Standard Chartered’s Women in Tech accelerator program, in collaboration with DIFC Innovation Hub, has awarded a total of $100,000 in equity-free seed capital to the top three female-led tech startups in the UAE. The winners are:
Nour Taher, Co-founder and CEO at Intella: Awarded $50,000. Intella bridges the gap between global AI advancements and the Arabic-speaking world by building and fine-tuning machine learning models for dialectal Arabic.
Lara Hussein, Co-founder and CEO at The Waste Lab: Secured $30,000. The Waste Lab specializes in nature-based composting of food scraps and leftovers, customizing services for various establishments.
Dr. Anushka Patchava, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Wellx: Awarded $20,000. Wellx is a hyper-personalized digital insurance solution combining health, wellness, and prevention to reduce claim costs and improve population health.
The Women in Tech accelerator program, launched in July 2023, aims to drive sustainable growth and empower women entrepreneurs in the UAE’s technology sector, fostering innovation, diversity, and economic development. The program provides support, mentorship, and access to seed capital for women-led startups. The recent Demo Day event saw 11 female-led entrepreneurial teams showcasing their innovative business models to potential investors, industry experts and thought leaders.
Standard Chartered UAE has accelerated four cohorts to date, comprising over 20 startups that have collectively raised over $5 million from various venture capitalists. The Women in Tech initiative operates successfully in nine countries globally, creating a powerful network of empowered women in the tech space.
The program aligns with DIFC Innovation Hub’s mission to drive economic growth through innovation, enterprise, and talent development. The initiative is part of a global Women in Tech program that focuses on empowering female entrepreneurs to confront challenges and grow their impact-driven businesses. Standard Chartered envisions the Women in Tech program as a platform for women to play a pivotal role in shaping the technological landscape, fostering an inclusive and innovative economy.
