Overview
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15 underrepresented entrepreneurs
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£300K – £1.5M Investment Rounds
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A 5-week programme
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50% of funders will raise funds within 3 months
This Wednesday 15 May 2019 will see OneTech, a leading initiative for underrepresented founders, launch the new Pioneer Programme. Powered by Capital Enterprise with the financial support of J.P. Morgan. The Pioneer programme is set to accelerate the growth of London’s top underrepresented talent.
The Pioneer Programme is a 5-week investment readiness programme with the aim to assist London based underrepresented tech founders to reach a credible position to raise seed stage funding (£300k – £1.5M).
Fifteen founders have been selected to participate in the 5-week programme that will see them take part in a series of workshops to help prepare them for a demo day, where they’ll present their product and ideas to venture capitalists. In addition, the Pioneer Programme will provide participants with mentoring and workspace support.
Emma Joy Obanye, entrepreneur and Head of Delivery for OneTech, said:
“In the UK, for every £1 of venture capital investment, less than 1p goes to all-female led
teams. Meanwhile, of all funds raised by European VC-backed companies in 2018, a staggering 93% went to all-male founding teams.”
“Furthermore, underrepresented communities, including those that live, work and study in the London boroughs, where London Tech startups cluster, are missing out. This has to change. This is why we along with J.P. Morgan needed to launch the Pioneer Programme”.
In addition to the Pioneer Programme, the OneTech initiative is also delivering an Inspiration Capital Campaign to showcase founder stories* from leading female and people from BAME backgrounds with the purpose of inspiring others to take up tech startup entrepreneurship as a career choice. Over the course of the programme the founders will share their stories, covering the highs and lows and experiences they encounter along their investment journey.
