Articles Sustainability

Fostering gender equality by nurturing innovative entrepreneurship

China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore

This programme provides mentorship, networking opportunities and funding to female-led startups in Asia to plug a significant support gap.

Eva Ang

Global Co-Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing @ Standard Chartered Bank

See profile

Posted 21/10/2024

Socioeconomic challenge

Despite comprising 30% of entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia, women receive only 8% of venture capital funding, revealing a significant gender gap in economic inclusion. The Women in Entrepreneurship (WiE) programme aims to bridge this gap by providing female entrepreneurs with essential resources, mentorship and funding. Operating in seven markets across Asia, the programme supports female-led startups focused on social impact.

Purpose and strategy

As an international bank, Standard Chartered is dedicated to driving commerce and prosperity through diversity, encapsulated in its promise to be "here for good." The Women in Entrepreneurship (WiE) programme reflects this commitment by enhancing economic participation for women. WiE empowers disadvantaged young people to learn, earn and thrive as part of the broader Future Makers initiative. The programme specifically addresses the unique challenges female entrepreneurs face, offering access to business expertise, mentorship, networking opportunities and seed funding to nurture the growth of social enterprises.

Impact and innovation

Since its launch, WiE has made a significant impact across Southeast Asia. In 2023, the programme supported 19 female-led startups in markets including Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, with each receiving seed funding to advance their business ideas.

In South Korea, 20 teams received intensive entrepreneurship training, creating 51 new jobs. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s programme focused on startups tackling social issues like environmental sustainability and animal welfare, with 30 teams completing the programme.

WiE has fostered collaboration and knowledge sharing across markets, with past winners mentoring new participants and networking with peers from other countries. In Singapore, WiE aligned with International Women’s Day, celebrating the achievements of female entrepreneurs and raising awareness of their contributions to the economy. Standard Chartered’s employees have played a key role in mentoring participants, sharing their expertise to help startups succeed.

Future outlook

Standard Chartered is committed to expanding the WiE programme to support more female entrepreneurs across Southeast Asia. By 2030, the Futuremakers initiative aims to create and sustain 140,000 jobs, focusing on women and people with disabilities. WiE will continue to serve as the flagship entrepreneurship programme in the region, providing participants with long-term support and new opportunities to grow.

The bank plans to expand the programme to other markets, leveraging its resources and networks to uplift female entrepreneurs and create a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem. Standard Chartered remains dedicated to refining and scaling WiE to maximise its impact across the region.

Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore is part of a leading international banking group, with a presence in 52 of the world’s most dynamic markets for more than 160 years and serving clients in a further 83. 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.

The Bank has a history of 164 years in Singapore, where we opened our first branch in 1859. In October 1999, we were among the first international banks to receive a Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) licence, an endorsement of the Group’s long-standing commitment to our business in the country.

Singapore is home to the majority of our global business leadership, our technology operations, as well as SC Ventures, our innovation hub. In 2013, the Bank transferred our Singapore Retail and SME businesses to a locally-incorporated subsidiary, Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited (“SCBSL”). And in May 2019, we fully consolidated our business operations in Singapore through the transfer of our Commercial Banking, Corporate & Institutional Banking and Private Banking businesses to SCBSL. SCBSL is one of the highest-rated banks globally: A1/Stable by Moody’s Investor Services, A/Stable by Standard & Poor’s and A/Stable by Fitch Ratings. In August 2020, we were the first and only bank to be awarded the Significantly Rooted Foreign Bank (“SRFB”) status by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In December 2020, we were granted enhanced SRFB privileges, in recognition of the significantly higher degree of rootedness exceeding the SRFB baseline criteria.

In Singapore, we support both individual and corporate needs to build wealth and drive commerce at every step of their journey. We do this by offering an entire range of financial services across personal, priority and private banking as well as our business, and corporate, commercial & institutional banking teams. The Bank has a network of 10 branches, including 4 Priority Banking centres, 1 International Banking and Priority Private Centre and 21 ATMs.

For more information, please visit www.sc.com/sg.

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