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Digital Catapult > Programmes > Black Founders Programme

Black Founders Programme

Supporting startups to get investment ready

The Black Founders Programme is an accelerator targeted at early stage startups and pre-seed, Black-founded companies whose product or service is solving a problem in the UK’s creative economy.

The Black Founders Programme is delivered in partnership with Sony Music UK and Sony Music Publishing, and in 2025 in collaboration with Channel 4.

Running since 2023, our programme has now welcomed three cohorts and 32 startups in total. Find more information below about the benefits, our community and the success stories.

Haami

Programme benefits

With only 0.89% of investment in the UK going to Black founders in the ten years between 2013-2023, and just 0.14% of investment going to Black female entrepreneurs, the Black Founders Programme provides investment-readiness support, peer-to-peer mentoring and business strategy advice to refine founders’ solutions. Participants receive hands-on access to deep tech expertise and technological consultancy in areas including artificial intelligence and immersive technologies to strengthen their business models and help raise investment in the long-term.

Support Black founders become investment ready

Masterclasses, mentoring and coaching from industry experts

Peer-to-peer support

Potential for funding opportunities

Access to state-of-the-art facilities & deep tech expertise

Access to potential partners, investors and customers

Hear from the programme participants about their experience

Participants in previous cohorts of the Black Founders Programme have gone onto achieve further success, securing investment and applying their deep tech innovation to industry. Happaning and Loud Parade for example, received over £1 million of investment and grants within two years of engaging with the programme, and Immersely recently received £400,000 in investment from Digital Catapult to scale its solution and transform the interactive media landscape.

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Case studies

Nyangibo Gallery

Nyangibo Gallery is an online and in-person extended reality (XR) and 3D art gallery that launched in 2023, featuring some of the best established and emerging talent from the XR world, including London-based artist Leslie Deere, award winning French VR director/creator Tatiana Apraxine and 3D and fashion artist Yu Chen.

After following Digital Catapult and its activities for a while, Haami Nyangibo, founder of Nyangibo Gallery, decided to join the FutureScope Black Founders Programme to expand her experience running a creative tech business. As a Black founder, she wanted to be part of a programme where she could find the right mentorship and people who have similar experiences.

Read the case study
Haami
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Loud Parade

Loud Parade makes bespoke music for brands and creative agencies by facilitating the complicated process of syncing and licensing popular music. Using behavioural science and artificial intelligence (AI) to measure the marketing effectiveness and promotional impact of music and audio assets, Loud Parade provides music by working with a network of independent artists and through relationships with major labels.

The Black Founders Programme has allowed Loud Parade to develop its value proposition and connect with investors, improving the company’s investment readiness and deepening understanding of how to manage expectations when pitching to potential investors

Read the case study

Get involved

If you are interested in updates and news about the Black Founders Programme, fill out the short form below.









Why we created the programme

Only 0.89% of investment in the UK went to Black founders in the ten years between 2013-2023, and just 0.14% of investment going to Black female entrepreneurs.

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Discover the partners and people supporting our Black Founders programme. From consultants, mentors to supporters and partners.

Our Community

Latest News and Events

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Loud Parade: case study

Case study

Part of the FutureScope’s Black Founders Programme, Digital Catapult supported Loud Parade to get investment ready and receive business expertise.

Learn more

Nyangibo Gallery: case study

Case study

Part of the FutureScope’s Black Founders Programme, Digital Catapult supported Nyangibo Gallery to get investment ready and receive business expertise

Learn more