Morgan Stanley has picked 10 technology startups to take part in its accelerator programme for firms who have multicultural or women leaders.
The third cohort of the Multicultural Innovation Lab includes firms from the fintech, health, software development, legal, HR, fashion and education sectors, who beat out competition from more than 300 applicants.
The Lab will make investments in all the companies, which are in the post-seed to Series B funding round stages and either have a woman or multicultural founder or C-suite member.
The startups will work from Morgan Stanley's global headquarters in Times Square, supported by a dedicated team, for six months. At the end of this, they will take part in a demo day for potential investors.
Morgan Stanley says the programme is designed to create positive economic outcomes for entrepreneurs of colour and women by providing content, visibility, technical support and connectivity with important stakeholders
“There is a compelling business case for investing in startups led by women and multicultural founders, yet, as found in our recent report, there is a large market inefficiency to accelerate businesses led by these founders,” says Alice Vilma, co-head of the lab Lab. “We are working to directly address this funding gap, one cohort at a time.”