Morgan Stanley Expands Global Inclusive Ventures Lab with Largest Single Cohort of 23 Companies

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced the 2023 global cohort of the Inclusive Ventures Lab, with 23 companies selected across North America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), double the size of previous cohorts. The Lab offers a five-month in-house accelerator program for underrepresented founders of technology and technology-enabled startups in the post-seed to Series A funding round stage.

Chosen from over 7,900 applicants – more than three times last year’s pool – the selected startups represent a range of disruptive technologies in industries including healthcare, sustainable solutions, customer service, supply chain, recruiting and cybersecurity. Companies in the cohort receive a $250,000 investment (£250,000 in EMEA) from Morgan Stanley, as well as a variety of mentorship opportunities and business-growth resources from Morgan Stanley’s ecosystem of internal and external partners.

“We are proud to welcome the Lab’s largest cohort yet, marking our continued efforts to create a more equitable investment landscape for overlooked entrepreneurs worldwide,” said Selma Bueno, Global Head of the Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Group. “We are working to bridge the investment gap for underserved founders and to help correct documented market imbalances.”

The selected companies in the 2023 global cohort include the following:

• Ad Auris empowers marketing teams, publishers and content creators to repurpose written content into high-quality audio to reach an audience of listeners (Canada)

• Automated Architecture provides the technological infrastructure for a distributed robotic micro-factory network producing sustainable timber housing (UK)

• Bidrento offers an all-in-one solution for tenant experience and rental property management, helping to save time and money while also reducing CO2 emissions in real estate (Estonia)

• ByFusion provides a zero waste landfill diversion platform to transform non-recyclable plastic waste into reusable building materials (US)

• Cult Mia is an online fashion marketplace for sustainable and ethical brands from around the world (UK)

• DotLab develops breakthrough, actionable AI and ML technologies that lead to better health outcomes for women, starting with the diagnosis of endometriosis (US)

• eBanqo offers businesses an omnichannel platform to drive customer engagement and support (Nigeria)

• Encounter AI uses digital conversational ordering solutions to provide faster, friendlier and more efficient service to customers, restaurants and retailers (US)

• FLUIX Inc. enterprise AI software saves critical infrastructure on energy costs by integrating and optimizing facility systems (US)

• GigBridge is an online platform for construction companies to hire, onboard and pay their workforce all in one place (UK)

• Health in Her HUE connects Black women and women of color to culturally sensitive healthcare providers, health content and community support through a digital platform (US)

• Inicio AI delivers a virtually guided affordability assessment to help organizations save contact center costs while improving their end customer experience (UK)

• MEDIjobs is the first virtual recruiter for the healthcare industry, filling more than 55 types of positions at a rate five times faster than a human would (US)

• Nopalera is a collection of bath and body products powered by Mexico’s nopal cactus – an ancient symbol of Mexican culture (US)

• OKO offers affordable and inclusive crop insurance to farmers in emerging countries using satellite weather data and mobile payment technologies (Israel)

• Oppos provides robust cybersecurity and compliance security solutions for businesses, safeguarding data confidentiality, integrity, and availability (Canada)

• Partsimony enables organizations to build intelligent manufacturing supply chains that are more resilient and sustainable by unifying engineering and supply chain data (US)

• Ridelink leverages technology to enable small and medium-sized businesses to move cargo in Uganda and cross-border in six neighboring countries (Uganda)

• serviceMob is an AI & ML-powered customer service analytics platform that helps businesses optimize operations and improve the customer experience (US)

• Stak Mobility facilitates widespread urban electric vehicle adoption by merging space-saving vertical parking automation with fully integrated EV charging and a seamless mobile self-service experience (US)

• Tall Poppy is a digital security company protecting employees and public facing teams from online threats (US)

• Twipes uses bio-tech to produce flushable, biodegradable wet wipes that break down in water in three hours and biodegrade in landfills in seven days (US)

• Unfabled is a consumer health platform that delivers personalized solutions for women by matching them with health and wellness products (UK)

“We are thrilled to bring our unique accelerator program to more entrepreneurs globally, including our first participants from Africa and the Middle East,” said Sanghamitra Karra, EMEA Head of the Inclusive Ventures Group. “It is highly rewarding to work closely with founders to take their game-changing technologies to scale and help set them up for continued success.”

“By providing these promising startups with much-needed capital, a tailored curriculum and access to investors within and beyond the Firm’s far-reaching network, we aim to ensure that more underrepresented founders can succeed,” said LaToya Wilson, Americas Head of the Inclusive Ventures Group.

Programming will run through February 2024 and culminate in a global Demo Day, when participating companies will present to potential investors, business partners and customers.

The Inclusive Ventures Lab has won multiple Gold Anthem Awards, including Most Impactful Corporate Initiative in 2022 and Corporate Social Responsibility in 2023. The program was also listed as one of Global Finance’s Best Innovation Labs of 2023.

About the Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab

The Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab (MSIVL) is an intensive five-month in-house accelerator program designed to help further develop and scale startups, culminating in a showcase presentation and Demo Day to the investor community. Morgan Stanley launched MSIVL, formerly called the Multicultural Innovation Lab, in 2017 in order to address inequities in funding of underrepresented founders, which our research shows equals over four trillion dollars in unrealized returns.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in 42 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

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