Morgan Stanley Hosts First Global Demo Day for Startups in Inclusive Ventures Lab

• Global cohort includes ten technology-enabled startups from US and EMEA: Advocat, AMAKA Studio, AuditMate, Gentreo, Here Here Market, imagi, Kinhub, Perse, Physician 360 and WeArisma
• Women-led startups pitching their innovative companies to over 200 investors, along with potential business partners and customers
• Multicultural Strategy Group renamed Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Group, better reflecting group’s evolution and global expansion 

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today is hosting its first global in-person Demo Day, with 10 participating companies 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.

Over the past five months, Morgan Stanley’s Inclusive Ventures Lab has supported its eighth cohort of technology-enabled 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 Firm’s network.

“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,” said 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.”

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.

“It’s been a privilege to witness first-hand how much these entrepreneurs have grown over the past five months,” said Sanghamitra Karra, Managing Director and EMEA Head of the Inclusive Ventures Group. “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.”

Today, 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 companies, 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 February 14 - March 31, with the cohort set to launch in September.

About the Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab

The Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab (MSIVL) is an intensive five-month in-house accelerator designed to help further develop and scale startups, culminating in a showcase presentation and Demo Day to the investor community. Morgan Stanley launched MSIVL, formerly called the Multicultural Innovation Lab, in 2017 in order to address inequities in funding of ethnically diverse- and women-led startups, which our research shows equals over four trillion dollars in unrealized returns.

The team is led by New York-based Selma Bueno, Managing Director and Global Head of the Inclusive Ventures Group, and London-based Sanghamitra Karra, Managing Director and EMEA Head of the Inclusive Ventures Group. Together, they have over 35 years of investment banking and risk management experience.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in 41 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.