Nine companies were selected among more than 600 applicants from 30
different countries and participated in an eight-week customized curriculum
Cohort companies go on to cumulatively raise over $23m in their latest funding rounds
December 9, 2021 — London — SoftBank Vision Fund, Speedinvest, and several venture capital partners today announced a collective $8.7 million in committed capital to the nine start-ups that make up the first European edition of the Emerge accelerator program for underrepresented founders. The companies are: Blloc, Credrails, Fiat Republic, Juli, Kwara, Pear Bio, Robin AI, Vitaance, The Stack World. Including the investment contribution from Emerge, these nine companies have gone on to cumulatively raise upwards of $23m in their latest funding rounds. The capital injections come after an eight-week curriculum which today culminates in a showcase event, when founders will present to over 150 European investors.
There continues to be a chronic shortage of VC funding to founders from minority backgrounds when compared to their non-diverse counterparts. According to this year’s State of European Tech report, released this week, while the amount of funding for female founders in Europe increased in 2021, it fell as a proportion of overall investment: just 1.1% of capital deployed went to all-women founding teams and 1.3% to ethnic minority founding teams.
Emerge aims to promote diversity in tech by funding underrepresented founders and connecting them with the tools and networks they need to scale their businesses. This year, SoftBank invested $2.25m across all companies; Speedinvest deployed $5m into three start-ups; Breega committed $1m to one of the businesses; while Kindred set aside $450k for another. Cherry Ventures and firstminute Capital, as well as Linklaters, offered expert insights and WeWork Labs provided platform support.
The 2021 edition of Emerge launched in June. At the beginning of the program, founders were connected with mentors that provided technical and operational expertise for the entirety of the accelerator. During the two months of online workshops, roundtables and one-to-one meetings, the cohort interacted with other founders, CEOs and operating professionals, who shared their knowledge on topics such as winning users, international growth, people and culture, raising capital and connecting with investors. The curriculum was tailored to meet founders’ requests and to give them practical guidance ahead of the showcase and future fundraising.
“Joining Emerge gave us the backing of one of the leading venture capital firms in the world and opened access to the networks of multiple investors,” said Clara Wanjiku Odero, CEO and founder of Credrails. “The work we did and the conversations we had during the program helped us refine our identity and position the business as we come out of stealth mode.”
“Emerge provided us with invaluable access to management expertise. We spoke to current and past CEOs of big companies who shared their experience with us,” said Duleek Ranatunga, CEO and founder of Pear Bio. “On top of that, we were paired with a mentor who had a deep understanding of life sciences and was able to discuss the technical side of our business.”
“We’re trying to displace some powerful incumbents and build one of the most diverse businesses in the world. We have big aspirations and, at Emerge, we found investors whose ambitions match our own,” said Richard Robinson, CEO and founder of Robin AI. “We were introduced to people who have been where we are and successfully grew their businesses. We don’t have all the answers, but feel more prepared to scale our company.”
“Bringing in like-minded partners who recognise the challenge to make our industry more representative gave us more resources and amplified Emerge’s reach,” said Catherine Lenson, Managing Partner and Head of Social Impact at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “This year covered a bigger number of themes directly applicable to founders’ challenges as they look to scale globally or intensify their engagement with regulators. While the curriculum has closed, our journey with these founders has only just begun. We’re confident that they will not only continue to scale their businesses but emerge as champions in a more equitable tech ecosystem.”
“These nine founding teams are truly exceptional and represent the enormous opportunity for us to work more closely with underrepresented founders. The decision is pretty simple: our industry can either continue to work in closed echo chambers, with the same usual suspects chasing the same deals over and over again; or we can truly open ourselves up to new perspectives, ideas and partners,”said Oliver Holle, Speedinvest Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “Speedinvest has made its decision. And Emerge is the perfect platform for us to put capital behind our commitment.”
The companies that make up the 2021 Emerge cohort are:
● Blloc (website), a homescreen app reinventing the relationship with our phones by helping users reduce screen time and supercharge their productivity.
● Credrails (website) is building the open finance rails for Africa’s digital economy.
● FiatRepublic (website) is a BaaS platform on a mission to help crypto break into the mainstream by cracking the banking code.
● Juli (website), a platform that empowers patients and their care teams to manage complex chronic conditions with an AI-powered app.
● Kwara (website) is on a mission to bring financial services to 1 billion people by transforming credit unions in emerging markets into neobanks.
● Pear Bio (website) recreates, visualizes and analyzes how cancer progresses to find effective therapies for each patient.
● Robin AI (website) is making contracts simple by automating contract management using a combination of software, machine learning and expert human reviewers.
● Vitaance (website) is the life insurance that helps people improve their quality of life through financial, emotional and physical wellbeing.
● The Stack World (website) is a community-led marketplace for the women’s creator economy.
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About Emerge
The SoftBank Vision Fund Emerge accelerator seeks to promote diversity in tech by connecting underrepresented founders with the capital, tools and network needed to help scale their businesses. Established in 2019 by SoftBank Investment Advisers, Emerge combines a customized eight-week mentoring program with capital investment to support future growth. Participant founders gain unique access to SoftBank professionals, portfolio companies, industry experts, and Europe’s wider VC support networks. Learn more at www.emergeaccelerator.com.
About Speedinvest
Speedinvest is a leading early-stage venture capital firm with more than €600M AuM and 40 investors based in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, Vienna and San Francisco. Our dedicated sector focused teams are the first to fund Europe’s most innovative technology startups and our in-house operational experts are on-hand to offer founders ongoing support with growth, HR, US market expansion, and more. Wefox, Bitpanda, TIER Mobility, GoStudent, Curve, CoachHub, Schüttflix, TourRadar, Adverity, and Twaice are among our portfolio of 250+ companies. Learn more at www.speedinvest.com.
Media Contacts
SoftBank Investment Advisers (SBIA)
Rachel Bremer / Matheus Fierro
Milltown Partners
softbankuk@milltownpartners.com
Speedinvest
Jeremy Crider
Head of Communications
jeremy.crider@speedinvest.com