Standard Chartered: Delivering our commitment to empower Zambian female-owned businesses

By Christine Matambo – Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing (Zambia & Southern Africa), Standard Chartered Bank

Despite more individuals and businesses now having greater access to financial services than ever before, many micro and small business owners still lag behind with regard to access to financing and management skills to grow their business.

With more women starting and owning their own businesses – especially in the SME sector – the challenge of scaling up / growing these businesses remains a reality.

As a sustainable bank with a rich 115-year history of operating in Zambia, lifting the participation of women, among others, in business and our wider economy is a key priority for Standard Chartered Bank. That is why we launched the SC Women in Tech (SC WiT) incubator programme in 2020, in partnership with BongoHive. WiT is a first on the Zambian market. 

The Aspiration – To support Zambian, female-led enterprises to scale-up / grow their businesses by leveraging technology. 

Why? – Because this aligns with calls for more diversity in entrepreneurship and for more opportunities for women to develop their entrepreneurial and leadership excellence. The focus on female-led businesses bodes well with another key aspiration for Standard Chartered Bank – empowering women.

The Women in Tech incubator is designed to provide the much-needed support, mentorship opportunities, banking products and services to female entrepreneurs, in addition to seed funding. 

As a Bank, we are delighted and very proud that our first cohort of the SC Women in Tech attracted over 80 applications from Zambian female-led businesses. In July 2021, we were, once again, very proud to announce the 5 winners who received US$10,000 each of seed funding to finance the acceleration / scaling up of their businesses. In addition, we are glad that these Zambian women are operating in the ‘right spaces’: emerging sectors such as essential oils, virtual learning and wellness, among others.

Standard Chartered Bank Zambia will launch Phase 2 of the WiT in the last quarter of 2021 – this presents yet another exciting opportunity for the bank to contribute further to empowering Zambian female-owned businesses and to contribute to our wider economy. It also presents yet another unique opportunity for more Zambian female-owned businesses to participate in this exciting programme. 

This is part of our brand promise to be here for clients. Here for communities. Here for good   

The author – Christine Matambo – is Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing (Zambia and Southern Africa) at Standard Chartered Bank 

For more information or for media interviews, please contact: Christine Matambo
Head of Corporate Affairs and Brand & Marketing Standard Chartered Bank Zambia
Tel: + 260 422402; 0960-561755
Email: Christine.Matambo@sc.com

Standard Chartered 

We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 60 of the world’s most dynamic markets, and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good.

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook