Morgan Stanley Selects 8 Startups for 6th Cohort of Multicultural Innovation Lab Supporting Diverse Founders – FinTech Futures
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Morgan Stanley today announced the sixth cohort of the Multicultural Innovation Lab, an accelerator program for technology and technology-enabled startups in the post‐seed to Series B funding rounds. The program, now in its fifth year and with 51 total participating companies to date, targets startups with a multicultural or woman founder, co‐founder, CTO or other C-suite member that is developing innovative solutions across sectors. Through the Lab, Morgan Stanley makes investments in these early stage, high-growth companies and will support each founder’s growth and development through its ecosystem of internal and external partners.
“Welcoming another cohort to our growing portfolio of companies is another step forward in the effort to close the funding gap for diverse founders that exists in the marketplace today,” said Carla Harris, Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley and Co-Head of the Multicultural Client Strategy Group. “I am excited to hit the ground running to work with these talented founders, having witnessed first-hand the tremendous success of the program in bringing these businesses to scale.”
The companies participating in the program began on August 16 and are operating in a hybrid environment, using online video platforms to facilitate the Lab curriculum and convening in-person to foster community. The entrepreneurs receive support from a dedicated Morgan Stanley team delivering tailored experiences to help each company grow. The program will run through January 2022, culminating in the sixth Multicultural Innovation Lab Showcase and Demo Day that will present the companies to potential investors.
The Lab has had four successful years with six cohorts and continues to expand in the fifth year with the goal of increasing access to capital for diverse entrepreneurs, which has proven successful as evidenced by resulting company acquisitions and additional funding rounds following participation in the program. Some notable examples include:
“We look forward to welcoming our next cohort of founders to provide the tools, resources and connections they need to grow and scale their sector-disrupting businesses,” said Alice Vilma, Managing Director and Co-Head of the Multicultural Innovation Lab. “Highlighting these great companies with diverse founders and leveraging our expansive and global networks and resources will hopefully widen their universe and attract the capital needed to scale”
The companies that have been selected for the Summer 2021 cohort include the following:
The Lab has launched a series of MCIL portfolio company profiles in partnership with The Plug to raise their visibility and drive attention to the market inefficiency when it comes to funding women and multicultural founders.
About the Multicultural Innovation Lab
The Multicultural Innovation Lab (MCIL) is an intensive five-month accelerator designed to help further develop and scale startups, culminating in a Demo Day and showcase presentation to the investor community. Morgan Stanley launched the MCIL in 2017 in order to address inequities in funding of multicultural and women-led startups, which our research shows equals over four trillion dollars in unrealized returns. The team is led by Morgan Stanley Vice Chairman and Managing Director Carla Harris and Managing Director Alice Vilma. Together, they have had over 50 years of equity syndicate, investment banking, capital markets and structured finance experience. The Multicultural Innovation Lab, part of our Multicultural Client Strategy Group, was launched to promote financial inclusion and decrease the funding gap for diverse entrepreneurs.
Listen to the Access & Opportunity with Carla Harris podcast on your platform of choice to learn about the players driving change among diverse entrepreneurs, the Investor community, and the world.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit https://www.morganstanley.com/.