Cohort focuses on start-up and early stage minority businesses across multiple industries
Los Angeles, CA – APR. 6, 2022 – Plug In South LA has launched its third cohort accelerator program to help fund and grow some of the most dynamic start-up and early-stage businesses and business owners in Black and Latinx communities. The accelerator – which will develop the vision of entrepreneurs in healthcare tech, edtech, fintech, cleantech, fashion, media, and gaming – aims to level the playing field and provide these minority-owned businesses with resources that will help narrow the funding gap compared to traditional Silicon Valley access. Over 85 companies applied to the exclusive and prestigious program, and 10 were accepted; more information can be found at https://pluginsouthla.com/tech-accelerator-program/.
The 3rd Plug In accelerator will provide its cohort of entrepreneurs and founders with tools to scale their businesses and position themselves to raise crucial funding. The accelerator also includes a 13-week intensive session to help founders succeed on all aspects of growth, fron deal-making and partnerships to pilot programs, investor management, strategic development, and more. Founders in the cohort already have raised upwards of $1 to 2 million in financing, from seed to early-stage rounds.
The entrepreneurs and tech start-up founders in the 2022 accelerator will include: Dr. NanaEfua Afoh-Manin of Shared Harvest Fund (healthcare tech); Dr. Steven Moyo of Welfie (healthcare tech); Rodney Bell of Butterfly Health (healthcare tech); Kameale Terry of ChargerHelp! (cleantech/sustainability); Ashley Williams of RIZZARR (media); Kyra Peralte of The Traveling Diary (media); Leonard Tatum of Tatum Games (gaming); SergeAmouzou of Finpro (fintech); Zef Neemuchwala of Be A Maker Club (edtech); and Mitchella Gilbert of Oya Apparel (fashion). Mentors in this year’s program include executives from CHCF, Gunderson, California Health Care Foundation, as well as other industry leaders who will be available for consultations and office hours including Courtside Ventures, RareBreed Ventures, and Zeal Capital Partners, among others.
“We are keen to help Founders secure capital and investment plus help them leverage the LA start ecosystem to develop traction and momentum around their company,” notes Derek Smith, Founder of Plug In South LA.
Janet Boachie of the California Health Care Foundation added that “Our partnership taps into two communities critical to CHCF’s strategy: the Los Angeles health tech startup ecosystem and the Angelenos, who are low-income and/or on Medicaid. We aim to empower Black, Latino/x, people-of-color, and female health tech founders who are innovating within the healthcare safety net by creating relationships with potential partners – leading to sustainability, revenue generation, and impact within the communities these founders seek to serve.”
Plug In South LA also created and runs Urban Tech Connect, a prominent annual business conference that equips tech company founders from African American, LatinX, and under-represented communities in Los Angeles and beyond with a platform to plug in to the greater technology ecosystem and to network with other founders, VC’s, angel investors, tech influencers, and industry leaders.
To learn more, please contact Jeannine Jacobi of Fresh PR at 323-903-7063 or jeannine@freshpr.net, or visit https://pluginsouthla.com.