Barclays and Techstars announce initiative to support female entrepreneurs

Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, and British universal bank, Barclays, have today announced their partnership to launch Female Founders First, a unique programme designed to provide 30 trailblazing, female-led companies with resources to grow, scale, and advance their businesses.

The 30 selected founders—representing a wide range of industries including health care, legal, finance, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence—will receive access to mentorship and networking opportunities, a curriculum of workshops and roundtables, as well as perks and brand-strengthening initiatives designed to prepare them for their next rounds of funding or scaling efforts.

“Female founders all over the world have launched high-growth businesses that are on the verge of scale. These are high-value, investment-worthy companies, but research shows that breaking through has as much to do with access as acumen,” said Jennifer Jordan, managing director for the Female Founders First by Barclays and Techstars programme. “We are bringing together 30 exceptional, trailblazing founders—some of whom are first time entrepreneurs, and some who have walked the path before—to learn from and support each other. We are leveraging our networks and the power of the Techstars and Barclays brands to increase their access, amplify their voices, showcase their brand stories, and shatter the entrepreneurial glass ceiling.”

The six-week programme is entirely virtual, allowing the global participants to access the curriculum from anywhere in the world.

“Barclays is honored to partner with Techstars to support this cohort of exceptional female founders along their entrepreneurial journeys,” said Sonal Lakhani, Head of Global Programmes and Strategic Initiatives, Group Innovation, Barclays. “These founders are in critical stages of growth—stages that historically have been uniquely challenging for female entrepreneurs. Together with the Techstars team, we will provide them with the resources necessary to succeed—especially in this pandemic era when access to networks, business advice, and capital is more limited than ever before.”

The inaugural class includes:

● Melissa Menke; Access Afya (U.S. / Kenya)

● Mariana Matus, PhD; Biobot Analytics (U.S.)

● Aceil Halaby; Bloomer Tech (U.S.)

● Daina Burnes; Bold Metrics (U.S.)

● Anita Brearton; CabinetM (U.S.)

● Suelin Chen; Cake (U.S.)

● Lauren Sturdivant; Case Status (U.S.)

● Jasmine Jones; Cherry Blossom Intimates (U.S.)

● Navrina Singh; Credo Al (U.S.)

● Mariana Pavlovic Rivas; Eli Health (Canada)

● Dr. Roshawnna Novellus; EnrichHER (U.S.)

● Niina Hopper; EVA Global (Finland)

● Maria Tanjala; FilmChain (U.K.)

● Weerada Sucharitkul; FilmDoo Limited (U.K.)

● Aurelie Helou; InfinityQ Technology (Canada)

● Milkana Brace; Jargon (U.S.)

● Rebecca Morter; Lone Design Club (U.K.)

● Anya Babbitt; Mella Pet Care (U.S.)

● Seema Khinda Johnson; Nuggets (U.K.)

● Michelle Chao; Phoenix Tailings (U.S.)

● Katica Roy; Pipeline Equity (U.S.)

● Stephanie Benedetto; Queen of Raw (U.S.)

● Lydia Winkler; RentCheck (U.S.)

● Beth Porter; Riff Analytics (U.S.)

● Beth Michael; Streeva Ltd (U.K.)

● Loral Quinn; Sustainably (U.K.)

● Sydney Davis; Tequity (U.S.)

● Jennifer Henderson; TiLT (U.S.)

● Alexa-Maria Rathbone Barker; TripAbrood (U.K)

● Zoe Barry; Zingeroo (U.S.)

To learn more about Female Founders First by Barclays and Techstars, visit https://barclaysfemalefounders.techstars.com and follow the hashtag #FemaleFoundersFirst on Twitter. To find out more about what Barclays is doing to help female founders thrive, visit https://rise.barclays/femalefounders/helping-female-founders.