NEW YORK --(BUSINESS WIRE)

Standard Chartered Americas (the “Bank”) and the Zahn Innovation Center (“Zahn Center”) at City College of New York (“CCNY”) are proud to announce the winner of the 2025 Women in Tech (“WiT”) Incubator Competition - an initiative designed to support and empower women entrepreneurs in the technology sector.

This year’s top honor goes to CareerDay, recognized for their innovative platform that empowers college students to discover and pursue fulfilling career paths through personalized, AI-driven roadmaps and interactive tools designed to maximize their undergraduate experience.

Now in its 11th year, the Women in Tech Incubator continues to be a vital platform for female tech entrepreneurs, providing access to mentorships, resources, and networks that help bring transformative ideas to life.

“At Standard Chartered, we believe that promoting inclusion within teams and businesses helps to drive innovation and deliver excellence,” said Mandy DeFilippo, Chief Executive Officer, US and the Americas at Standard Chartered Bank. “Our partnership with the Zahn Center reflects our shared commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for women in technology. The Women in Tech Incubator is more than a program – it’s a platform for emerging entrepreneurs to access the resources, networks and support they need to develop their businesses and become leaders. We’re proud to support CareerDay as they turn bold ideas into lasting impact.”

As the grand prize winner, CareerDay will receive USD15,000 in seed funding to further develop and optimize their idea. The second-place prize of USD5,000 was awarded to EvalRx, a venture focused on transforming AI in healthcare by delivering unbiased data insights to improve outcomes for all.

“We’re incredibly honored to be recognized as the winner of the Women in Tech Incubator Competition,” said Sheyla Perez of CareerDay. “Winning this prize gives us the momentum to expand CareerDay and support even more students with personalized, AI-driven career roadmaps. The incubator gave us the resources to refine our vision, and now we’re ready to turn that vision into impact at scale.”

“We’re exceptionally proud of the talented entrepreneurs emerging from this year’s Women in Tech Incubator,” said Kesia Hudson, Managing Director of the Zahn Innovation Center at the City College of New York. “Their vision, resilience, and innovation reflect the best of what’s possible when women are empowered to lead in tech. Our partnership with Standard Chartered continues to be a catalyst for change – helping us create a more inclusive and dynamic future for our students and the industry.”

The WiT Incubator is among several programs under the Futuremakers initiative in the Americas. Other programs include partnerships with Bossgirls, Village Capital, Upwardly Global, Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, and Youth Business International. They all aim to empower the next generation by promoting greater economic inclusion.

About the Women in Tech Incubator at the Zahn Innovation Center

Formed in October 2014, the Standard Chartered Women in Tech Incubator program is an initiative that aims to support greater diversity in gender representation within the technology sector. The incubator program is a partnership with the Zahn Innovation Center at the City College of New York that provides support, guidance, and resources that early-stage women-led startups need to grow into successful businesses. This partnership has various levels of engagement and supports entrepreneurship among women across campus through:

  • A mentorship network, including both Bank employees and local leaders in tech and government
  • A Women in Entrepreneurship themed speaker series
  • A newly renovated space housing the ‘Standard Chartered Technology Incubator for Women Entrepreneurs’ Resource Center
  • Entrepreneurship courses and material to address entrepreneurship challenges

About The City College of New York

Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.

About Standard Chartered

We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 52 of the world’s most dynamic markets. 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.

Our history in the US dates back to 1902, and we are currently present in nine locations throughout the Americas. Our Americas franchise focuses on financial institutions and select corporations and plays a key role in facilitating trade and investment flows between the Americas and Asia, Africa, the UK and Europe and the Middle East.

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

About Futuremakers by Standard Chartered

Futuremakers by Standard Chartered (Futuremakers) is Standard Chartered Bank’s global youth economic empowerment initiative to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion in the Group’s markets. Futuremakers supports disadvantaged young people, especially women and people with disabilities, to learn, earn, and grow. By 2030, Futuremakers aims to create and sustain 140,000 jobs by enabling young entrepreneurs and job-seekers to achieve economic power and participation.

Media Contacts:
Sammi He
Standard Chartered Americas
[email protected]

Jay Mwamba
The City College of New York
[email protected]

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