Standard Chartered Bahrain Launches 54-Hour Challenge for Women in Tech

Standard Chartered Bahrain has announced the launch of their Women in Tech initiative in the Kingdom, following the programme’s implementation across the world in countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and the UAE. The program focuses on capacity building for women-owned enterprises, targets female-led entrepreneurial teams and provides them with training, mentorship and seed funding.

“The gender-based divide is still present across all industries. It has been reported that financial investment received by female-led startups is 49.3% lower than what is received by male-led startups,” explains Olga Arara Kimani, Regional Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing for Standard Chartered in Africa and the Middle East.

In collaboration with Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Women and Bahrain FinTech Bay, the Women in Tech initiative invites female entrepreneurs and startup owners (both individuals and teams) in Bahrain to take part in its 54-hour challenge, with a focus on innovative solutions and startups operating in Health, Community or Business Community fields to apply for a chance to be one of the 10 finalists to take part in an eight-week mentorship programme

This will be followed by a final Demo Day Pitch that will take place in September 2020. In addition to mentorship and world-class curriculum, Standard Chartered will be providing a total seed funding of $50,000 to the top 5 winners and Bahrain FinTech Bay will offer a three-month residency at their premises.

“Through this programme, we are aiming to increase the number of women entrepreneurs that own businesses in Bahrain. Our mentors are here to guide the startups, help them scale and equip them with skills that are necessary to thrive in today’s world. The launch of Women in Tech is especially significant given the global pandemic, where women have the opportunity to bring their digital business creativity to life at a time when it’s greatly needed and valued. As a bank that has been in the Kingdom for 100 years, we have witnessed and supported various innovative successful businesses, and supporting digital business innovation during unprecedented times is what we currently all need,” says Abdulla Bukhowa​, CEO Of Standard Chartered Bank Bahrain​.

Find out more and apply now here.