Applications for the LatinTech Accelerator, a new initiative for Latino or Latina founders to build and retain ownership of startups, opened Wednesday, kicking off the Tampa Bay tech scene’s drive to support Florida’s Latinx founders.
It’s a first for the program, which has been in the works since 2020, and a milestone for the collaborative project from the Tampa Bay Wave and Tampa Bay Latin Chamber of Commerce. It’s one of the few of its kind in Florida.
There is a disparity in the funding Latinx founders have raised from venture investments and early-stage businesses. Just 2.1% of U.S. startups with a Latino founder won funding from venture capital firms in 2021, according to data from Crunchbase. It’s especially pertinent considering Tampa’s — and Florida’s overall — large Latin population, Linda Olson, the CEO and founder of Tampa Bay Wave, told Tampa Bay Inno.
“If you’re a Latin founder in Florida, your chances of raising capital are just embarrassingly small. And we think we can do something to fix that. Something meaningful,” Olson said.
Florida is a wealthy state, but it only pulls in a small percent of the nation’s venture capital, according to Crunchbase. Supporting founders with bright ideas is a way to both build up Latinx founders and improve the entrepreneurial environment here, Olson said.
“As we continue to grow the tech ecosystem here, people are becoming more and more aware of why tech ecosystems are so hard to build, why they’re so hard,” Olson said. “You want a thriving tech community here, but you can’t just wish it into existence.”
The project comes after a $500,000 federal grant was announced by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, who supported the project.
Cesar Hernandez, managing director of Omni Public and Tampa Bay Latin Chamber of Commerce, described it as a catalyst for the ecosystem that promotes diversity from inception.
The program seeks Latin founders from Tampa but may also network outside of Florida and potentially internationally. Accepted companies will participate in Tampa Bay Wave’s accelerator curriculum for zero equity. They will learn to prepare for investor meetings and strategize as a company. It also gives participants access to a network of mentors, investors, alumni and community partners.
Eventually, founders will present their innovations to the available network at an event named Pitch Night. The program seeks startups from diverse sectors, such as fintech, health tech and edtech.
“We want to support growing Tampa Bay’s tech ecosystem to be a place where these types of innovation, innovative ideas, have an opportunity to come to life and also hopefully grow into big scalable companies that can have an economic impact on our region, too,” Olson said.
