Two Houston startups selected for inaugural AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders

Two early-stage companies from Houston were selected for Amazon.com Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AMZN) inaugural AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders.

Of the 25 participants selected for the eight-week accelerator June 8, three hail from the Lone Star State: Church Space and Heroshe in Houston and Moyae in Austin.

Amazon Web Services has committed $30 million over three years to create the AWS Impact Accelerator programs for diverse founders who have experienced difficulties in accessing growth capital, networking and mentoring opportunities, skills training and more. The programs are designed for startups with Black, Latino, women and LGBTQ founders.

Each startup selected to the accelerator programs will receive up to $225,000 in cash, credits, training, mentoring and technical guidance, AWS said. The programs will also include introductions and networking opportunities with Amazon leaders, investors and advisers.

Here's a look at the Texas participants:

Church Space — Houston

Church Space is a local startup aimed at helping churches rent out their unused space to smaller ministries, small businesses, commercial and ghost kitchens, and other short- and longer-term renters. Church Space founder and CEO Day Edwards told Houston Inno last year the platform employs a similar business model to Airbnb and coworking spaces. She said renters using the Church Space platform typically book space for between three and six months. Church Space COO Emmanuel Brown said the platform also helps churches remain in compliance with 501(c)(3) tax exemption requirements.

Heroshe — Houston

Founded in 2019, Heroshe is a global e-commerce and enablement company for buyers and sellers doing business between the U.S. and Nigeria. Users are able to track their shipments from the U.S. until they arrive in Nigeria and can pay to have shipments delivered across the country. The platform also aims to enable social sellers in Africa to better grow their businesses across borders.

Moyae — Austin

Moyae is developing a software suite built for ophthalmologists and optometrists to create and manage compliant records, patient relationships and billing.

The other companies participating in the program are:

In July, the inaugural AWS Impact Accelerator for Women Founders will start accepting applications from early-stage founders. The AWS Impact Accelerator for LGBTQIA+ Founders and AWS Impact Accelerator for Latino Founders programs are slated for 2023.