Pan-Atlantic programme graduates 11 women technology founders
Eleven women have completed the seventh cohort of Pan-Atlantic University’s Women in Tech Incubator and Accelerator Programme. Organisers said the initiative has supported 60 women since 2019 through mentoring, advisory services, governance assistance and funding access for technology and technology-enabled businesses.
Eleven women founders have graduated from the seventh cohort of Pan-Atlantic University’s Women in Tech Incubator and Accelerator Programme. The programme is organised by the university’s Enterprise Development Centre in partnership with the Standard Chartered Foundation and Village Capital. It supports women-owned technology and technology-enabled businesses that have moved beyond the idea stage.
Enterprise Development Centre Director Nneka Okekearu said the latest cohort received specialised advisory services, capacity building, mentoring and coaching. She said the programme had increasingly focused on helping businesses strengthen governance and financial structures. The organisers said the initiative had supported 60 women since its launch in 2019.
Beneficiaries have developed businesses in education, healthcare, fashion, wellness and supply-chain management. Okekearu said boards were established for participating businesses to help founders refine their models and improve their readiness for funding. The programme also provides seed grants and access to single-digit loan pools through its network.
The latest founders included entrepreneurs developing solutions to problems they had encountered personally or observed in their communities. One participant built a platform for children with learning disabilities, while another developed a service after seeing her mother struggle to obtain funding because of inadequate documentation. Standard Chartered Nigeria’s Joke Adu said the bank remained committed to expanding economic opportunities for women through entrepreneurship.
She called for more cooperation among organisations and government to support women-led businesses. Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre founder Oreoluwa Leshi said women made up about 20 per cent of Nigeria’s technology workforce and needed greater access to mentorship, funding and business support. Graduate Fara Popoola said the programme helped her focus her business and use a grant to expand a platform serving informal-sector businesses.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.