Standard Chartered Foundation, Village Capital and Enterprise Development Centre open applications for this year’s Women in Tech Accelerator in Nigeria

Applications open for 2026 Women in Tech Accelerator in Nigeria,...

Standard Chartered Foundation (the Foundation), together with Village Capital and Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University announced it is accepting applications for the 2026 Women in Tech Accelerator for Nigeria.

Now in its seventh cohort, the 2026 Women in Tech Accelerator will build on last year’s success, empowering women-led, tech-enabled startups to scale and create positive impact in their communities.

In many fast-growing emerging economies, women are launching innovative, tech-enabled businesses that respond to community and market needs. Yet many early-stage entrepreneurs face ecosystems designed for rapid scale rather than sustainable enterprise building, limiting their ability to develop resilient business models, create quality jobs, and deliver long-term impact.

The Women in Tech Accelerator prorgamme is designed to address that growth gap by providing catalytic grant funding, structured business training, and tailored mentorship to equip entrepreneurs with the tools, networks, and confidence needed to build resilient, revenue-generating enterprises that create jobs and deliver lasting economic and social impact.

In the programme’s previous year, empowered by the training and support they received, this cohort created a positive impact in their businesses and communities.

The 2025 cohort across various markets collectively:

• Added nearly 16,000 new customers

• Generated more than 430 jobs

• Increased their revenues by USD2.7 million

A new year of impact

More than USD600,000 in grant funding for entrepreneurs in the 2026 cohort will be distributed across 12 markets: Bahrain, Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia*, South Africa*, UAE, Uganda, and Zambia.

Joke Adu, Country Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing at Standard Chartered in Nigeria said:“Persistent inequalities in Nigeria and across the region continue to limit the growth of women-led businesses. Yet we know that empowering women is critical to economic growth and to driv...