Standard Chartered, AUC Venture Lab and Village Capital Launch Futuremakers Women in Tech for Egyptian Entrepreneurs

Cairo, Egypt – May 28, 2025:

Standard Chartered, AUC Venture Lab and Village Capital are thrilled to announce the launch of the inaugural Futuremakers Women in Tech accelerator program in Egypt, part of the Bank’s global Futuremakers initiative and funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation. Standard Chartered is collaborating with the American University in Cairo’s award-winning startup accelerator AUC Venture Lab and Village Capital to bring to Egypt, for the first time, a three-month global accelerator programme, designed specifically for visionary women entrepreneurs.

The groundbreaking initiative aims at fostering female entrepreneurship and innovation in the Egyptian tech-enabled sectors. The programme marks a significant step towards promoting gender diversity and inclusivity in the Egyptian technology industry.
Speaking at an event marking the inauguration of the programme, Mohammed Gad, CEO and Head of Banking & Coverage, Standard Chartered, Egypt, said: “Launching Futuremakers Women in Tech in Egypt is a proud and powerful moment for us. We believe women entrepreneurs are catalysts for innovation and inclusive growth.

Through this programme, we’re opening doors for bold ideas and brighter futures—and we’re excited to see Egypt’s talent rise and lead”.

Over the course of the next three years, Futuremakers Women in Tech Egypt will provide impact-creating, women-led startups with the tools, resources and networks needed to thrive in the rapidly evolving entrepreneurship landscape.

Through a series of masterclasses, hands-on mentorship sessions and tailored investment readiness support, participants will have access to an unrivalled world-class acceleration experience while boosting their business survival rate.

At the end of the programme, participants will also compete for up to USD 10,000 in equity-free funding, supporting them to grow sustainably and create long-lasting community impact.

“Since 2013, we have been committed to championing Egyptian entrepreneurs and our newest program with Standard Chartered and Village Capital is another testament to that.

Our programmes have helped more than 1,000 founders to date and this accelerator will help many other women build their tech-enabled ventures and connect them with investment opportunities,” said Ayman Ismail, Founding Director at AUC Venture Lab and Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at the American University in Cairo.

The launch event featured keynote speeches by Rola Abu Manneh, CEO, MENAP, Standard Chartered and Sherif Kamel, Dean at AUC Onsi Sawiris School of Business as well as an enriching panel discussion about the future of female-led startups in the region featuring: AUC Venture Lab Director Ayman Ismail, Standard Chartered Egypt’s CEO Mohamed Gad, Dr. Azza El Shinnawy, Co-founder and CEO of PortfolioTECH, Farah Emara, Founder of Fresh Source, and moderated by Village Capital’s Senior Program Manager Ahmed Fadl.

While this is the first cohort in Egypt, Futuremakers by Standard Chartered has been longstanding in other markets including Bahrain, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabiai, South Africa*, UAE, Uganda and Zambia. To date, the initiative has supported 4,000 women founders across 17 markets.

*Funding for Futuremakers Women in Tech in Saudi Arabia and South Africa is from Standard Chartered not Standard Chartered Foundation.

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