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Digital Catapult and Sony Music announce start-ups benefiting from inaugural FutureScope Black Founders Programme
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 1 August 2023
Digital Catapult and Sony Music UK have announced the ten start-ups that are participating in their inaugural FutureScope Black Founders Programme, which will “support black British entrepreneurs in the digital entertainment space and encourage the successful commercialisation of their innovative new solutions”.
The ten start-ups taking part are Cashblack, Deya, Flossy, Happaning Ltd, Korda, Loud Parade, Musircle, Nyangibo Gallery, Stories & The City and Waves.
FutureScope, the Innovate UK-backed Digital Catapult explains, is a “deep tech acceleration support system for the UK’s leading tech innovators and businesses”.
The Black Founders Programme iteration of the scheme has been specifically launched in response to research from investment firm Atomico that revealed that “62% of black founders have found it increasingly hard to raise venture capital, with only 38 black founders receiving venture capital funding between 2009 and 2019, just 0.24% of the total sum invested”.
Confirming Sony’s support for the programme, the major’s Dorothy Hui says: “Sony Music is committed to helping improve diversity in digital entertainment and we look forward to supporting the entrepreneurs participating in the programme by providing access to industry expertise and our network. We can’t wait to see how the businesses develop through the programme”.
While Jessica Rushworth, Chief Strategy & Policy Officer at Digital Catapult, adds: “This cohort is really one of the most exciting we have seen since the launch of FutureScope nearly two years ago. The range of solutions on show, built using advanced digital technologies, just highlights why companies like this are a key part of the future of the UK’s creative sector”.
“The reality is that choosing ten companies from a strong field of applicants was an incredibly tough process for the judging panel”, she goes on, “but ultimately a very encouraging one, that really demonstrated to us the breadth of talent that exists within the UK’s black tech community”.
