Funding London and Mountside Ventures launch their fourth accelerator cohort to support underrepresented founders to receive funding
Share
The Mayor of London is supporting the Investment Readiness Programme with £1 million of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to enable underrepresented founders to raise finance for their business.
The joint venture between Mountside Ventures and Funding London is helping to bridge the funding gap for London’s SME to enable underrepresented founders to raise equity or debt finance. To date, 87 SME’s have benefitted from the accelerator programme raising over £2 million in finance.
In 2023, 87% of all VC funding in Europe was still raised by all-male founding teams, while the proportion of funding raised by female founders has dropped from 3% to 1% since 2018, according to Atomico’s 2023 State of European Tech report. Looking at black founders in the last decade, Extend Ventures found that only 0.24% of funding made its way to that community. The Investment Readiness programmes aim to help bridge this gap.
Following the success of previous programmes, Mountside Ventures and Funding London kicked off their fourth cohort on September 13th. The programme consists of five weekly interactive workshops delivered by Mountside Ventures and top investors. These will cover topics such as funding options, presenting your value proposition, go-to-market strategy, building an efficient fundraising process, the journey to obtaining a term sheet and how to negotiate the best terms for the company.
Beyond the workshops, the startups will have access to ten hours of tailored 1-on-1 sessions, pitch practices, investor mentoring, and a range of templates and resources.
Overall, the programme will support 100 SMEs and create 83 new jobs by the SMEs who have graduated the programme.
Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth, Howard Dawber, said: “I am delighted that this programme is going from strength to strength, and we can now support even more start-up businesses to grow. We must continue to work together to ensure that founders from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic backgrounds are supported as we help drive forward the economy and create good jobs for Londoners – building a better and fairer city for all”.
“We are excited to welcome a group of brilliant founders to the fourth cohort of our programme. We are determined through this programme to accelerate a fairer playing field for diverse founders and develop a more equitable investing environment.” - Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO, Funding London
“We are proud that this programme continues to support under-represented founders and is having a substantial impact on the overall distribution of VC funding across a more diverse group of entrepreneurs.“ - Jonathan Hollis, Managing Partner, Mountside Ventures
Meet the September ‘24 Cohort
● Aila Money - behaviour-based money management app for individuals to build better habits and achieve their financial goals.
● AnalystPro - SaaS platform supporting strategy teams in investment decision-making by automating internal frameworks.
● Applied Atomics - rapid response system for satellites in orbit using a propulsion system using water as chemical and electric fuel.
● Bahut - container management platform for ports to optimize placement and reduce reorganization moves by 64%.
● Cosysense - SaaS for commercial building managers to optimise energy consumption based on occupant comfort and save money.
● DNAHormonalHealth - male hormonal supplements to support men with andropause or low testosterone.
● Flare - platform for intelligence businesses, to generate and visualise insights across public and private datasets for decision making.
● GameStake - back-end-as-a-service game optimising tool for game studios.
● Good With - money app leveraging Open Banking and behavioural data to help financial services fairly assess the credit risk of young adults.
● Grtfl - software for the hospitality industry to manage, report, and distribute tips and service charges.
● Hulk is developing stem cell-based human milk for mothers who aren't able to breastfeed.
● JigsawStack - custom models for software developers to integrate and manage APIs seamlessly.
● Koodooka - a B2C mobile app through which small building societies and banks can offer current accounts to consumers.
● Mealia - a mobile app for families to plan meals based on budget and dietary requirements and then shop directly through their partner grocers.
● MCG - a platform for maritime shipping logistics to trace and decarbonise their supply chain using data from IoT and sensors from containers.
● OurRainWater - a platform for water companies to assess the effectiveness of campaigns and various tanks.
● Qardus - an alternative financing platform offering ethical and Sharia-compliant financial services to small businesses and investors.
● Symbiotix Health - a health data marketplace for health systems and pharmaceutical companies.
● Silkflo - an idea management platform for businesses to select and prioritise automation projects based on ROI.
● Sirkka - a marketplace and software for healthcare providers to get visibility, automate customer management, and provide at-home or mobile services.
● StratPilot - a business app for teams to optimise productivity through integrated workflow automation and AI-companion tools.
● Talamo - a fully automated dyslexia screening test for schools to understand their pupils' needs at scale.
● Tucco - a system to combat biofouling without creating debris, combining underwater robotics and self-navigating software.
● Tuft - a booking platform for pet grooming services, allowing businesses to manage their calendars and customers.
● Uplyft - medical wearables to help ageing populations with skeletal muscular issues using mechanical stimulation.
More information
You can find more information on the accelerator programmes here.
Applications for the next cohort are now open.
About Mountside Ventures
Mountside Ventures is an award-winning accelerator and advisory firm, specialising in early-stage fundraising and exits, on a mission to optimise the fundraising process for founders and funds.
About the Share Prosperity Fund
The programme is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
