Five tech startups join Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator program

Northwestern Mutual, in partnership with gener8tor, announced the addition of five promising tech startups to its innovative Black Founder Accelerator program. An extension of the company's Sustained Action for Racial Equality (SARE) Task Force, the program demonstrates Northwestern Mutual's commitment to closing the racial wealth gap and empowering the next generation of Black entrepreneurs.

These startups - the first of two five-company cohorts joining the Black Founder Accelerator program in 2023  - are eligible to receive a $100,000 investment, access to venture capital partners, individualized coaching from Northwestern Mutual executive mentors, inclusion in a specially curated 12-week program and more.

Abim Kolawole, Chief Audit Executive, Northwestern Mutual: "Since the program's inception, we've partnered with more than two dozen Black-founded startups nationwide, with program alumni positioned to raise additional funding, secure contracts and partnerships, and continue to grow their businesses. We remain committed to helping more Black entrepreneurs reach their potential and pioneer a pathway for future innovators to thrive in technology and business."

In 2021, the Black Founder Accelerator program was launched to provide Black entrepreneurs with the funding and resources needed to drive innovation in the tech industry and to help address the ongoing racial gap in venture capital funding. Building on their successful experiences with the program, alumni have gone on to join other accelerator and industry-specific growth programs, and have sold products and services across a variety of sectors.

Craig Schedler, Managing Director, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures: "This business accelerator has been a powerful vehicle for cultivating greater diversity, equity and inclusion, and we're committed to ensuring the program – and the exciting startups it supports – continues to thrive. As demonstrated by the remarkable work from last year's cohort, I am looking forward to seeing the lasting impact these five innovative startups and founder teams will make in their communities."

The five startups selected to participate in the program all align with Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures' key strategic areas of focus including fintech, insurtech, digital health and data analytics. The five startups are:

• Home Lending Pal (Orlando, Fla.) provides lenders with a streamlined platform to find and connect with potential pre-vetted borrowers who are looking for home loans. The platform's AI technology reduces the time and effort needed to approve a loan application by helping lenders assess the borrower's creditworthiness and financial situation.
• Reveles (Southlake, Texas) supports drug and clinical developments by expanding access and increasing awareness of clinical research, specifically for minority communities.
• Scout (Clifton Park, N.Y.) is an investing platform that allows users to create a diversified portfolio, gain financial insights and connect with their digital financial advisor through their phone. By increasing the accessibility to investing, the platform is designed to help close the wealth gap.
• Core Ai™ (Cary, N.C.) is a conversational analysis platform which enables enterprise leaders to gain real-time insights into their employee development conversations. By leveraging advanced algorithms and machine learning models, the platform provides accurate and comprehensive analysis of conversations and emotions.
• WeSolv (Chicago) is an AI and performance data-driven platform that automates sourcing more diverse candidates and objectively assesses skills and competencies with real mini-projects. The platform democratizes access to real experience and uses predictive data to reduce hiring bias.

In addition to the Black Founder Accelerator program, Northwestern Mutual oversees a $100-million impact investing fund to deliver on the company's commitment to addressing inequality and the racial wealth gap in the U.S. The fund focuses on three key areas: physical and social infrastructure, access to capital for individuals and businesses, and healthy sustainable neighborhoods and communities.

www.gener8tor.com
www.northwesternmutual.com