Google For Startups Deploys $4M Of Grant Funding To 40 Black-Led Startups Across Europe
Last year Google for Startups launched a $2 million grant fund to help tackle the racial inequality in the European tech industry.
That Google for Startups Black Founders Fund ended up doubling to $4 million (£3 million), and now 40 Black-led tech startups across Europe will receive grants from the fund.
Prior to the fund’s launch in 2021, less than 0.25% of venture capital (VC) funding went to Black-led startups in the UK.
How does the fund work? Each startup will be given $100,000 in non-dilutive cash awards, up to $200,000 in cloud credits and ad support, mentoring by industry execs and connections inside Google’s network.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Marta Krupinska, Head of Google for Startups UK: “For the second year in a row we’ve been able to debunk the myth of the ‘pipeline problem’. Europe is home to a wealth of talent from underrepresented backgrounds – we’re so excited to have doubled last year’s fund and partner with 40 fantastic companies, of which two-thirds are based in the UK, and one-third is led by women.”
The startups chosen as part of the fund are listed below
Eccobell (UK): An ecosystem of on-demand web applications using contactless technology to innovate how people access, communicate, and interact with each other, unrestricted by their device type.
Ekie (France): Ekie facilitates access to legal services for employees to improve the essential balance between their professional and personal lives.
Feniska (Germany): A Berlin-based Health-Tech startup building IoT products to help cat and dog owners track the health of their pets.
FoodLama (UK): Online grocery shopping with preferences made easy.
Framework (UK): The world’s first on-demand business school, designed exclusively for startups.
Fresh Afrika (France): Fresh Afrika is a Paris-based FoodTech company using blockchain technology to deliver a beer food experience and connect small-scale farmers in Africa to the world.
GigBridge (UK): A recruitment platform for construction companies to find and hire skilled construction workers.
Goodloans (UK): AI-powered digital lending platform for emerging markets.
Hyndr (Germany): The B2B marketplace for the hydrogen economy.
ID Protect (France): ID Protect is the 3D secure for identity documents, changing the game in the prevention against fraud and identity theft.
Kuorum (Spain): SaaS for legal and secure online voting.
Lenkie (UK): Providing the embedded lending infrastructure to enable online platforms to become a source of funding for their business users.
Liquisto (Germany): Liquisto is a data-driven platform of digital solutions for sustainably transforming excess industrial inventory into liquidity for manufacturers and new utility for end-users of industrial equipment.
Materials Nexus (UK): Accelerating the transition towards net-zero materials.
MoonHub (UK): Viual Reality training plaorm.
Nolea (UK): Solving the healthcare demand-supply mismatch problem with our fractional clinician marketplace platform.
Owni (UK): A B2B SaaS company that enables fashion retailers and brands to reap the benefits of resale and the secondary market through a peer-to-peer resale platform.
Pace Revenue (UK): Providing real-time, automated decision intelligence and industry-leading BI to the hospitality industry.
Propel (Germany): Propel is building multi-layered digital infrastructure to power the Tech Talent Economy.
Propelle (UK): A women-focused financial investment platform, designed to get women investing more regularly and building wealth.
Reach Industries (UK): A platform that leverages computer vision, voice, and machine learning to accelerate life sciences in labs.
Reframd (Germany): Inclusive eyewear products for a diverse world.
Ruka (UK): The Ruka vision is to become the definitive hair brand for Black women globally by building an ecosystem of hair solutions that truly work.
Sojo (UK): A sustainable fashion-tech startup centralizing and modernizing the clothing repair and tailoring industry.
SympliFi (UK): A digital lending platform that facilitates access to credit to underserved micro and SME businesses in developing countries by making lending borderless.
Tinto (UK): A wellbeing app for pregnant and postnatal mothers.
TRIM-IT (UK): The UK’s first app-powered mobile barbershops.
VerifyMyAge (UK): Creates safety tech solutions designed to make the internet safer by solving compliance and safeguarding problems with age assurance, identity authentication, and content moderation.
Yuty (UK): An AI-driven conscious beauty marketplace.
Yvee (France): Yvee assists companies in the three main steps of a hiring process: sourcing, skills screening, and selection.
Zest (Netherlands): Zest develops software-driven, personalized lifestyle treatment to prevent, control, & reverse chronic conditions such as diabetes without spending more on medications.
