs like this that support women-led businesses.”
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and East Africa CEO Kariuki Ngari said supporting women-led enterprises is a key component of the financial institution’s ambition to impact and influence the growth of the SME sector.
He added that the WiT programme enables them to bring this vision to life.
“We have been able to catalyse growth through our latest cohort and are confident that the entrepreneurs who have gone through the programme will be better positioned to take up the opportunities across the various sectors that they serve,” Ngari said.
The seven women-led startups were picked through a rigorous judging process undertaken by industry experts in both private and public sectors, seasoned entrepreneurs, and academic thought leaders on solution innovation, availability of market opportunity, and social impact in Kenya.
They were selected based on three main criteria.
This includes being a female-led startup business that solves social economic needs in Kenya, an innovative startup that utilizes emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, Augmented and Virtual Reality, 3D and 4D Printing, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Blockchain, Drone Technology, and Biometrics as well as a business model with a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) alignment.
In today's increasingly digitized landscape, emerging technologies have become essential for startup innovators to integrate into their ventures.
According to Oxford Insights 2022 Government AI Readiness Index report, AI startup funding in Kenya is valued at Sh 13 billion.
However, the adoption rate of such technologies in Kenya remains relatively low at 28.76 per cent, falling below the global average of 35.17 per cent.
Since its inception, the WiT program has trained more than 64 women-led businesses leveraging technology by offering mentorship, advisory, coaching, networking opportunities, access to seed capital, and investor forums that help mould their businesses to international standards.
To date, 32 startups have been awarded over Sh 38.4 million in seed funding with the first five cohorts attracting over 2,000 applications.