STANDARD Chartered Foundation, in partnership with INNOVentures Global and Village Capital, has concluded the eighth cohort of the Women in Tech Accelerator for Pakistan, awarding three women-led start-ups equity-free grant funding totalling Rs10.5m at the graduation ceremony in Karachi, according to a press release. The winners will also receive an additional six months of hand-holding and financial oversight and a lifelong membership to the Women in Tech Alumni Network.
The Accelerator started with 30 founders in an intense six-day bootcamp, followed by 10 women entrepreneurs supported through three months of tailored investment-readiness support, expert mentorship, and opportunities to strengthen their business models, competitive advantage, scalability, and funding strategies, along with a two-stage funding intervention and two-stage funding for high-potential startups from the cohort.
The first prize of Rs5m was awarded to EV Square founded by Aimen Shafique; the second prize of Rs3m went to Blusha App founded by Minahil Zafar; and the third prize of Rs2.5m was awarded to Zvolta, founded by Anusha Shahid.