Africa-Press – Uganda. In a significant move to address the gender funding gap in emerging markets, Village Capital has partnered with Standard Chartered to invest $200,000 in three women-led startups across Africa and MENA. This initiative, part of Standard Chartered’s Futuremakers Women in Tech Financing Facility, aims to empower women entrepreneurs by providing catalytic capital and support to scale their ventures.
Targeted Investment in Women-Led Startups
The selected startups—BeMe (Pakistan), Dabchy (Tunisia), and FreshSource (Egypt)—are all alumni of Village Capital’s Women in Tech accelerator program. This program focuses on addressing systemic challenges faced by women in entrepreneurship, including limited access to early-stage capital and underrepresentation in key sectors.
Dabchy (Tunisia)
Dabchy is an online marketplace for second-hand fashion, promoting sustainable consumption and reducing textile waste. With over 750,000 users and 4 million listed items, Dabchy is expanding its reach within Tunisia and exploring new markets.
FreshSource (Egypt)
FreshSource is an agri-tech startup digitizing Egypt’s fresh produce supply chains. By connecting smallholder farmers directly to institutional buyers, it reduces food loss and enhances price transparency. The funding will help scale its operations and improve logistics capabilities.
Addressing the Gender Funding Gap
Despite the increasing number of women entrepreneurs, access to venture capital remains disproportionately low. In 2024, women-founded startups received only 2.3% of global venture capital funding, with female-only teams securing even less. This disparity is more pronounced in emerging markets, where women-led startups receive just 7% of venture capital.(m
Research indicates that women-led startups often outperform their male counterparts, delivering higher returns on investment. However, they remain 75% less likely to receive equity financing than men. This funding gap is attributed to factors such as investor bias, limited networks, and a lack of representation in decision-making roles within venture capital firms.
Strategic Significance of the Investment
This investment by Village Capital and Standard Chartered is a strategic effort to close the gender funding gap by providing targeted support to women-led startups in sectors with high growth potential. Village Capital’s approach emphasizes peer selection and ecosystem development, aiming to democratize access to venture funding, particularly in underserved markets. Since its inception in 2009, Village Capital has backed nearly 1,800 startups, funneling over $7.5 billion in follow-on capital through its affiliated funds and network.
Standard Chartered’s involvement underscores its commitment to advancing women entrepreneurs across its footprint. Regina Mukiri, the bank’s Regional Head of Community Impact and Engagement for Africa, the Middle East, and Pakistan, stated, “Empowering women is critical to sustainable economic growth. We’re committed to addressing structural barriers to funding through this facility and beyond.”
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