1000 Black Voices has selected thirteen Black start-ups from its accelerator programme to participate at the Trade Mission in December, in partnership with the British Consulate, New York.

1000 Black Voices, a business that aims to facilitate accountability, action and positive change for the eradication of racism, is the first Black-founded company the British Consulate is partnering with on a Trade Mission demonstrating its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Diversity and inclusion in the tech sector has made progress in recent years. However, there is still a very long way to go. The amount of VC funding allocated to start-ups founded by people of colour and women is minimal. This shows that companies and the tech sector as a whole are moving too slowly towards building diverse workplaces. 

The Trade Mission aims to tackle the issue and give the selected founders access to a step-by-step process on how to accelerate their business expansion into the US, as well as offer access to capital and scale. The entrepreneurs will also gain expert advice from industry-leading founders, investors, and tech executives on how to scale businesses successfully in the US and globally. Additionally, the founders can reap the benefits of networking opportunities and build lasting connections through small group sessions, events and 1-2-1 meetings in NYC to develop relationships with key members of the investor community.

Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, the founder of 1000 Black Voices, said: “We are delighted to announce the founders participating in the trade mission to New York. 1000 Black Voices is committed to bringing a first-hand understanding of Black struggles and a positive, practical approach to overcoming them in today’s world, and our accelerator programme, with this added element of the trade mission, brings our commitment to fruition.

“The founders will hugely benefit from the trade mission experience, including opportunities and connections provided by the British Consulate. This is another key component needed to resolve tech’s diversity issue directly and provide Black founders with all the support required to overcome hurdles. 

Emma Wade-Smith, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner to North America and Consul General New York at the British Consulate, New York, said: “We are so pleased to partner with 1000 Black Voices on this trade mission. At the British Consulate, we are passionate about and committed to promoting social inclusion and racial equity in all of our work, including in the technology sector.

“Giving the founders on the mission access to knowledge on how to expand into the US market as well as providing them with the connections to do so, is a crucial step towards increasing diversity in the tech sector.”

The businesses selected for the Trade Mission in New York include:

Cosmetrics AI: founded by Ovi Kedo. Cosmetrics AI solves hair problems for frustrated consumers using advanced Ai technology to make product recommendations.

Deep Loop: Founded by Sade Amale and Akin Akinwale. Deep Loop is an AI-powered market research platform delivering actionable insights to help brands understand consumers better. 

Dropalo: founded by Jhannon Fanus. Dropalo is a multipurpose, location-based, time-restricted messaging platform designed to connect you with whom and what is around you.

E-DocOnline: Founded by Adam Bisi and Tunde Ogundipe. E-DocOnline is a financial data analytics company that securely provides a user-friendly, structured and analytical report of financial history to decision-makers.

Eganow: Founded by Louis Amenyo Adanuty and Michael Seade. Eganow promotes financial inclusion by providing consumers with access to financial services on their mobile phones.

Pryntd: Founded by Berne Omolafe. Pryntd is a web-3 platform that transforms real-world 2D content and live-streams into immersive experiences for content creators and audiences. 

Happaning: Founded by Ando Eniwumide, Ese Eniwumide and Colin Agbabiaka. Happaning is a platform that lets you watch an event from any perspective, at any time and from anywhere in one immersive navigable experience. Think Google street view, but with video.

Ohealth Company: Founded by Temitope Farombi. Ohealth is a telehealth platform increasing access to quality healthcare.

Opto Health: Founded by Warsame Nur. Opto is an intelligent new solution for emergency departments that triages patients to the appropriate care in the most efficient way.

PayInc: Founded by Jones Amegbor. PayInc is an international remittance and cross-border payments company.

Slinger Staff: Founded by Theo Houston. Slinger is the platform that enables gig and frontline workers to find work, progression opportunities and community.

Sorair Technologies: Founded by Kunmi Oludoyi and Adebayo Popoola. Sorair is a distribution-as-a-service model, providing all the infrastructure needed for distribution helping companies build their own logistics systems.

Tech1M: founded by Tommie Edwards. Tech1M is a talent acquisition platform for sourcing, hiring, paying and managing global talent.

You can find more about the trade mission on 1000 Black Voices’ website here.