We are so excited to announce that thanks to a $250,000 donation to our accelerator program, Bank of American and DivInc will provide $20,000 grants to five select DivInc portfolio companies. Additionally, each of the 10 companies participating in DivInc's spring 2022 accelerator program will receive $10,000 with their participation.

"We know the first step to addressing the lack of access to capital for Black, Latinx and women founders is to invest in their companies at the early stages, which gives them the crucial first step to launching their business and sets them up to attract more investors along their entrepreneurial journey," said Preston James, CEO of DivInc. "Bank of America gets it, and by providing these grants directly to DivInc alumni companies, they’re showing up for our communities and giving these companies the opportunity to grow and succeed and build generational wealth."

Bank of America’s commitment also paves the way for the creation of DivInc Ventures, our newly established equity investment fund focused on pre-seed investments. We are looking forward to launching the fund in the Q4 of this year!

"There’s a certain type of hardship that underrepresented founders face when accessing capital," said Darsha Carter, co-founder of Houston-based Melanoid Exchange, which was a member of DivInc's fall 2020 cohort. "To live through the experiences of being turned down by those who have accepted way less from our counterparts can be nothing short of demeaning. DivInc understands the essence of not just telling underrepresented founders they are creditable and valuable but also making sure we receive the capital to fulfill the value in which they see in us. My company and I are forever appreciative of the opportunities afforded to us through their efforts."

Read the article on Houston Business Journal.