A new accelerator centered around health care and technology is coming to Birmingham.
Prosper, a coalition of community, civic and business leaders committed creating a more vibrant and racially inclusive economy that aims to invest in Birmingham’s Black community and the women of Birmingham, has crafted the Prosper HealthTech Accelerator. Leaders plan for the accelerator to connect cutting-edge health technology startups to the coaching, capital and connections they need to build and grow their businesses.
The Prosper HealthTech Accelerator is launching in partnership with gener8tor, a nationally ranked startup accelerator and venture fund. The accelerator will invest in startups selected for the program through a fund managed by Redhawk Advisory.
“At Prosper, we think the Birmingham region can be world class in HealthTech and create the companies, products and talent that will work with our communities to solve our most urgent health challenges,” said J.W. Carpenter, president of Prosper. “Prosper’s HealthTech Accelerator will build off the strengths of an ecosystem that includes UAB, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Therapy Brands and Pack Health along with a burgeoning startup scene. We believe this ecosystem will provide our diverse group of companies the opportunities for funding, mentoring and networking necessary to grow — and add even more vitality to an already thriving space. We have alignment with top leaders from across sectors who believe this accelerator is a key step in evolving Birmingham into a world-class health-tech ecosystem.”
The accelerator will accept applications from across the country, and with the selected startups will need to be located in Birmingham. The accelerator is a 12-week program that will run up to two cohorts of five companies each year. Participating companies will receive an investment, office space and other perks.
“Birmingham has built a wide and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem filled with organizations ready to connect and support founders in the heath-tech space," said Mickey Millsap, co-founder and partner at Redhawk Advisory. “We are excited to recruit and support founders and companies that are looking to take the next step in their startup journey.”
The first cohort will begin recruiting in fall 2021 with the program kicking off in early 2022.
