Francesca James, Co-founder of the StartUp Awards National Series and founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, discusses latest partnership with Clerco, to help find and fund founders within the community.
We’re delighted to announce that we’ve partnered with Clearco the world’s largest e-commerce investor revolutionising the way founders grow their businesses. This week, Clearco announced the launch of the Clearco Founders Fund for the UK, and we’re working with them to help fund the next generation of online businesses across the British Isles.
Over the past five years, Clearco has funded 7,000+ online businesses without taking equity, all by democratising access to capital and backing founders based on merit, not connections. Clearco’s portfolio looks totally different from the typical VC. Clearco has had an undeniable impact on changing the face of the investment world – currently, 50% of the company’s global portfolio is female-founded companies—which is 25X more than the VC industry average. Furthermore, in 2021, 35% of Clearco’s funding went to BIPOC founders, compared to 28% for traditional VCs. Through this new initiative, which we’re proud to partner with, Clearco will provide even more visibility and opportunities for these overlooked companies to grow.
“The Clearco Founders Fund is another major step in Clearco’s mission to fund great businesses without bias,” said Co-founder and President of Clearco, Michele Romanow, “We know that innovation exists in all corners of the world and with the Clearco Founders Fund, it not only provides a window for founders who are typically overlooked by traditional VC, but it gives opportunity for industry leaders of all backgrounds to support the entrepreneurs they believe can make a difference in their industries and beyond.”
I couldn’t be more delighted to be partnering with The Clearco founders fund as a scout. We’ve built a community of some 50,000 businesses via The Great British Entrepreneur Awards and The National Start-Up series in addition to celebrating their achievements, our mission is to support them in their endeavours all year round, with access to capital being a key part of that.
Partnering with Clearco helps us to open so many doors for entrepreneurs and I’m proud to be able to support growth focussed companies and founders I truly believe in, to access investment. This partnership will truly help empower some incredible entrepreneurial talent!
For more information and to apply visit: https://clear.co/partner/francesca-james/?redirected=true
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