Arab Finance: Standard Chartered Foundation has partnered with Entlaq and Village Capital to launch of the second edition of the Women in Tech Accelerator in Egypt, as per an emailed press release.

The 2026 cohort will support 12 technology start-ups led by women through investment readiness training, business development support and tailored mentorship, with three winners receiving equity-free grant funding totaling USD 35,000 at the end of the program.

Designed for women-led technology-enabled start-ups that have demonstrated market validation and are ready to scale, the program will be delivered in Egypt by Entlaq, drawing on its expertise in entrepreneurship support and ecosystem building.

 “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,” Mohamed Gad, CEO and Head of Coverage, Standard Chartered Egypt, said.

“In its first cohort, the Egypt program attracted 240 applications and supported 11 start-ups through over 35 training sessions and more than 40 mentorship sessions and roundtables,” he added.

Meanwhile, Yazmin Jumaali, Senior Program Manager, Village Capital, said: “The results from our 2025 Women in Tech cohort demonstrate the transformative impact of backing women entrepreneurs. Together, these founders reached nearly 16,000 new customers, created more than 430 jobs, and generated an additional $2.7 million in revenue.”

For her part, Aya Ismail, Co-Founder and Program Director at Entlaq, commented: "Our Women in Entrepreneurship Report 2025, the first data-driven assessment of women entrepreneurship in Egypt, found that women-led start-ups continue to receive only a very small share of available venture funding while facing an estimated $2.2 billion funding gap, alongside limited access to specialized mentoring and professional networks.”

The Standard Chartered Women in Tech Accelerator builds on a strong global track record, having supported over 4,000 women across 17 markets since inception.

This year, the program has allocated more than $600,000 in grant funding to entrepreneurs across 12 markets, with the Egypt cohort competing for equity-free cash prizes totaling $35,000 at Demo Day.