The HBCU Founders Initiative is a nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It runs programs designed to scale entrepreneurial education and support entrepreneurs and organizations that promote diversity in ideas and perspectives.

HBCU Founders Initiative

The HBCU Founders Initiative is a nonprofit organization that is engaging rising HBCU students and alumni interested in developing solutions that close the wealth gap ranging from increasing access to healthcare, education, and financial services.

From the ideation stage to the investment stage and beyond, the HBCU Founders Initiative offers programs, events, resources, and a vast network committed to supporting HBCU founders on their entrepreneurial journey.

Last fall, this program catapulted me into a series of experiences, relationships, and training that have completely changed my life in ways I will forever be grateful. I might have given up on my entrepreneurial dreams if it wasn’t for HBCUFI. With that said, apply apply APPLY! And shoutout to the best program coordinators Miranda Perez & Kenia Best 🫶🏽

Exciting opportunity for aspiring HBCU entrepreneurs! 👨🏽‍🎓✨#hbcu #startups #entrepreneurship #accelerator

Join us for an exciting evening dedicated to aspiring entrepreneurs from HBCUs! Our Fall 2024 Pre-Accelerator Informational Session will provide you with all the essential details about our upcoming 8-week program.

The HBCUFI pre-accelerator program is an advancement opportunity for early-stage startup founders and business owners. Founders who join the program must be ready to validate the problem that their idea solves and build a minimum viable product (MVP).

Highlights:
- Overview of the Pre-Accelerator program structure and objectives
- Insights into the mentorship and resources available
- Success stories from program alumni
- Live Q&A to answer all your questions

Who should attend:
This event is ideal for HBCU students and alumni who are curious about entrepreneurship and looking for structured support to kickstart their journey.

Register for session one, August 5th: https://lnkd.in/e6d4y_bZ  

Register for session two, August 26th: https://lnkd.in/ejW4yKAf

As we honor and celebrate Juneteenth, we invite you to reflect on the milestones we have achieved together since the HBCU Founders Initiative (HBCUFI) was born on this day in 2020. 

In 2020, the team at Nex Cubed  a Bay-area-based venture accelerator on a mission to help support and accelerate underrepresented founders — recognized their ability to further fuel the untapped potential within the entrepreneurial ecosystem at HBCUs. 
 
That summer, Nex Cubed called on our allies to pitch an HBCU-centered program with a mission of encouraging founders to pursue tech entrepreneurship and develop solutions that close the racial wealth gap. In its first year, the HBCU Founder’s program engaged over 350 students and alumni from more than 50 HBCUs.

The success of this inaugural effort led to the establishment of The HBCU Founders Initiative as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. #HBCUFI is the first accelerator of its kind, ensuring that innovative ideas at HBCUs do not die on a vine due to lack of resources. 

To date, HBCUFI has supported over 1,200 student and alumni startup founders across 80+ HBCUs in the last three years.

We invite you to join us in celebrating Juneteenth and the incredible achievements of our community. Your support is invaluable as we continue this journey together.
Consider donating at hbcufi.org/donate to help us empower more HBCU students and alumni founders. Together, we are making history.

The HBCU Founders Initiative is proud to present our Spring 2024 Pre-Accelerator founders!

This cohort is composed of nearly 60 startups from 18 different HBCUs working on tech-enabled solutions across fintech, edtech, AI, health gaming, retail, logistics, and other sectors. 

We are so honored to work with each and every one of them on their entrepreneurial journeys! 🤝💜

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