The Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator program will invest $1 million into 10 fast-growing startups from across the country that have been named to the spring and fall cohorts.
The program provides a $100,000 investment into each firm, coaching from Northwestern Mutual executives and mentors, and 12 weeks of programming. The Milwaukee-based financial services company launched the program in partnership with the Wisconsin-based startup accelerator firm gener8tor.
The program is designed to help undercapitalized founders who receive less than 2% of venture capital investment, the Northwestern Mutual program said in a press release.
This is one of many core components to Northwestern Mutual’s Sustained Action for Racial Equity (SARE) initiative, which was created to advance bold, sustainable change that accelerates Northwestern Mutual's commitment to fight racism, prejudice and social injustice with a focus on creating inclusive and thriving communities.
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The program said the 10 selected startups are providing wide-ranging inclusive and innovative solutions for small businesses, bridging wealth and housing gaps, increasing accessibility within the financial planning space and more.
The Black Founder Accelerator received more than 525 applications from across the country for the program. The selected companies were chosen based on their growth potential, investor readiness and strategic alignment with Northwestern Mutual.
"As we witness the remarkable achievements of each cohort, we are reminded that programs like these are essential in fostering a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem," said Abim Kolawole, chief audit executive at Northwestern Mutual and executive sponsor of the company's SARE initiative. "We hope that the success of these founders will inspire future generations of entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams."
Here are the 10 startups in the 2024 spring and fall cohorts:
- Cadence Cash, Raleigh, North Carolina — Founded by CEO Charles Inokon, Cadence Cash offers an AI-driven platform that provides actionable insights, bias-free strategic capital and a virtual assistant who acts as a financial co-pilot for small businesses.
- Cyber Pop-up, Chicago — This startup led by Founder and CEO Christine Izuakor secures small businesses through a managed marketplace powered by vetted cybersecurity experts.
- Leap, Los Angeles — Led by Founder and CEO Ashley Bete, Leap bridges the racial wealth and housing gap by providing access to capital to underserved homeowners through home equity agreements between a homeowner and Leap, in which the homeowner receives an upfront lump sum of liquidity in return for sharing in their home’s appreciation.
- Matrix Rental Solutions, Stamford, Connecticut — This startup founded by CEO Sipho Simela simplifies and accelerates residential leasing by consolidating the entire process into one rental application, one screening and one fee.
- Sandbox, New York City — CEO Ray Denis founded this startup that provides turnkey banking solutions for independent financial advisers that deepen relationships and drive organic growth.
- AssetLink, Houston — AssetLink, founded by CEO Devon Drew, increases connectivity within the wealth management space through a proprietary relationship intelligence platform.
- Bump, Hollywood, California — This startup led by Founder and CEO James Jones provides personalized financial and insurance tools for content creators on YouTube, Snap and Instagram.
- CHIP (Changing How Individuals Prosper), Verona, New Jersey — Founder and CEO Dana Wilson has created a financial services marketplace that unlocks the over $29 trillion in wealth generated by multicultural Americans by making access to financial professionals of color easy.
- CultureLancer, Houston — This startup led by Founder and CEO Brianna Brazle provides solutions for innovative companies looking to source emerging talent from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority-serving institutions through a human-centered talent development and recruitment platform.
- Context Data, New York City — Behind Founder and CEO Jide Ogunjobi, Context Data helps startups and small and medium companies quickly process and transform their data for enterprise AI applications.
