Village Capital, in collaboration with Standard Chartered US, has announced that Giving Credit and Imera were selected by their peers to receive USD 25,000 in grants as part of the US Women in Tech Accelerator program. This initiative underscores a shared commitment to expanding access to opportunity for women entrepreneurs.
The program convened ten women-founded startups focused on developing solutions to enhance economic mobility and equitable access to essential services for women, families, and historically underserved communities across the United States. Participants received hands-on support aimed at scaling their businesses, increasing their impact, and fostering inclusive job creation within their communities.
Ashley Sherwin, Co-Founder of Giving Credit, commented on the program’s unique structure, stating, “What made this experience truly unique wasn’t just connecting with other female entrepreneurs and learning about their companies – it was learning to think like an investor as we assessed one another. I’m humbled and honored that this incredible group of women sees Giving Credit as an investable company.” The ten participating startups evaluated each other using Village Capital’s methodology, which employs eight specific investment categories to gauge progress, potential, and vision for impact. This peer-assessment approach has historically demonstrated effectiveness in unlocking capital for a broader range of entrepreneurs and predicting future performance more accurately than conventional impact investment funds.
Mandy DeFilippo, CEO of Standard Chartered US and Americas, congratulated the grant recipients, saying, “At Standard Chartered, we believe inclusion is a catalyst for innovation and sustainable growth, and a key source of long-term competitive differentiation. Our partnership with Village Capital and its commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs reflects our shared commitment to expanding access to opportunity. This initiative aligns with our broader efforts to lift participation in the economies we serve by supporting inclusive innovation and helping to close capital gaps. Together, we’re backing founders who are driving real-world impact and shaping a more equitable and resilient future.”
Giving Credit, based in Malden, Massachusetts, facilitates peer-lending transactions, enabling lending and borrowing among friends and family through social networks to broaden access to mainstream credit. Imera, located in New York, New York, provides an AI-driven platform for immigrants in the US, offering personalized guidance and streamlined access to essential services such as banking, housing, legal, and healthcare.
The US Women in Tech Accelerator is one of several initiatives under Standard Chartered’s Futuremakers program in the Americas. Other programs include partnerships with Upwardly Global, Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA), and Youth Business International. To date, Futuremakers programs in the Americas have supported over 2,500 individuals through skills development, entrepreneurship, and employability training.
Village Capital, established in 2009, focuses on supporting founders who address social, economic, and environmental challenges by providing early-stage startups with social and financial capital. The organization has supported close to 1,800 startups that have collectively raised over USD 5 billion in investment capital. Village Capital has made more than 150 investments through its affiliated funds, with Vilcap Investments alone investing in 110 peer-selected companies. Its web app, Abaca, serves over 36,000 members, providing tools for entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs), and capital providers. Standard Chartered is an international banking group operating in 53 markets, with a history in the US dating back to 1902. Its Americas franchise focuses on financial institutions and corporations, facilitating trade and investment flows between the Americas and regions in Asia, Africa, the UK, Europe, and the Middle East. Futuremakers by Standard Chartered is a global youth economic empowerment initiative designed to tackle inequality and promote economic inclusion, particularly for disadvantaged young people, women, and individuals with disabilities. Its goal is to create and sustain 140,000 jobs by 2030 through entrepreneurship and job-seeking support.
