Standard Chartered, AUC Venture Lab, and Village Capital have announced the graduation of the first group of participants in the Futuremakers Women in Tech (FWIT) programme in Egypt. The initiative, which falls under Standard Chartered’s global Futuremakers campaign and is funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation, aims to widen opportunities for women entrepreneurs working in tech-enabled sectors across the country.
The launch of the first cohort is being positioned as an important step in expanding women’s leadership in Egypt’s growing technology ecosystem and in encouraging innovation led by female founders.
More than 240 applications were submitted for the programme’s debut cycle. After a multi-stage process involving assessment, screening and interviews, twelve women-led startups based in Egypt were chosen to join the accelerator. Eleven of these reached the end of the programme and formally graduated, following an intensive schedule that included over 35 training sessions and more than 40 mentorship engagements and roundtable discussions.
The curriculum featured workshops delivered by industry specialists, investors and experienced entrepreneurs across sectors such as technology, finance, marketing and innovation management. Founders were guided through core areas of business development including strategic planning, growth management and pitching to investors.
The programme concluded with a Demo Day in front of a panel of senior industry figures. Judges included Mohammed Gad, CEO and Head of Banking & Coverage, Standard Chartered, Egypt; Wasim Benkhadra, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing (CABM) & Head of Communications for the UAE, Middle East, and Pakistan at Standard Chartered; Dr. Ayman Ismail, Founding Director of AUC Venture Lab and Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at the Onsi Sawiris School of Business at the American University in Cairo; Mirhan Mandour, Managing Director at SalesARM; and Zeina Mandour, Venture Investments Manager at Dar Ventures and a member of Global Women in VC.
After detailed deliberations, Aziza, Tribe and Learning Rockets were selected as the top three startups. Each was awarded USD 10,000 in equity-free funding to help support their scaling plans and strengthen the long-term viability of their ventures.
Commenting on the milestone, Mohammed Gad said, “We are proud to mark the graduation of the inaugural cohort of the Futuremakers Women in Tech programme in Egypt. This achievement represents a significant milestone and a strong start in our efforts to advance women’s participation and leadership in the technology sector. The dedication and excellence demonstrated by the graduates reflect the transformative potential of this initiative. As we continue to expand the programme, we remain committed to fostering an inclusive digital economy and supporting women as key drivers of innovation and growth across Egypt and beyond.”
Dr. Ayman Ismail also reflected on the progress made over the three-month period, stating, “As we celebrate the graduation of the first cohort of the Futuremakers Women in Tech programme in Egypt, we at AUC Venture Lab are truly inspired by the resilience and hard work of our participants. Over the past three months, we have worked closely with these eleven entrepreneurs to strengthen their businesses, improve their success rates, and support the development of their skills while expanding their networks. Our meaningful collaboration with Standard Chartered and Village Capital has enabled us to offer the entrepreneurs a unique experience that combines knowledge with real-world insights, delivered through a programme tailored specifically to their needs. Today, we are proud of our entrepreneurs as they reach an important milestone in their journeys, and we wish them continued success in all their future endeavours.”
The accelerator is designed for women-led, early-stage startups operating in Egypt that already have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or validated business model. Eligibility criteria include having at least one woman founder aged between 18 and 35, as well as alignment with one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
From the original pool of over 240 applicants, 63 startups progressed to interviews, 25 were accepted into the bootcamp phase and 20 went on to the final assessment stage. Ultimately, eleven ventures were chosen for the first FWIT Egypt cohort. These represented six sectors: healthcare, e-commerce, edtech, clean energy, manufacturing and pet insurance. The startups selected were Smart Content, Smart Solar, Aziza, Learning Rockets, Leona Pet Plan, Encore Plus, Green Flame, Tribe, Tutoruu and Trace.
Every startup in the cohort completed the full programme and took part in the Demo Day presentations, where the judges named Aziza, Tribe and Learning Rockets as the winners.
Support for the founders continues beyond graduation, with AUC Venture Lab offering alumni mentoring, connections to potential investors, access to relevant events and opportunities to share their experience with upcoming cohorts.
While this marks the first time FWIT has operated in Egypt, the Futuremakers initiative is already active in multiple regions. The programme has previously been implemented in Bahrain, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UAE, Uganda and Zambia. Overall, Futuremakers has supported more than 4,000 women founders across 17 markets to date.
