— Five entrepreneurs developing companies around fintech and services make up the latest Black Founder Accelerator cohort in Milwaukee.
Northwestern Mutual yesterday announced the startup leaders joining the program for its second 2023 cohort, hosted in partnership with Madison-based accelerator gener8tor. It’s funded through a $20 million commitment from the financial services company to support Black entrepreneurs.
Craig Schedler, managing director of Northwestern Mutual’s Future Ventures investment fund, said “this next cohort of bright entrepreneurs will use the resources provided in this program to become leaders in their respective sectors.”
Participants can get up to a $100,000 investment through the 12-week program, along with coaching, feedback, product development support and one-on-one mentorship specific to the industry they’re targeting.
Black startup founders receive less than 2% of all venture capital, according to Chief Audit Executive Abim Kolawole, contributing to racial inequalities.
“As we witness the remarkable achievements of each cohort, we are reminded that programs like these are essential in fostering a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem,” he said in a statement. “We hope that the success of these founders will inspire future generations of Black entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.”
Startups in the latest cohort include:
*CashEx, a Boston company led by co-founder and CEO Kingsley Ezeani. The business aims to reduce the “financial stress of immigrants during their migration journey” by helping them build credit and establish a U.S. bank account, the release shows.
*Shur, a New York business led by founder and CEO Kahlil Byrd. The startup helps student loan borrowers to avoid mistakes, build their financial plans and better understand credit. And it offers student loan repayment interruption insurance.
*ModerTax of San Francisco, led by founder and CEO Matthew Parker. This company offers tax and financial information to customers in hopes of simplifying the underwriting process, the release shows.
*Athlytic, founded by CEO Ashton Keys. This Detroit startup says it provides “data-driven insights and expert recommendations” to connect student athletes and brands for endorsement deals.
*Foresight, based in Kansas City, Mo. and led by founder and CEO Jannae Gammage. The company uses AI to assess credit risk, fraud and bias to help traditional banking services “safely open doors for underserved consumers.”
See more on the companies in the release: https://news.northwesternmutual.com/2023-10-09-Northwestern-Mutuals-Black-Founder-Accelerator-R-program-celebrates-its-third-year-of-empowering-Black-entrepreneurs
See more on the program: https://www.gener8tor.com/investment-accelerators/northwestern-mutual-black-founder-accelerator
— A Senate committee has approved a slate of abortion-related bills, including one to clarify which procedures are considered abortions under state law.
Three of the bills yesterday passed the Senate Licensing, Constitution and Federalism Committee 3-2 along party lines with Dems in opposition, including:
*SB 343, which would assert the definition of abortion doesn’t apply to medical procedures aiming to prevent the death of a pregnant woman and which aren’t intended to “kill the unborn child,” when “reasonable medical efforts” are made to save both the woman and child.
The bill notes as examples an early induction or cesarean section performed in a medical emergency, and procedures to treat a miscarriage or ectopic, anembryonic or molar pregnancy as examples.
*SB 344, which would allow Wisconsinites to claim an unborn child as a dependent for tax purposes when there is a detectable fetal heartbeat. It would also increase the individual income tax exemption for a dependent from $700 to $1,000.
*SB 345, which would require the Department of Health Services to award a $1 million grant to Choose Life Wisconsin each fiscal year to provide grants to pregnancy resource centers.
The committee unanimously approved SB 346, which would allocate $5 million in 2023-25 for an adoption grant program.
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report…</b></i>
— UW-Madison researchers have found a remnant of the cell division process could play a role in the development of cancer.
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— UW-Eau Claire has appointed Lisa Jepsen as the new dean of the university’s business school starting early next year.
Jepsen has spent 23 years as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Northern Iowa, according to the release announcing her appointment. She will start in the new position Feb. 1, 2024.
She will be taking over for Brewer Doran, who plans to retire March 1 of next year, the release shows.
In a statement on the new position, Jepsen praised UW-Eau Claire for “providing practical knowledge to prepare students to work in businesses and other organizations, offering many opportunities for student engagement both in and out of the classroom.”
See the release: https://www.uwec.edu/news/news/dr-lisa-jepsen-named-dean-of-uw-eau-claire-s-college-of-business-5849/
— Milwaukee Bucks owners Jamie Dinan and Wes Edens say public financing was critical in building Fiserv Forum and keeping the Bucks in Milwaukee.
They called it a “classic successful public-private partnership” as negotiations surrounding the Brewers funding bill intensifies in Madison.
“It was either build a new arena, or the NBA was going to make us move the team,” Dinan said on WISN’s ‘UpFront,’ which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “And none of us wanted to move the team. The economics of a small-market team made building an arena on your own particularly challenging, which is why we went to the state and the county, and I know that’s controversial, but the reality is Milwaukee was never going to get another NBA franchise if they lost this one, and I think people recognized that.”
The arena opened in 2018 and included $250 million in public financing.
“If you could go back 10 years ago when we showed up here, this is all basically vacant land and kind of a forgotten part of Milwaukee,” Edens said. “And what’s happened then in terms of the team is great, but it’s equally as big of an impact off the court.”
See more from the show: https://www.wisn.com/upfront
#TOP STORIES#
# Wisconsin Supreme Court sides with tenant advocates in limiting eviction records
# Xcel Energy plans new $500M transmission line in western Wisconsin
# Lawmakers discuss Brewers stadium plan, union labor, development
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Amid new rules on antibiotics in livestock, Wisconsin farmer says producers still need medications
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=906&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– Wells Fargo supports Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity goal to build affordable homes
– Replacing I-794 with streets to be among project alternatives in 2024
# EDUCATION
– Green Bay’s new superintendent has ambitious goals. Here’s how he plans to achieve them.
# HEALTH CARE
– ‘I wasn’t crazy’: Wisconsin women hope painful disease gains more attention
– GOP bill ignores overwhelming advice of medical community on gender affirming care for trans youth
– Oshkosh brewery joins Festival Foods, Alzheimer’s Association on limited-release beer
# LEGAL
– Amazon continues expanding its Wisconsin footprint as state joins FTC lawsuit
# MANAGEMENT
– High-profile ManpowerGroup exec joins Cincinnati firm
# MANUFACTURING
– SC Johnson plans large-scale manufacturing in Kenya in $10M anti-malaria campaign
– Bradley Corp. leaders discuss pending sale
# POLITICS
– Wisconsin governor highlights support for dairy
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=907&yr=2023
# RETAIL
– Turkey prices fall as Thanksgiving approaches
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=905&yr=2023
# SPORTS
– What do the Milwaukee Bucks owners think is next for Deer District?
# TOURISM
– Lake Geneva has been ranked as one of the most romantic small towns in the U.S.
# TRANSPORTATION
– Developer, airport hope to increase cargo volume at Mitchell with new logistics hub
# UTILITIES
– Generac navigating growing pains as company moves into a clean energy future
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
MPS: Adds an International Baccalaureate program at MacDowell Montessori
