July 10th 2023.
The HBCU Founders Initiative (HBCUFI) has recently announced that they have selected five HBCUs to join their Pre-Accelerator Program. Among the universities are Hampton University, Morehouse College, Texas Southern University, Benedict College, and Bethune-Cookman University. This program has been designed to provide support to HBCU students and alumni who are interested in venturing into entrepreneurship.
The goal of this program is to provide tech-centered projects and the opportunity to expand business acumen. This is done to help participants bring their entrepreneurial endeavors to life. This program will be hosted twice a year, with a fall and spring session. Each university will be able to offer the Pre-Accelerator Program to eight startups per cohort.
The program will involve weekly virtual meetings in order to discuss topics such as building a prototype, customer discovery, marketing and branding, and other business operations. At the end of the program, participants will be given the chance to pitch their projects and possibly receive awards to aid their MVP development.
The HBCUFI has had a great impact since it launched in 2020. So far, it has helped over 750 students and alumni from over 80 historically Black universities and colleges. Participants have also been able to raise over $2 million for their startups.
Marlon Evans, President of HBCUFI, stated “We are pleased to have five additional HBCUs join us in fulfilling our mission to ensure that innovative ideas don’t die on the vine because there is no one available to cultivate them. By providing a structured program that connects our participants with executives and entrepreneurs with deep experience building companies, coupled with providing access to pre-seed funding, HBCUFI is helping to build an unprecedented innovation ecosystem on HBCU campuses.”
The Pre-Accelerator Program is open to all HBCUs, and applications for the Fall 2023 session will be accepted between July 1 and August 6. For more information and to apply, visit the HBCUFI website.
This is an amazing opportunity for HBCU students and alumni to develop their business models and bring their innovative ideas to life. With the help of the HBCUFI, they can turn their dreams into reality.
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