Women-led startups received investments from Village Capital, Standard Chartered Bank
With the help of a new financing facility geared toward women, Zambian fintech Mighty Finance and Kenyan e-health startup Benacare have raised money from Village Capital and Standard Chartered Bank.
Standard Chartered Bank and Village Capital have teamed up to test a financing option for investments in the bank’s Women in Tech initiative.
Specifically targeting impact-focused, early-stage startups founded by women, the initiative aims to close the gender financing gap that still exists in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Both Zambia’s Mighty Finance, a fintech startup that provides access to capital for primarily women-led businesses, and Kenya’s Bena Care, a startup that provides accessible clinical and supportive care to patients with life-limiting illnesses in the comfort of their own homes, have raised US $75,000 from the facility.
“We’re extremely excited to partner with Standard Chartered Bank to support their vision to lift participation of women globally by driving more investment capital to impact-driven women founders,” said Heather Matranga, vice president for impact investments at Village Capital.
“For over a decade, Village Capital has been developing systems and processes to improve equity in investment decision-making and ultimately unlock more opportunity and capital for women-founded and led ventures. Through this pilot facility, we intend to provide innovative and catalytic financing that truly meets the needs of women entrepreneurs across a range of business models and markets.”
Head of corporate affairs, brand, and marketing at Standard Chartered Joyce Kibe expressed her excitement about collaborating with Village Capital to support the organization’s Women in Tech program, which has trained over 70 women-led businesses by giving them the essential support they need to grow to international standards.
“We believe by supporting more women in business, we are stimulating more robust and resilient economic activity while providing support for inputs that are often neglected for startup businesses,” she said.
