The organising partners of the Standard Chartered Women in Tech business incubator, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Plc and the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre at Ashesi University hosted an induction ceremony on Wednesday 10^th February 2021 to formally welcome the inaugural cohort of the pioneering business incubator for women entrepreneurs in the technology sector. The fully virtual event was convened to officially welcome the selected 15 women entrepreneurs from across several regions in Ghana into the business incubator, whilst also serving to inform them about the detail and content of the program over the nine months tenure.   The management team of both Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Plc and the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) at Ashesi University were also present at the Induction.

Keynote speakers at the event included Rukayatu Sanusi (Executive Director, GCIC), who delivered the welcome address and brief about the importance and relevance of innovation and gender inclusion in the wider development plans of a nation; and Clemencia Tetteh, Head External Communications, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC giving an address on behalf of the Bank.

“The induction ceremony provided an opportunity for the businesses selected for incubation to be better acquainted with GCIC and Standard Chartered’s values, expectations and goals for the program; as well as the contributions that these carefully selected women entrepreneurs in the technology sector could make to the sector through their businesses’’ said Ahuma Adodoadji, Project Lead of the SCWIT incubator at the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre.

“As a Bank we thrilled to support female-led entrepreneurial teams with business management training, mentoring and seed funding.  Our Women in Tech incubators are designed to help address gender disparity in the technology sector and use technology to tackle social challenges faced by communities. They are an important part of our entrepreneurship offering within Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, our global initiative to tackle inequality and promote economic inclusion.  The rationale for the induction was to ensure a smooth transition for the businesses into the incubator. We look forward to all the achievements they will acquire during and after their time in the programme.”, added Clemencia Tetteh.

A total of 221 businesses applied to the business incubator, out of which 15, cutting across various industries including fashion, digital marketing, agriculture and food processing, and software development, were selected through a rigorous 3-stage process.

Under the scope of the 9-month programme, participants will benefit from business advisory and financial interventions, including: (i) High-Value Mini MBA programme, (ii) Women Entrepreneurs’ Transformation Programme, (iii) opportunities to pitch for and secure financial grants for scaling up their business, and (iv) access to portfolio managers.

The incubator programme, which aims to provide more opportunities for women in the technology sector to develop entrepreneurial excellence and bridge the financing and industry gaps for early-stage ventures, is an initiative by Standard Chartered in collaboration with the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre at Ashesi University.

Watch the full video of the induction here: https://youtu.be/gX-55uES7ZU

Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC is Ghana’s premier bank drawing its history from the Bank of British West Africa established in 1896. We are part of a leading international banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world’s most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 85.

Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity. Our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good. We are committed to promoting economic and social development, doing so sustainably and equitably in line with our purpose.

The Bank is made up of client segments supported by functions. Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) is a pioneering business incubator with a unique focus on developing sustainable enterprises and climate-responsive SME ventures and entrepreneurs in Ghana.  Our mission is to develop and support an exceptional set of transformational ventures and entrepreneurs who are pioneering innovation and adaptive or mitigating solutions for economic resilience and climate change issues in Ghana. We do this with a focus on key economic sectors, the provision of premium business advisory and business mentoring services, technical support in the development, prototyping and testing of their innovation, as well as financial grants to qualifying SMEs within our incubator.

Detailed information about the programme can be found at www.scwomenintechgh.com