Braze, a customer engagement platform, is calling for diverse talent to apply for a product grant through its newly launched Tech for Black Founders programme.
Offering resources to help Black business founders in tech and support their early growth stage, Braze, which powers interactions between consumers and their chosen brands, will provide a year for its technology for free to the 15 selected recipients.
Braze is a Tech for Black Founders co-founder, which offers Black founders access to technology to help scale their businesses. Since 2020, the network has grown to over 43 partners, including Airtable, AWS, Greenhouse, Notion, and Stripe.
To be eligible, applicants must identify as a Black founder in the US or EMEA and have a bootstrapped business or less than $30M in VC funding and fewer than 100 employees.
Following the selection of 15 business recipients, the programme will offer access to the Braze platform and related education, including a free ‘Growth package’ for 12 months, with onboarding services and over 25 hours of educational content in Braze LABs. Customer Engagement capabilities include unlimited push notifications, webhooks, and in-app/in-browser messaging for up to 250,000 monthly active users. Email costs cover up to 10M emails and two IP addresses.
In 2021, Braze provided grants to 16 Black-founded businesses in the US, including Plain Sight, a social platform that facilitates networking in virtual spaces. Plain Sight was able to leverage Braze’s technology to drive personalised communications, optimise user experiences and increase retention.
Tech for Black Founders was established in June 2020 by tech partners to help Black-owned tech businesses succeed. Today, only 1% of founders backed by venture capital in the US are Black.
Rod McLeod, VP of Social Impact at Braze, said: “By enabling greater access to tech resources, Braze is committed to promoting diverse industry representation and opportunity. We’re proud of how the programme has grown, and we look forward to further expanding our Tech for Black Founders community. As a technology leader, we will remain accountable for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our industry and plan to expand further efforts supporting underserved and underrepresented communities in the year ahead.”
James Chapman, Founder and CEO at Plain Sight, said: “By leveraging Braze technology, we’ve been able to scale personalised engagements and create more curated connections between our users. The Tech for Black Founders programme has provided valuable technology and people resources, and I’ve been impressed by the support of the Braze team welcoming us as a truly integrated and a valued member of their community.”
Eligible Black-led businesses in the US and EMEA can apply to Tech for Black Founders programme now.
