NY-MORGAN-STANLEY
Morgan Stanley today announced the eighth cohort of the Multicultural Innovation Lab. The in-house accelerator program for technology and technology-enabled startups in the post-seed to Series A funding round stage targets companies with multicultural or women founders, co-founders, CTOs or other C-suite members who are developing innovative solutions across sectors. Now in its sixth year and with 69 total participating companies to date, the program is expanding globally for the first time, with participating companies in both the US and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
From September 2022 to February 2023, the founders—the majority of whom are women and ethnically diverse—and their companies will participate in a customized accelerator program designed to enhance their growth and development. Chosen from over 2,500 applications, these leaders will benefit from the close support of Morgan Stanley’s global ecosystem of internal and external partners, which will provide a variety of mentorship opportunities and business-growth resources. Through MCIL, Morgan Stanley also makes investments in these early-stage, high-growth startups.
“We are particularly excited to welcome our first global cohort, representing multicultural and women-led innovation in business around the world,” said Selma Bueno, Managing Director and Head of the Multicultural Client Strategy Group. “This new stage in MCIL’s development represents our continued efforts to create a more equitable investment landscape for women- and diverse-led startups and ensure that more overlooked entrepreneurs—and their communities—have the opportunity to succeed.”
The companies that have been selected for the Fall 2022 cohort include the following:
- Advocat is a legal software platform developed to streamline the process of creating and operationalizing legal documents.
- AMAKA Studio is a digital media platform connecting a global community of women sharing Pan-African stories.
- AuditMate is a provider of SaaS-driven vertical transportation maintenance and contract management services. The solution helps property managers with contract analysis, maintenance completion reporting, compliance management and more.
- Gentreo is a software solution helping families and caregivers affordably and easily prepare, plan and protect all they love with next generation estate planning.
- Here Here Market is an online marketplace for food enthusiasts to discover and buy specialty products from ‘chef-prenuers’ and small-batch artisans.
- imagi is an education tech company leveraging proprietary coding education tools to equip girls with essential technology skills and confidence.
- Kami is an AI-powered family support platform providing personalized access to a wide range of wellness consultants, as well as an expertly curated and comprehensive range of guides, articles and tips.
- Perse is a single data technology platform leveraging energy and carbon data from all meters in Britain to report and optimize the energy and carbon footprint for individuals, households and businesses.
- Physician 360 transforms community pharmacies into healthcare clinics by empowering them with access to a virtual care platform.
- Wearisma is a global enterprise SaaS influencer analytics platform helping large-scale companies to optimize marketing spend and to achieve communication objectives.
The Fall cohort will operate in a hybrid environment, using a combination of online video platforms and in-person events to facilitate the curriculum, enhance connectivity and foster community. The program will culminate in the eighth Multicultural Innovation Lab Showcase and Demo Day, when the 10 participating companies will present to potential investors, business partners and customers.
For the last two years, MCIL has been named one of the World’s Best Innovation Labs by Global Finance Magazine. The Lab continues to successfully increase access to capital for diverse entrepreneurs, as evidenced by resulting company acquisitions and additional funding rounds following participation in the program. Some notable examples include:
- Relationship intelligence platform Stimulus raised a $2.5 million seed round to grow partnerships and expand the team with engineering, data science and sales talent.
- Lillii RNB, an AI-powered fraud prevention and investigation SaaS solution for retailers, raised a $3 million seed round from co-leads Serena Ventures and Aperture Venture Capital to capitalize on sales opportunities and grow its partnership network.
- Event management software platform Five to Nine raised a $4.25 million seed round to expand its engineering capability, accelerate product development and grow the team.
About the Multicultural Innovation Lab
The Multicultural Innovation Lab (MCIL) is an intensive five-month in-house accelerator designed to help further develop and scale startups, culminating in a showcase presentation and Demo Day to the investor community. Morgan Stanley launched MCIL in 2017 in order to address inequities in funding of ethnically diverse- and women-led startups, which our research shows equals over four trillion dollars in unrealized returns.
The team is led by New York-based Selma Bueno, Managing Director and Global Head of the Multicultural Client Strategy Group, and London-based Sanghamitra Karra, Managing Director and EMEA Head of the Multicultural Client Strategy Group. Together, they have over 35 years of investment banking and risk management experience.
Listen to the Access & Opportunity with Carla Harris podcast on your platform of choice to learn about the players driving change among diverse entrepreneurs, the investor community and the world.
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 41 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit https://www.morganstanley.com/.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220906005822/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Klarna now available on Apple Pay in Denmark, Spain, and Sweden with France to follow18.11.2025 16:22:00 CET | Press release
3 countries join the U.S., Canada, and UK in offering the ability to pay with installments when checking out online and in person with Apple Pay Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, announced today that its flexible payment products are now available when checking out on Apple Pay in Denmark, Spain, Sweden. The launch brings even greater flexibility and transparency to Apple Pay customers in these countries, with Klarna available to eligible users checking out online and in-app with an iPhone or iPad, and in-store on an iPhone. The expansion builds on successful launches of this feature in the US, UK and Canada, where millions of customers have checked out with Klarna through Apple Pay. Klarna is one of the first buy now, pay later providers to be available on Apple Pay in these countries, offering consumers a seamless, flexible way to pay. Customers in France will be able to check out with Klarna on Apple Pay in the coming weeks. “After the fantastic respons
Bitfury Launches $1 Billion Initiative to Advance Ethical Emerging Technologies18.11.2025 16:11:00 CET | Press release
The company will begin deploying funds as early as Q4 2025 Today, Bitcoin miner turned technology incubator Bitfury announced its pivot to an investment firm with the launch of its $1 billion funding initiative, which seeks to back a new generation of ethical innovators. The firm’s new mission is to close the gap between the accelerating pace of technological progress and the slower evolution of ethical development — a disconnect it sees as a root cause of many global challenges. By supporting mission-driven founders, the company seeks to accelerate ventures that embed ethics, transparency, and human values at the core of emerging technologies. Bitfury’s new chapter as an investment firm builds on its pioneering legacy while expanding its role from technology provider to global catalyst for responsible innovation — ensuring the digital economy develops with integrity and long-term sustainability. Bitfury was originally founded in 2011 as a bitcoin miner, but over the past 15 years has
Interactive Brokers Expands Global Market Access with the Taipei Exchange18.11.2025 16:00:00 CET | Press release
Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), an automated global electronic broker, announced access to the Taipei Exchange (TPEx), further expanding its global reach. Eligible clients of Interactive Brokers can now trade equities, ETFs, and Taiwan Depositary Receipts (TDRs) listed on TPEx, alongside products from over 160 global exchanges from a single platform. This extends the opportunity set available to global investors seeking Asian exposure, including the growth potential afforded by emerging small and medium-sized companies listed on the TPEx. Interactive Brokers is one of the few global trading platforms connected to TPEx, a leading Asian exchange for shares of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Through TPEx, clients can diversify their portfolios to include emerging, high-tech, and creative industries, as well as SMEs and micro-enterprises across Taiwan’s developing economy. To simplify trading, Interactive Brokers will facilitate TPEx trades with an automatic FX conversion be
Aspect Expands Cloud Workforce Experience and Developer Tools to New Regions and Introduces AI-Powered Forecasting18.11.2025 15:00:00 CET | Press release
New release brings predictive intelligence, regional expansion, and enhanced employee performance tools to contact center operations. Aspect, a leading provider of cloud-based workforce management solutions, today announced its Q4 2025 product release, delivering AI-powered predictive forecasting for call volume, regional expansion into Canada, UK, and Europe, and new employee performance capabilities. The release represents a significant step forward in Aspect's mission to empower workforces with intelligent, modern tools that drive operational efficiency and employee engagement. AI-Driven Forecasting Brings New Precision and Agility to Workforce Planning The enhanced Forecast Dashboard introduces Predictive Forecasting with built-in AI intelligence. This new feature automatically generates four-week call volume forecasts that refresh daily, eliminating manual setup and enabling planners to make faster, more confident scheduling decisions. By analyzing historical data with advanced al
FireMon Expands Zero Trust Microsegmentation Coverage with Illumio, VMware NSX, and Zscaler18.11.2025 15:00:00 CET | Press release
Deep Illumio integration and continued VMware NSX and Zscaler support, security teams can now operationalize Zero Trust at enterprise scale. FireMon, the leading network security and firewall policy management company, today detailed expanded support for Zero Trust microsegmentation across hybrid environments, including a deeper integration with Illumio and continued coverage for VMware NSX and Zscaler. By normalizing, analyzing, and continuously validating segmentation intent across network, virtual, and host enforcement points, FireMon helps security teams operationalize Zero Trust at enterprise scale. “The future isn’t more consoles,” said Jody Brazil, CEO of FireMon. “It’s one policy playbook that proves control efficacy every day and the evidence to back it up.” Organizations using FireMon to unify segmentation and firewall governance report measurable outcomes, including up to a 90% reduction in compliance reporting time through consolidated policy data and faster validation and
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom