Morgan Stanley is hosting its first global in-person Demo Day, with 10 participating firms from the US and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The cohort companies, all founded by women, will pitch over 200 investors, as well as potential business partners and customers.
What startups are lined up for Demo Day?
Over the past five months, Morgan Stanley’s Inclusive Ventures Lab has supported its eighth cohort of technology-enabled global startups in the post-seed to Series A funding round stage, offering an intensive accelerator program designed to provide a variety of mentorship opportunities and business-growth resources from across the organisation’s network.
The cohort companies presenting at Demo Day include:
- Advocat a virtual deal desk with AI contract generation to streamline contracting from CRM through legal drafting, negotiation and internal approvals to signing.
- AMAKA Studio a digital media platform connecting a global community of women sharing Pan-African stories.
- AuditMate a provider of SaaS-driven vertical transportation maintenance and contract management services, helping property managers with contract analysis, maintenance completion reporting, compliance management and more.
- Gentreo a next generation estate planning software solution helping families and caregivers affordably and easily prepare, plan and protect all they love.
- Here Here Market an online marketplace connecting consumers with chefs and small batch food artisans.
- imagi an education tech company leveraging gender inclusive proprietary coding education tools to equip 8-13+ year-olds with essential technology skills and confidence.
- Kinhub (formerly Kami) an AI-powered platform offering a one-stop-shop for employee wellness, enabling diverse talent to thrive.
- Perse an open energy platform unlocking access to energy and carbon data.
- Physician 360 a platform that transforms community pharmacies into healthcare clinics by empowering them with access to a virtual care platform and a network of on-call clinicians in all 50 states.
- WeArisma a global enterprise SaaS influencer analytics platform helping large-scale companies to optimize marketing spend and to achieve communication objectives.
What does Demo Day mean for Morgan Stanley?
“It’s been a privilege to witness first-hand how much these entrepreneurs have grown over the past five months. Each of them has the vision and the drive to create a more equitable world, and they finish this program well positioned for their next stage of growth,” said Sanghamitra Karra, Managing Director and EMEA Head of the Inclusive Ventures Group.
“We are on a mission to change the investing landscape for underrepresented founders. Through our accelerator program we are providing promising startups with much-needed capital, the broad resources of Morgan Stanley and access to investors,” commented Selma Bueno, Managing Director and Global Head of the Inclusive Ventures Group.
“Today’s Demo Day showcases innovative businesses led by underrepresented founders. By providing a global platform for these companies to attract funding, we are working to advance a more equitable investing climate for startups,” Selma Bueno further said.
The Multicultural Client Strategy Group will be renamed the Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Group, which includes the Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab, to reflect the group’s evolution and global expansion. Founded in 2017, the Lab has hosted 69 participating firms, with a combined valuation of more than $670m. Following the Lab’s global expansion in 2022, the next cohort will support up to 15 companies in the US and 10 companies in EMEA.
Applications will be open from Feb 14 – March 31, with the cohort set to launch in September.
