In a significant boost for Egypt’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Standard Chartered has launched the second edition of its Women in Tech Accelerator in Egypt for 2026. The programme, delivered in collaboration with Cairo-based think tank and consultancy Entlaq and US-based venture capital firm Village Capital, continues the bank’s commitment through the Standard Chartered Foundation aimed at equipping women-led, technology-enabled startups with the skills, networks, and capital needed to grow.
This builds on the inaugural Futuremakers Women in Tech (FWIT) programme that debuted in Egypt in 2025 in partnership with the American University in Cairo’s AUC Venture Lab and Village Capital. The initiative forms part of Standard Chartered’s global Futuremakers platform, which has supported more than 4,000 women across 17 markets since its founding in 2014.
Women-led startups in Egypt face structural hurdles. According to Entlaq’s “Our Women in Entrepreneurship Report 2025,” these ventures receive only a small share of available venture funding and confront an estimated $2.2 billion funding gap, alongside limited access to mentoring and professional networks. Broader economic data underscores the challenge: women’s labour force participation remains comparatively low, with employed women numbering around 6.67 million versus 26.9 million men in the second quarter of 2026, and female unemployment at approximately 14.4%.
At the same time, progress is visible. Women accounted for 53% of microfinance beneficiaries from non-banking financial institutions in the first quarter of 2026 and held about 45% of outstanding microfinance balances. Financial inclusion reached 72.5% by the end of June 2026. The accelerator aims to convert this momentum into scalable tech-enabled businesses that can drive job creation and innovation.
“Women-led technology businesses are playing an increasingly important role in Egypt’s innovation economy, bringing new ideas to market and creating new avenues for growth. The Women in Tech Accelerator is designed to help that potential scale by providing founders with access to the skills, networks and support needed to strengthen their businesses. In its first cohort, the Egypt programme attracted 240 applications and supported 11 start-ups through over 35 training sessions and more than 40 mentorship sessions and roundtables. With this second edition, we are building on that foundation by supporting more women-led technology start-ups. Our focus is on helping founders strengthen their capabilities, expand their networks and become more investment ready, giving them a stronger platform to grow their businesses and contribute to Egypt’s innovation economy.”
– Mohamed Gad, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Coverage, Standard Chartered Egypt
What the 2026 Programme Offers
The second edition will guide 12 women-led technology startups that already have market presence and are ready to expand. Participants receive investment-readiness training, business development support, and mentorship delivered by Entlaq, leveraging the firm’s expertise in entrepreneurship support and ecosystem building. At the programme’s conclusion, three winners will share a total of $35,000 in equity-free grant funding.
Globally for 2026, more than $600,000 in grant funding has been allocated across 12 markets. The model prioritises non-dilutive capital, practical local insights, and connections that help founders strengthen operations without immediate equity pressure.
Mohamed Gad, CEO and Head of Coverage at Standard Chartered Egypt, emphasised the programme’s role: it provides founders with “access to the skills, networks and support needed to strengthen their businesses,” enabling them to contribute to Egypt’s innovation economy.
Lessons from the First Cohort
The 2025 pilot demonstrated tangible results. From more than 240 applications, 11 startups completed the intensive three-month programme after rigorous screening (63 advanced to interviews, 25 to a bootcamp, and 20 to final selection). Participants completed over 35 training sessions and more than 40 mentorship sessions and roundtables covering strategy, growth planning, innovation, and investor pitching.
The cohort spanned sectors including healthcare, e-commerce, edtech, clean energy, manufacturing, and pet insurance. At Demo Day, three standout ventures: Aziza, Tribe, and Learning Rockets each received $10,000 in equity-free funding. Collectively, the supported businesses gained around 16,000 new customers, created over 430 jobs, and generated an additional $2.7 million in revenue. These outcomes align with the broader Futuremakers Women in Tech goals of supporting hundreds of women entrepreneurs and enabling over 1,200 jobs across participating markets over multi-year cycles.
A Strategic Fit for Egypt’s Ambitions
Egypt continues structural reforms aimed at higher growth (Standard Chartered projects real GDP growth of 4.7% in FY2026/27) and private-sector-led job creation, with a national target of 1.5 million opportunities by 2030. Programmes that specifically address the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship complement these efforts by unlocking underutilised talent and fostering more inclusive innovation.
The partnership evolution from AUC Venture Lab in the first year to Entlaq in the second, illustrates adaptive collaboration with strong local players while retaining Village Capital’s investment-readiness frameworks and global standards. This hybrid approach is increasingly common in fragmented emerging-market ecosystems.
The Women in Tech Accelerator is more than a training and funding vehicle; it is a deliberate intervention to close opportunity gaps, professionalise women-led ventures, and expand the pipeline of investable, impact-oriented startups. By combining catalytic capital, tailored capacity building, and network access, Standard Chartered Foundation and its partners are helping Egyptian women founders move from promising prototypes to resilient, growing businesses.
