Black Founders Programme
The Black Founders Programme brings together diverse partners, consultants, mentors and industry experts. Discover more about the people behind the programme.
Learn more about the consultants, partners and supporters of the Black Founders Programme.
Cashblack is a platform that rewards members with cashback when they shop online with Black-owned businesses. Founded in 2020, the need for financial and socio-economic empowerment within the Black community was never more apparent – both globally and in the United Kingdom.
Cashblack aims to benefit both the Black community and society as a whole by decreasing the racial wealth gap through the promotion of Black-owned businesses and the provision of funds back to consumers of these businesses through cashback.
Deya is a platform for Black creative talent & creative companies. They’re building a new approach for Black creatives to find jobs and community, whilst helping creative businesses hire, engage and resource Black employees and freelancers.
Flossy AI was founded in London by Gameli Ladzekpo a former Artist.
Flossy AI is like Instagram, but with AI generated images instead of photos. In our community users can come together and co-create images. You can see creations from friends and buy prompts so you can make similar images yourself.
Flossy also helps brands too – Artists, Creators, Sports Teams can boost engagement by co-creating beautiful media, merch or marketing materials with their fans.
The mission of the company is to put design super powers in the hands of every person on earth and make the world more beautiful.
In an era of deep-fakes and misinformation fuelled by social media and AI, trust in media has eroded, complicating decision-making and escalating social anxiety.
Our patented ViiVid® media format tackles this by combining multiple videos to detect deep fakes while offering a user experience similar to Google Street View, only with video. Our mission to create a more authentic, connected and inclusive world starts with the Happaning app.
So whether you have mobility challenges, hate big crowds or simply want a vibe check, Happaning is a crowdsource event preview app, that lets you request trusted real-time multi-view videos of any location, before you get there, through the eyes of the community. Think Reddit, for live events.
Korda empowers music creators and innovators by providing tools that support all stages of the music lifecycle, from creation to monetisation.
Loud Parade is the award winning music creative and sonic branding company with over 8 billion campaign views. Loud Parade makes bespoke music compositions for brands and creative agencies across all platforms and has worked with Fenty, Nike JBL, JD Sports, WPP and Havas, amongst others.
Working at the intersection of Psychology and Music, Loud Parade creates sonic identities which match a brand’s aspirational personality bringing objectivity to the usually subjective world of music in advertising by leveraging an AI tool which can test the emotional resonance of sounds.
Loud Parade uses music as a form of storytelling, creating unique sonic identities for brands to increase individuality and uniqueness of their campaigns. Through viral sounds they increase brand love, recognition and awareness as well as support with the problem of music licensing through authentic and scientifically backed music solutions.
Welcome to Musircle an AI-driven social media platform that is redefining the music landscape. We’re not just a place to listen to music – we’re an interactive community that uses advanced technology to bring together music enthusiasts, artists, and rising stars from around the world.
At the heart of Musircle is the concept of Music DNA. Using powerful AI algorithms, we map your individual Music DNA, analyzing your musical tastes across genres, artists, eras, and even nuanced musical elements. We use this to connect you with others who share your passion, creating a global community based on shared or complementary musical preferences.
Innovation is our melody, and our key feature, Echo Playlists, is a perfect example. These collaborative playlists allow users to control a live playlist together. Add songs, vote to remove tracks, chat in real time, and enjoy a collective listening experience that’s as dynamic as a live concert.
But Echo Playlists offer more than just a communal listening experience. They also present a golden opportunity for rising artists to increase their exposure. Since every device individually streams a song added to an Echo Playlist, emerging musicians can significantly boost their listener counts. Furthermore, our Music DNA feature intelligently connects these artists to new, relevant fan bases, facilitating organic growth in their listener community.
Join Musircle today to explore, connect, and revolutionize your musical journey. Whether you’re a music lover looking for like-minded listeners, or a rising star seeking to amplify your reach, Musircle is the place to be.
Musircle: Where music connects us, AI unites us, and Echo Playlists amplify our shared experience.
Nyangibo Gallery is a online and in-person digital fine art gallery, with a focus on XR art.
Stories & The City is a cultural tourism immersive startup. We create city tours using your smartphone and augmented reality (AR) to get interesting information and stories straight to your phone.
We bring virtual content into the real world.
We use AR and storytelling to encourage human connection.
We want people to go out and engage with the real world whilst using the benefits of the augmented world.
AI-powered web3 marketplace for collecting and trading rare beats.
Code and Culture (C+C) specialises in innovative cultural curation. Collaborating with world-class artists and partners we blend creativity and technology to uncover untold stories and enable new cultural discovery, for new contemporary audiences and fans alike.
Our core solution, Wordsmiths, uses the latest storytelling technology to revolutionise how audiences of all ages engage and experience rap lyrics and the wider cultural canon.
Our vision is to design innovative immersive technologies to tell engaging stories and accelerate physical recovery. We are designing a virtual reality system that allows users to experience aviation history and stories in immersive and exciting ways that are not possible with current museums. This system enables an enhanced appreciation of UK history and engineering, potentially attracting new museum customers and inspiring the next generation of military service personnel.
Mismatch Studios creates digital clothing for virtual worlds as a sustainable alternative for clothing prototyping for designers.
Immersely is pioneering real-time emotion detection for game developers, providing an innovative tool that captures and analyzes players’ biometric data to gauge emotional responses during gameplay. By integrating this technology into game development, Immersely enables developers to refine user experiences and improve game engagement, making it easier to predict and enhance the success of new game releases.
SymphoMe is an innovative music education platform designed to revolutionize the way music is taught and learned. Utilizing advanced AI-driven multimodal music teaching technology, SymphoMe provides a personalized, engaging, and effective learning experience for music students and teachers alike.
Syncd:in is a music publishing collection company for black music artists. We are working on our automated platform, with metadata generation capabilities, that will allow black music artists in different parts of the world to onboard themselves.
At TwoShot, we’re building next-generation AI making music creation easy, with just your voice — it’s like being in the studio with a professional musician.
We’re looking to unlock the next billion musicians — Demo of MVP
Importantly, our tech is fully traceable, solving AI music’s complex copyright issues.
BeGenio is a game-based learning platform that focuses on assessments through immersive games, and specific outcomes – fluency, reasoning and problem-solving, and key aspects of building mental abilities. BeGenio’s first game Race To Infinity has won multiple awards and has been academically researched and studied successfully by the University of Greenwich.
Certifi revolutionises traditional certifications by combining advanced blockchain technology with AR 3D models, ensuring secure, efficient, and inclusive recognition for all, including marginalised groups. Our platform delivers timely, credible acknowledgments while transforming accolades into dynamic, interactive experiences that resonate with the digital generation.
Wellvrse integrates health, art, and technology to enhance mental well-being through virtual reality (VR). By leveraging evidence-based practices from Neuroaesthetics, Wellvrse develops immersive and inclusive digital experiences specifically engineered to support mental health.
Our partners and supporters involved in our active programmes
Sony Music’s story began in 1887 with the formation of Columbia Records – the oldest surviving label in the recording industry.
Today, the Company comprises a variety of record labels devoted to every genre of music, from rock, dance, and pop to classical, hip hop and R&B. They seek out the industry’s best artists and executives to create world-class music and audio entertainment.
In the UK, Columbia, RCA, Ministry of Sound, Epic Records, Since ’93, Relentless, Robots + Humans, Music For Nations and The Orchard are part of the Sony Music family and represent a hugely diverse roster of artists.
They are joined by Commercial Group, home to Sony Music’s catalogue and merchandise division, and 4th Floor Creative, which comprises Brand Partnerships, Sync, Visual Creative, Digital and Audience Development.
Sony Music UK is part of Sony Music Group, a global recorded music and publishing company, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. The company represents a vast global catalogue, including some of the most important recordings in history.
Sony Music Publishing (“SMP”) is the #1 global music publisher, dedicated to advancing the artistry of the world’s greatest songwriters and composers for over 25 years. We design our suite of services to amplify opportunities, build connections, and provide support at every career stage.
SMP is a member of the Sony family of global companies.
Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment. Publicly owned yet commercially funded, Channel 4 generates significant and sustainable cultural, economic and social impact across the UK – at no cost to the taxpayer.
The broadcaster’s distinctive remit is set by Parliament, and it has a role to represent unheard voices, challenge with purpose and reinvent entertainment. For more than 40 years, it has been a British success story, engaging generation after generation of young people. Working with hundreds of creative companies every year, Channel 4 makes a major contribution to the local, regional and national economy, creating and supporting thousands of jobs and businesses across the country.
In 2024, Channel 4 launched its Fast Forward strategy to accelerate its transformation into an agile and genuinely digital-first public service streamer by 2030. It is designed to ensure Channel 4 embraces the generational shift in TV viewing, elevates its impact across the UK and stands out in a crowded market.
From its bases in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, Channel 4 is fully committed to harnessing the power of its regional structure to increase its impact across the UK. Through its training and development initiative 4Skills is opening up opportunities in broadcasting, with a particular focus on disadvantaged young people and addressing skills gaps across the Nations and Regions. 4Skills invests £10m in training, development and learning opportunities annually.
Through Film4 Productions, Channel 4 also invests in British filmmakers to huge critical acclaim, producing 43 Oscar wins and 97 BAFTA wins in its history.
Colorintech is a non-profit organisation building a more inclusive tech ecosystem across Europe. Through our three core pillars, NextGen, Community, and Build, we support over 60,000 underrepresented technologists and more than 1,000 founders with access to opportunities, capital, and networks.
The BlackXRNetwork UK (BXRN) was established to create a platform for professional black creatives and XR enthusiasts to connect, collaborate and share knowledge through a host of networking events, mentoring programs, speaker series and workshops.
BiG is a grassroots EDI organisation dedicated to promoting and celebrating diverse talent within the video games and wider-entertainment industry.
MSDUK is the UK’s largest, longest established and leading advocacy body for inclusive procurement, working with corporate and public sector organisations. MSDUK certify ethnic minority businesses and support small and diverse-owned businesses, by connecting them to supply chains of progressive organisations in the UK and worldwide. Through buyer-supplier engagement, skills programmes, and a strong peer network, we help create economic value in local communities.
Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates bring together a diverse and inclusive network of startups, scaleups, corporates, policymakers and academics to drive the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences for the good of the global tech sector.
At Culttech Accelerator, we specialize in bridging culture, creativity, and technology. With our original roots in Europe and a growing global presence, we support early-stage ventures, public programs, and ecosystem partners to innovate, scale, and create impact.
