Google unveiled the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund last October, a $2 million initiative that will grant cash prizes of up to $100,000 to Black-led startups in Europe.
These are non-dilutive awards, which means entrepreneurs won’t have to give up any equity in exchange for the money, and they come with up to $120,000 in Ads Grant and $100,000 in Cloud credits per startup.
The founders will be introduced to one another as well as a larger network of leaders in the areas of leadership, growth, technical assistance, and access to the Google for Startups body of knowledge, mentors, and best practices.
Google received over 800 applications from 18 European nations for the fund.
Whether they are serial or first-time founders, Google interviewed around 100 entrepreneurs for the fund to learn about their businesses, their objectives, and their lived experience as leaders.
The Black Founders Fund has announced the 30 firms from the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands that have been selected to receive grants.
In the most competitive industries, from hardware design and advertising to data and risk management, their inspiring, fast-growing entrepreneurs address global concerns including access to healthcare, financial inclusion, energy, and education.
They represent more than just ethnic diversity, 40 percent of the startups we chose are led by women.
Meet the founders
RACHAEL CORSON & JOYCELYN NEVE – United Kingdom
Afrocenchix: formulate, manufacture, and sell safe, effective products for afro and curly hair.
CHRISTIAN FACEY & WILFRID OBENG –United Kingdom
AudioMob: provides non-intrusive audio ads within mobile games.
FAVOUR MANDANJI NYIKOSA –United Kingdom
Augmize: builds risk models for property and casualty insurers using interpretable machine learning.
NICHOLAS KELLY – United Kingdom
Axela Innovation: created a smart platform that joins up care services and puts the person receiving care at the center of the process.
DEBORAH CHOI –Germany
Bosque: is the first tech-enabled, direct-to-consumer plant brand in Europe with digitized inventory, AR tech, and on-demand access to vetted plant experts.
TOMIDE ADESANMI –United Kingdom
Circuit Mind Limited: is building intelligent software that fully automates the design of electronic circuit systems.
MARIE ASSE – France
Clustdoc: is client onboarding automation software used by organizations and teams around the world.
TAI ALEGBE –United Kingdom
Contingent: is an AI platform that proactively predicts, monitors, and manages supplier risk.
NNAMDI EMELIFEONWU – United Kingdom
Define: is a legal technology company that optimizes the contract drafting and reviewing process for lawyers, serving the world’s largest banks and consulting companies.
DANIELLE LAWRENCE –United Kingdom
Freyda: is digitizing the asset management industry by helping funds and service providers to become hyper-efficient in how they approach their data capture from documents.
BRUNO MENDES DA SILVA –France
Heex Technologies: provides AI-powered software and web services to development teams in data-intensive fields such as autonomous driving.
KENNY ALEGBE –United Kingdom
HomeHero: is an operating system for the house, making running a home simple and easy.
SAIT CHAM –United Kingdom
Hutch Logistics: is a fulfilment and operating system for e-commerce brands.
KEANO CHANG – United Kingdom
iknowa: is an end-to-end building and renovation platform for property owners and tradespeople.
ERIKA BRODNOCK –United Kingdom
Kami: empowers parents during family planning, pregnancy and childhood, allowing them to adapt and thrive through even the most difficult transitions.
CYNTHIA WANDIA –Germany
Kwara: makes building wealth together frictionless, by turning analog credit unions in emerging markets into modern digital banks.
MICHAEL MUSANDU – Netherlands
Lalaland: uses AI to create synthetic humans for fashion eCommerce brands to increase diversity in retail.
NANCY DE FAYS – Belgium
LINE: builds powerful hardware and software tools for content creators.
ELIZABETH NYEKO –United Kingdom
Modularity Grid: is an AI platform that makes energy systems more efficient and resilient.
CHARLES SEKWALOR & OYIN SOLEBO –United Kingdom
Movemeback: (often referred to as “the Linkedin of Africa”) is a global social professional platform, connecting people to opportunities, insights, and people they don’t have access to.
TOLULOPE OGUNSINA – Austria
Playbrush: is the innovation leader in oral care, growing smart toothbrush subscriptions to foster better mouth and body health.
BEN CAMARA – United Kingdom
Remote Coach: is a platform providing technology for personal trainers and fitness influencers to digitize and grow their businesses.
RICHARD ROBINSON – United Kingdom
Robin AI: I uses a combination of human and artificial intelligence to read and edit contracts.
ISMAIL JEILANI –United Kingdom
Scoodle: is a platform for education influencers. Everyone has something they want to learn and something they can teach—we bring both sides together.
IVAN BECKLEY – United Kingdom
Suvera: delivers a virtual care clinic for patients with long-term conditions in the UK.
CHANTELLE BELL –United Kingdom
Syrona Health: is a digital health Company providing tracking, treatment, and management solutions for people with chronic gynecological conditions.
JACK-HERMANN NTOKO –France
Tradein: is a real-time scoring and prediction of business payment behavior and solvency.
CLIFFORD ONDARA – Germany
Vanilla Steel: offers a digital auctions platform for excess steel that provides sellers a simple inventory management process for excess material.
ANTHEA STEPHENSON & JAMES BHARDWAJ – United Kingdom
Wild Radish: enables people who love food and cooking to engage in Michelin-quality, unique, cooking and dining experiences at home.
STEPHANIE NENTA – France
Xtramile: is a data-driven platform that delivers the right job to the right candidate anywhere online.
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