The Maxum Business Incubator at The Innovation Hub, in Pretoria, received 43 submissions from pioneering Gauteng women to be considered for entry into the Femtech Support Programme for Women.
Femtech, a new initiative sponsored by the Embassy of Finland, targets women in hi-tech industries, with the long-term objective to increase the number of women owning and growing technology start-up companies in South Africa.
Dr Jill Sawers, Manager of Entrepreneurship at The Innovation Hub, explains: "There has been limited emphasis on aggressively stimulating the growth of a pipeline of women in technical entrepreneurial fields. Femtech will bring together women with an understanding of business development, and persons from technical backgrounds, to find potential synergies for creating hi-tech businesses."
Short-listed candidates will be announced on 7 March 2009 and invited to attend a two-day 'idea generating workshop' on 16 and 17 March. Candidates will be presented with identified industry problems and encouraged to develop innovative solutions in the areas of national priority such as ICT, alternative energy, security, education, and biotechnology.
The project's core team members are Dr Jill Sawers (The Innovation Hub, South Africa), Tina James (icteum Consulting, South Africa), Claudia Morrell (Multinational Development of Women in Technology, USA), and Julie Kirk (The Professional Development Programme for South African Women in ICT).
"Innovative solutions are required to address national challenges and it is vital to stimulate the development of small, agile, innovative companies. Femtech is specifically designed to provide an opportunity for women to start and sustain hi-tech businesses. The overriding goal is to create a network of potential resource persons providing ongoing mentoring, training, financial resources, and technical partnerships for women entrepreneurs," says Dr Sawers.
Share
Editorial contacts