{
  "id": 8291116,
  "title": "Ten female entrepreneurs graduate from the Standard Chartered Foundation Women in Tech Accelerator",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/ten-female-entrepreneurs-graduate-from-the-standard-chartered-8291116",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-18T19:11:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Joy Business",
    "slug": "joy-business",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/ten-female-entrepreneurs-graduate-from-the-standard-chartered-foundation-women-in-tech-accelerator/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On June 28, 2023, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC celebrated the graduation of ten female entrepreneurs from the Standard Chartered Foundation Women in Tech Accelerator (SCFWIT) programme. The event, known as Pitch Day, recognized the businesses for their innovative, climate-smart technology solutions addressing local and global needs.\n\nThe top five performing startups - Edu3Dcation, WADMET, Verte Tower, SisiMarie, and Porducare - were each awarded GH₵113,500 in grant funding to further their growth and expansion. The SCFWIT accelerator, implemented by the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) at Ashesi University, provided six months of intensive support, including business development, skill-building, networking, and pitch preparation.\n\nSince its inception, the SCFWIT programme has disbursed USD 210,000 in grants and supported 83 women-led technology businesses in Ghana, creating over 166 jobs and generating GH₵3.9 million in revenue. This cohort specifically reached women entrepreneurs beyond the accelerator's previous focus, including women with disabilities.\n\nPearl Esua-Mensah, Executive Director of GCIC, emphasized the program's mission to build the entrepreneurs, leaders, and institutions Africa needs to scale climate solutions, ensuring opportunity is not limited to certain regions. Xorse Godzi, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, reiterated the bank's commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs through technology.\n\nThroughout the ceremony, the ten business leaders pitched their ventures, showcasing how their technology-driven solutions address challenges in their respective sectors. The event fostered networking opportunities among the entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem leaders to support their continued growth.",
  "summary": "Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC held the Pitch Day and Graduation ceremony for the sixth cohort of its Women in Tech programme, celebrating ten women entrepreneurs who completed the programme and pitched their businesses for a share of the grant funding.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Ten female entrepreneurs graduate from the Standard Chartered Foundation Women in Tech Accelerator",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/ten-female-entrepreneurs-graduate-from-the-standard-chartered",
        "published": "2026-09-18T19:11:25.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}