WASHINGTON & NEW YORK--()--Village Capital, in collaboration with Standard Chartered US, is excited to announce the launch of the US Women in Tech Accelerator, a new three-year transformative initiative aimed at addressing systemic inequities in funding and support for women-identifying startup founders.

Running from March to July, the program is part of the Bank’s Futuremakers by Standard Chartered initiative and funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation. Already established in other regions, the program now expands to the United States to empower women-led, impact-creating, tech-enabled startups to scale their solutions, create jobs, and drive economic mobility nationwide.

Despite growing awareness of the funding gap for women founders, all-women founding teams have received an average of only 2.4%1 of venture capital funding over the past 30 years, perpetuating barriers to innovation, economic growth, and equitable access to resources. The US Women in Tech Accelerator program is designed to tackle these inequities and unlock early-stage financial and social capital through support, expertise, resources, and tools needed to scale their solutions.

A Collaborative Approach to Breaking Barriers

This partnership will prioritize startups led by women from historically marginalized communities, including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs. Together, Standard Chartered and Village Capital will focus on solutions that expand access to:

  • Affordable healthcare and wellness resources
  • High-quality education and professional development
  • Financial resilience and generational wealth-building opportunities
  • Essential services that drive economic mobility for underserved communities

“At Standard Chartered, we believe that equitable access to funding and resources is essential to fostering innovation and driving meaningful impact,” said Sonia Rossetti, Regional Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing at Standard Chartered. “Through the US Women in Tech Accelerator, and in partnership with Village Capital, we are addressing the systemic challenges women founders face, creating pathways for them to scale their ideas, transform their communities, and realize their full potential.”

“Our expanded partnership with Standard Chartered US marks a significant step forward in leveling the field for women-identifying tech entrepreneurs,” said Kelly Bryant, US Regional Director at Village Capital. “This initiative goes beyond funding; it’s about equipping women leaders with the tools, mentorship, and resources they need to drive meaningful change in their communities. Together, we aim to break down barriers to access and create a more inclusive and equitable innovation ecosystem in the United States.”

Applications are open for the inaugural cohort with 10-12 startups until January 31, 2025. Full details and eligibility criteria can be found here.

The US Women in Tech Accelerator will provide the selected startups with investment-readiness training, personalized development plans, expert mentorship, and networking opportunities. Also, the entrepreneurs will work with advisors and industry leaders to strengthen their business models and maximize their impact.

The selected founders will participate in virtual workshops designed to equip them with the networks and tools needed to scale their solutions. At the end of the accelerator, two startups will be selected by their peers to receive USD 25K in grant capital.

All startups that apply to the program will be invited to join Abaca, Village Capital’s free web app. Abaca includes Capital Explorer, which equips entrepreneurs to make strategic fundraising decisions that align with their mission and vision and identify relevant resources and capital providers. Abaca also helps entrepreneurs on a venture path to assess their investment readiness using a consistent set of Venture Investment Levels (1-9) and then plan and track progress toward their next level with the Milestone Planner.

For more information, reach out to Yireth Villaverde at Village Capital (yireth.villaverde@vilcap.com).

The US Women in Tech Accelerator is among several programs under the Futuremakers initiative in the Americas. Other programs include partnerships with Upwardly Global, Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, and Youth Business International. They all aim to promote greater economic inclusion.

About Village Capital

Village Capital is reinventing the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Known for its groundbreaking approaches to supporting founders who are building solutions to emergent social, economic, and environmental challenges, VilCap unlocks critical social and financial capital for early-stage startups to maximize business and impact growth.

Since 2009, Village Capital has supported close to 1,800 startups that have raised over USD 5 billion in investment capital. It has made more than 150 investments through its various affiliated funds, including Vilcap Investments, which has invested in 110 peer-selected companies. Additionally, more than 36,000 users actively engage on Abaca, their web app that equips entrepreneurs, ESOs, and capital providers with tools for learning about, assessing suitability and expanding access to financial capital. Its latest feature, Capital Explorer, helps founders identify the most appropriate funding options for their businesses. Learn more at www.vilcap.com and follow @villagecapital.

About Standard Chartered

We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 52 of the world’s most dynamic markets. 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.

Our history in the US dates back to 1902, and we are currently present in nine locations throughout the Americas. Our Americas franchise focuses on financial institutions and select corporations and plays a key role in facilitating trade and investment flows between the Americas and Asia, Africa, the UK and Europe and the Middle East.

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges. For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

About Futuremakers by Standard Chartered

Futuremakers by Standard Chartered (Futuremakers) is Standard Chartered Bank’s global youth economic empowerment initiative to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion in the Group’s markets. Futuremakers supports disadvantaged young people, especially women and people with disabilities, to learn, earn, and grow. By 2030, Futuremakers aims to create and sustain 140,000 jobs by enabling young entrepreneurs and job-seekers to achieve economic power and participation. Visit www.sc.com/futuremakers.

About Standard Chartered Foundation

The Standard Chartered Foundation (SCF) is a charitable organisation that tackles inequality by promoting greater economic inclusion for disadvantaged young people, particularly young women and people with disabilities. Its programmes focus on employability and entrepreneurship, helping young entrepreneurs and jobseekers access the skills, networks, opportunities and support they need to achieve economic power and participation.

1 https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/wappp/research/past/venture-capital-entrepreneurship#:~:text=Data%20and%20research%20prove%20that,%2C%20experience%2C%20and%20hours%20worked