December 05, 2022... Thirteen Black tech startups selected from the 1000 Black Voices (UK) Accelerator arrived New York to take part in a Trade Mission, supported by the British Consulate General, New York.
The Trade Mission aims to tackle a thorny issue - the fact that the amount of Venture Capital (VC) funding available to startups founded by people of colour and women is negligible - and is therefore set up to give founders access to a hand-holding process that offers access to capital and scale, including business expansion into the United States.
Says Elizabeth Shaw (Founder, 1000 Black Voices): "The 1000 Black Voices Accelerator programme , with this added element of the trade mission, brings our commitment to Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to fruition".
“The founders will hugely benefit from the trade mission experience, including opportunities and connections provided by the British Consulate. This is another key component needed to resolve tech’s diversity issue directly and provide Black founders with all the support required to overcome hurdles".
Day 1 partners to the Trade Mission included Silicon Valley Bank, and Davis Wright Tremaine (DWT)
Meet-and-Greet at the British Consulate General, New York
At Silicon Valley Bank
VC-backed startups and the challenges they face
Investor and financing insights
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) - an American commercial bank on the list of largest banks in the United States - has guided many leading innovator-founders through the ups and downs of growing a business, in order to achieve their financial goals. Both Vanessa Kuhlor (Senior Associate on SVB's Startup Banking Team) and tech inclusion afficionado, Timi Dayo-Kayode (Founder, Kinfolq), shared crucial resources with the 1000 Black Voices founders for growing to their ultimate potential.
At Davis Wright Tremaine (DWT)
DWT (providers of a wide range of sophisticated legal services to industry and market leaders) played host to 1000 Black Voices founders, and provided the platform for a spectacular fireside chat between the startups, Justin Kang of Visible Hands (venture capitalists), and Evelysse Vargas of Zeal Capital Partners. Visible Hands helps early-stage, overlooked startups unlock their next level of growth during the earliest days of company building.
The businesses selected for the Trade Mission to New York include:
Cosmetrics AI: founded by Ovi Kedo. Cosmetrics AI solves hair problems for frustrated consumers using advanced Ai technology to make product recommendations.
Deep Loop: Founded by Sade Amale and Akin Akinwale. Deep Loop is an AI-powered market research platform delivering actionable insights to help brands understand consumers better.
Dropalo: founded by Jhannon Fanus. Dropalo is a multipurpose, location-based, time-restricted messaging platform designed to connect you with whom and what is around you.
E-DocOnline: Founded by Adam Bisi and Tunde Ogundipe. E-DocOnline is a financial data analytics company that securely provides a user-friendly, structured and analytical report of financial history to decision-makers.
Eganow: Founded by Louis Amenyo Adanuty and Michael Seade. Eganow promotes financial inclusion by providing consumers with access to financial services on their mobile phones.
Happaning: Founded by Ando Eniwumide, Ese Eniwumide and Colin Agbabiaka. Happaning is a platform that lets you watch an event from any perspective, at any time and from anywhere in one immersive navigable experience. Think Google street view, but with video.
Ohealth Company: Founded by Temitope Farombi. Ohealth is a telehealth platform increasing access to quality healthcare.
Opto Health: Founded by Warsame Nur. Opto is an intelligent new solution for emergency departments that triages patients to the appropriate care in the most efficient way.
PayInc: Founded by Jones Amegbor. PayInc is an international remittance and cross-border payments company.
Pryntd: Founded by Berne Omolafe. Pryntd is a web-3 platform that transforms real-world 2D content and live-streams into immersive experiences for content creators and audiences.
Slinger Staff: Founded by Theo Houston. Slinger is the platform that enables gig and frontline workers to find work, progression opportunities and community.
Sorair Technologies: Founded by Kunmi Oludoyi and Adebayo Popoola. Sorair is a distribution-as-a-service model, providing all the infrastructure needed for distribution helping companies build their own logistics systems.
Tech1M: founded by Tommie Edwards. Tech1M is a talent acquisition platform for sourcing, hiring, paying and managing global talent.
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