Google for Startups has awarded 30 Black founders from the UK and Europe to receive cash funding of up to $100k (more than £70k) from its Black Founders Fund – a $2 million initiative to provide funds for Black-led startups.
The 30 startups – chosen from the U.K., France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands – were selected for their inspiring, fast-growing startups, which addresses global challenges like access to healthcare, financial inclusion, energy and education, hardware design, advertising, data and risk management.
Of those awarded, 40% of the startups are led by women.
The winning 30 Black-led startups will be receiving up to $100,000 in equity-free cash, paired with up to $220,000 per startup in Google Ad Grants and Cloud credits and support from experienced Startup Partner Managers at Google.
Meet some of the 30 Black founders:
(Left Image) France – Bruno Mendes Da Silva, founder, Heex. Heex Technologies provides AI-powered software and web services to development teams in data intensive fields such as autonomous driving. (Right Image) Germany – Deborah Choi, founder, Bosque. Bosque is the first tech-enabled, direct-to-consumer plant brand in Europe with digitised inventory. AR tech and on-demand access to vetted plant experts. Image Copyright – Google.Netherlands – Michael Musandu, founder, Lalaland. Lalaland uses AI to create synthetic humans for fashion eCommerce brands to increase diversity in retail. Image Copyright – Google.
UK – Nnamdi Emelifeonwu, founder, Define. Define is a legal technology company that optimises the contract drafting and reviewing process for lawyers, serving the world’s largest banks and consulting companies. Image Copyright – Google.
Belgium – Nancy de Fays, founder, LINE. LINE builds powerful hardware and software tools for content creators. Image Copyright – Google.
Austria – Tolulope Ogunsina, founder, Playbrush. Playbrush is the innovation leader in oral care, growing smart toothbrush subscriptions to foster better mouth and body health. Image Copyright – Google.
UK – Christian Facey and Wilfrid Obeng, founders, AudioMob. AudioMob provides non-intrusive audio ads within mobile games. Image Copyright – Google.
Check here for the full list of the selected 30 startups.
The business secretary Sajid Ravid has launched a new £57.5m funding to help UK businesses find new ways of tackling climate change and cancer. The funding competition is jointly organised by Innovate UK, the Medical Research Council, Scottish Enterprise and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It aims to develop new sustainable energy and transport solutions, new healthcare […]
Virgin StartUp and intu are on the hunt to find the UK’s top food and drink businesses in a nationwide competition – Foodpreneur 2017. The Virgin StartUp ‘Foodpreneur‘ competition is in partnership with intu – a Shopping centre owner – and it aims to highlight and celebrate Britain’s best food and drink startups. Past winners, […]
The BBC Dragons’ Den is calling for budding entrepreneurs looking for investment to appear on its next business pitching reality TV show. Dragons’ Den is back in production for its 16th series and on the hunt for investment-ready business ideas, inventions or products. The show, which gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business ideas […]