A global network of zero-equity startup accelerators, United States-based MassChallenge, collaborates with IBM to groom startups to solve problems with artificial intelligence (AI).
According to the organisation, the startups must have at least one founder from underrepresented identities, including black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), non-binary, and female.
The three-month mentorship programme includes a virtual launch hosted by IBM experts, while each startup and mentor manage their one-on-one meetings.
Founders in the cohort worked with various mentors from IBM and other organisations to address the specific needs of their startups, including breaking into new customer bases, setting appropriate and strategic goals, transitioning from bootstrapping to new capital sources, and further avenues of scalability.
Last year, MassChallenge signed a partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to commence the Bridge to MassChallenge Nigeria Programme (B2MC)
More than 2,300 MassChallenge alumni have raised over $5 billion in funding, generated more than $2.7 billion in revenue, and created more than 136,000 total jobs.
