Rise – the innovation hub owned by Absa – has launched the Rise Scalarator focused on Female Founders in the Western Cape and is calling for applications. The Rise Scalarator is geared to play a crucial role in the global call-to-action to fix the leaky teach pipeline by actively focusing on Women-In-Tech.
Diversity and inclusion in the tech space is not only a South African challenge but has become a global imperative. Women are stepping up to own and run businesses in numbers that would have been hard to imagine a mere few decades ago. This is not merely redefining women’s economic roles; it is reshaping the modern global economy. A recent study paints a picture of the ideal world where when women play an identical role in labor markets to that of men, as much as $28 trillion, or 26 percent, could be added to global annual GDP by 2025.
Creating World-Class African Gazelles
To help play its part in unlocking this value Absa has launched Rise Scalarator. The Rise Scalarator will focus on five Female Founders from June to November 2018 and the programme will kick-off with a 12-week bootcamp, culminating in a Funding Pitch to be held at Rise, which will assist them in securing investment opportunities with the broader network. The programme aims to support South African black Female Founders, who have developed a post – minimum viable product (MVP), tech solution to boost and scale their start-up, whilst acquiring a range of new competencies.
“The programme is designed to focus on the Female Founder holistically, they will have access to an Advisory Board, a Business Coach, financial management and modelling tools as well as access to a world-class network by being based at Rise Cape Town for the duration of the programme.” says Antoinette Prophy, Founder and Managing Director at the 88 Business Collective, who co-created the programme with Absa as Project Manager.
The five selected Female Founders will receive support from a business coach in order to boost their personal growth and leadership skills to support the growth of their own employees, leadership team and company. The Advisory Boards are a platform for accountability and better decision-making by focusing on corporate governance and compliance. The Female Founders will attend monthly networking events with tech experts and investors, which will provide them with an opportunity to learn from and connect with some of their experienced peers.
Globally Connected
Rise is a global start-up community pioneering financial services and unlocking Africa’s potential, and through this network innovators and entrepreneurs gain the support and resources to help fast-track their personal and professional goals through mentorship and collaboration, access to markets, as well as extensive learning and skills development opportunities across sectors. “We are actively enhancing the trajectory of start-ups and increasing long-term sustainability,” says Camilla Swart, Ecosystem Manager at Rise Cape Town.
“Providing support to the five successful applicants is an important step forward in driving long-term change in the competitive world of tech,” concludes Camilla Swart. The programme runs from the Woodstock Exchange in Cape Town from June to November 2018, and applications close 9 May 2018.
