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 StartupsThe 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 TunisiaDabchy 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 EgyptFreshSource 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.