Standard Chartered Bank, Bahrain, has joined forces with Bahrain FinTech Bay and the Supreme Council for Women to roll out a new program called “Women in Tech.”
As the moniker itself suggests, the program will be geared towards promoting and providing support to women entrepreneurs and female-led startups in the Kingdom. At its core, the program is designed to increase women’s stake in Bahrain’s burgeoning tech-driven startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still in the background, the program’s launch event was held virtually as an online press conference. Senior executives from all three stakeholders, as well as representatives of the media, attended the event.
“Through this program, 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,” said Abdulla Bukhowa, CEO Of Standard Chartered Bank Bahrain.
He added, “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.”
10 female-led startups will be shortlisted for the program, following which all the participants will require going through an exhaustive mentorship program spanning eight weeks. This will be followed by a Demo Day in Sept 2020 where the participants will be pitching their products and ideas to a panel of esteemed judges.
In addition to the mentorship program and exposure to a world-class curriculum, the top-five performing teams will also receive funding worth $50,000 from Standard Chartered Bahrain. Not only that, but the top five winners will also get a three-month residency in the Bahrain FinTech Bay premises.
