Manama, Bahrain – Standard Chartered, in partnership with Bahrain FinTech Bay, has announced the selection of ten promising female-led startups for the sixth cohort of the Futuremakers Women in Tech Bahrain programme. This initiative acts as a launchpad for women entrepreneurs driving innovation and impact across key sectors within the Kingdom.
The programme is part of Standard Chartered’s global Futuremakers Women in Tech Initiative and enjoys support from strategic partners including Tamkeen, the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), United Nations Industrial Development Organization Investment and Technology Promotion Office (UNIDO ITPO Bahrain), and Innovate for Bahrain. Its goal is to equip Bahraini women with the tools, networks, and knowledge necessary to accelerate their ventures and contribute to building a more inclusive technology ecosystem.
Following a rigorous application and evaluation process, ten founders were selected based on the strength of their ideas, potential market traction, and alignment with innovation and technology enablement objectives. The selection event was held at Innovate for Bahrain, attended by prominent figures including Afnan Al Zayani, Member of the Supreme Council for Women; Bader Sater, CEO of Bahrain FinTech Bay; Noora Al Nusuf, Head of Corporate Affairs and Brand & Marketing for Bahrain, Iraq, and Qatar at Standard Chartered; Faisal Alahmed from Tamkeen; and Ameer Hassan Abubakr from UNIDO ITPO Bahrain.
The selected startups cover a broad range of industries, such as agritech, information technology, e-learning, fintech, marketing automation, and healthtech. The ten chosen startups are: Tamam Technology (Information Technology), Engine (FinTech), TellSaleem (HealthTech), Wajba (Marketplace, Food & Beverage), Nabni (Architecture, Real Estate, Industrial Engineering), AGRI AI (AgriTech), Voxa (Remote Education, Learning, Training), Sadeed Technology (Retail Technology, SaaS), Goodies (Food & Beverage Marketplace), and Planway (Event Management).
Over the next eight weeks, these female entrepreneurs will participate in a curated acceleration journey featuring expert-led workshops, personalized mentorship, and pitch development sessions. The programme also fosters connections with ecosystem leaders and alumni to build a supportive and collaborative network.
The programme will culminate in a Demo Day, where participants pitch their ventures to a judging panel. Three winners will be awarded financial prizes and receive three months’ access to co-working spaces.
The Futuremakers Women in Tech programme underscores Standard Chartered’s ongoing commitment to unlocking the potential of Bahraini women in technology. Since its launch in 2020, the initiative has supported over 51 female founders and distributed more than $310,000 in funding.
