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Introducing Our Winter 2022 Founders Programme Cohort
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We are extremely excited to have launched our winter cohort of the Pre-Accelerator Founders programme!
Out of 100+ applications, 10 entrepreneurs have been carefully selected to be part of our programme where we take their businesses from ‘idea’ to ‘investor’ ready. At Black Valley, we are creating a unique ecosystem of Black founders and allies, where we all can grow and together reduce barriers to funding for black entrepreneurs so we can build the next black-founded unicorn. You don’t want to miss this!
About the programme:
The UK startup ecosystem is failing Black entrepreneurs with innovative ideas!
The ethnicity of an entrepreneur and of a founding team affects access to venture capital in the UK, with Black founders receiving just a 0.24% and Black female founders receiving 0.02% of the total venture capital invested over the past 10 years {Source: Extended Ventures, diversity beyond gender report}.
Black Valley addresses these issues through our Founders Programme. By backing and supporting exceptional Black founders through our 8-week programme, we are delivering on our goal of ensuring the future of tech is an inclusive one for Black people.
How we do it:
In order to support Black founders, we coordinate the following:
- Weekly 1:1 mentoring sessions
- Weekly workshops on themes like ideation, product/solution-fit, marketing, funding etc.
- Bi-weekly fire chats with founders and industry experts
Join the waitlist for next cohorts here!
The Founders:
Introducing the founders!
- Michael Jemilua, building Nvois: an all in one business solution for creative sole traders
- Sade Amale and team (Ake & Rico), building Physalis: a video-first market research platform
- Emmanuel Akeju and team (Busayo, Elizabeth and John), building Loopify media: a media-tech company that creates immersive-audio visual content
- Ricardo Johnson, building Sucasa: A platform that enables landlords to safely self manage their complete rental portfolio from one mobile application
- Hawa Mansaray, building Rent Equipment Now (R.E.N): a peer-2-peer technology equipment rental platform
- Monique Anderson, building IT'S RATED BY: a platform and fulfillment service that enables creators and influencers to launch and grow their own subscription box business
- Omolara Dare, building Herocare: ‘Uber’ for Caregivers; help hospitals, clinics, care homes and at-home patients source and book vetted Caregivers
- Amina Aweis, building ''Recipe Mate’: an online platform that connects blind and deaf users with accessible food recipes, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to cook independently
- Malone Mukwende Founder Black and Brown skin, building Hutano: a platform that provides education, social support and clinical help for people living with skin conditions
- Gabriel Meidt and team (Junior and Ardie-Armell), building Talentbookr: an online booking platform for live entertainers
Demo Day
In April this year, we will be hosting our Demo Day event! We will be inviting the founders who will have the opportunity to pitch in front of a panel of investors. There will also be a chance to network, with the hope of granting opportunities for the founders to kickstart the growth of their businesses.
Are you an investor that’s interested in learning more about our founders? Sign up here and we’ll keep in touch with you!
