Seedstars and SANAD Launch ‘Elevate Her’ to Boost Women-led Startups in MEA

Seedstars has teamed up with the SANAD Technical Assistance Facility to roll out a new initiative called the ‘Elevate Her’ Programme, and it’s aimed squarely at women-led startups across the Middle East and Africa. I’ve seen plenty of schemes come and go in the region, but this one feels a bit more grounded, especially because it’s not just about training sessions for the sake of it — it’s tied to real investment readiness, actual mentors, and networks founders usually struggle to tap into. And believe it or not, they’re planning to work with 40 startups from places as varied as Algeria, Ghana, Iraq, Lebanon and even Yemen.

Both organisations bring different strengths to the table. Seedstars, which operates in more than 90 emerging markets, has a long history of mixing mentorship with venture building. SANAD’s focus, meanwhile, is all about supporting economic resilience and encouraging inclusion for women and young people in the region. When the two combine forces, you get something that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel but instead addresses a massive funding gap — reportedly around $42 billion for women entrepreneurs. I reckon that figure alone shows why female founders often feel like they’re swimming upstream.

What stood out to me is that ‘Elevate Her’ isn’t only looking at the usual tech categories; it’s prioritising sustainability, fintech and agri‑finance — sectors that have a direct link to job creation and climate resilience. Having spoken over the years with founders in those fields through Arageek’s own startup coverage, I know these are areas where women often have the solutions but not the capital. On the flip side, the daily challenges they face — everything from climate shocks hitting supply chains to limited financing options — make the support even more timely.

The programme promises structured acceleration, one‑to‑one investment-readiness coaching, and connections with global mentors and investors. For many early-stage founders, that’s the kind of access that usually feels like a bit of a faff to secure, especially across borders. Startups from 15 countries will be considered, including Tunisia, Uganda, Rwanda and the Palestinian Territories, which adds a nice regional spread rather than concentrating everything in the usual hubs.

In the bigger picture, women in emerging markets are increasingly building solutions for essential services — energy access, agriculture tech, payments — yet they still don’t attract a proportional share of funding. So a programme blending Seedstars’ experience with SANAD’s development lens might be spot on for helping founders build businesses that can withstand shocks and scale sustainably. And well… I mean, if it nudges more investors to pay attention to female‑led ventures, many of us in the ecosystem would be chuffed to bits.

June’s steep drop in regional fundraising, especially with investors leaning more cautiously toward fintech and B2B models, shows how tough the climate is right now. But initiatives like this offer at least a bit of momentum — the kind that, if founders harness it properly, can turn a small spark into something far more meaningfull.

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