Digital Catapult and Sony Music UK have announced a cohort of 10 pioneering digital-first startups to participate in the inaugural FutureScope Black Founders Programme.
The programme will support black British entrepreneurs in the digital entertainment space, and encourage the successful commercialisation of their innovative new solutions.
The announcement marks the beginning of the 16-week programme of activities that will provide each early-stage company with business and investment readiness support, drawing on Digital Catapult’s decade of experience supporting UK startups. Through mentorship, workshops and masterclasses, the programme will look to help each startup raise investment in the next six to nine months. In addition, half of the cohort businesses are led by women and half led by men.
Using advanced digital technologies such as distributed ledger technologies, artificial intelligence/machine learning, virtual and/or augmented reality, the cohort provides wide-reaching solutions for art, music, social media, retail and tourism.
From a digital fine art gallery made possible by an extended reality (XR) immersive world, to an AI-powered social media platform designed to build a community of music lovers, the innovations at the centre of each business are created to transform the UK’s digital entertainment space and bring the sector into a new era.
FutureScope is Digital Catapult’s deep tech acceleration support system for the UK’s leading tech innovators and businesses. The Black Founders Programme aims to make it easier for black founders to raise venture capital and successfully scale their solutions, given that research from Atomico, an international investment firm, found that 62% of black founders have found it increasingly hard to raise venture capital, with only 38 black founders receiving venture capital funding between 2009 and 2019, just 0.24% of the total sum invested.
‘The team is vital’ – former footballer on growing his startup
To offset costs to a business by participating in the programme, each startup will receive £3,000 as a financial contribution towards completing the programme. This also includes additional support from ‘Musiio by SoundCloud’.
“This cohort is really one of the most exciting we have seen since the launch of FutureScope nearly two years ago,” said Jessica Rushworth, chief strategy and policy officer, Digital Catapult.
“The range of solutions on show, built using advanced digital technologies, just highlights why companies like this are a key part of the future of the UK’s creative sector.
“The reality is that choosing 10 companies from a strong field of applicants was an incredibly tough process for the judging panel, but ultimately a very encouraging one, that really demonstrated to us the breadth of talent that exists within the UK’s black tech community. “
The programme culminates with a final showcase event in early November 2023, where the founders will have the opportunity to pitch to a select group of investors.
The cohort is below.
Cashblack
Cashblack is a platform that rewards members with cashback when they shop online with black-owned businesses.
Deya
Deya is a platform for black creative talent & creative companies, building a new approach for black creatives to find jobs and community.
Flossy
Flossy offers tools for users to create remixable merchandise and products. It leverages AI to allow users to come together and co-create images.
Happaning Ltd
Happaning is a crowdsourced event preview app. Powered by its patented ViiVid® media format, the app lets a user request trusted, real-time video previews through the eyes of the community.
Korda
Korda empowers music creators, songwriters and innovators by providing tools that support all stages of the music lifecycle, from creation to monetisation.
Loud Parade
Loud Parade is an award-winning music creative and sonic branding company that makes bespoke music compositions aimed at Gen Z for brands and creative agencies.
Musircle
Musircle is an AI-driven social media platform that analyses the listening habits of users to deliver their musical DNA.
Nyangibo Gallery
Nyangibo Gallery is an online and in-person digital fine art gallery, with a focus on extended reality (XR) art.
Stories & The City
Stories & The City is a cultural tourism immersive startup that uses augmented reality (AR) and a user’s smartphone to create bespoke cultural city tours.
Waves
Waves is an AI-powered web3 marketplace for collecting and trading rare beats.