Latina entrepreneurs: Here's a chance to give your nascent business a boost.
Latinas in Tech, a San Francisco nonprofit is holding a competition to find Latina-founded early-stage startups with big growth potential. The winner of the competition will get a $20,000 cash grant. The organization, whose mission is to increase Latina representation in the tech industry, recently extended the deadline to apply from April 1 to this Friday.
"There's a misconception that there's no Latina entrepreneurs," said Paula Jimenez, marketing manager for Latinas in Tech. "We need to put some light on it so the money can follow."
Women of color are severely underrepresented in the tech industry, with only 1% of tech jobs in the U.S. held by Latinas in particular, according to a report released in December by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Meanwhile, startups headed by women and minorities attract less funding on average than startups founded by males or white people, according a report this year from DocSend.
To be eligible for Latinas in Tech's startup competition, a company must have at least least one Latina founder or co-founder and have raised no more than $750,000 in total funding. The founders must have already launched their business and proven that their idea works. The contest is open to startups worldwide.
A panel of judges including venture and angel investors, an executive at Silicon Valley Bank and a tech company leader will evaluate entries, winnowing them down to three finalists. In addition to the $20,000 first-place prize, Latinas in Tech will award $10,000 to the second-place entry and $5,000 to the startup that comes in third.
To apply for the contest, a startup founder or co-founder must submit a video pitch that's no longer than two minutes. The deadline to apply is now 11:59 p.m. Friday. Latinas in Tech will showcase the winning startups at its virtual summit next month.
This is the second year in a row Latinas in Tech has hosted a startup competition. Last year, it received about 300 entries for its contest.
Among the winners of last year's competition was Social Cipher Inc., a developer of games that teach social and emotion skills to autistic and neurodivergent children.
Latina-founded companies tend to focus on more than just making money, aiming also to improve the lives of real people both inside and outside the tech world, said Ana Bretschneider, director of sponsorships and operations at Latinas in Tech.
"These Latinas really care about the social impact of what they're creating," she said. "They always take account of how they can change the world."
