The AWS Accelerator is aimed at early-stage startups led by Black, Latino, LGBTQIA+, and women founders.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company (NASDAQ: AMZN), has earmarked a spend of $30 million over three years to support early-stage startups led by Black, Latino, LGBTQIA+, and women founders. The AWS Impact Accelerator will invest up to $225,000 in the form of combined cash and credits, and provide training, mentoring, and technical guidance, as well as introductions to Amazon leaders and teams, networking opportunities with investors, and advisory support. (Amazon)

AWS Impact Accelerator

Entrepreneurs from minority groups have seen how the pool of businesses that receive funding is often ‘homogeneous.’

Here’s a telling statistic: In 2021, U.S. startups founded solely by women raised nearly $6.4 billion in venture funding, according to PitchBook data – comprising only 2% of overall investment dollars that year, which was $330 billion.

Not only do minorities have difficulty in securing capital, but they also cannot access training, networking, and mentoring opportunities, observes AWS.

“When we launched in 2006, AWS changed the game for startups by giving them access to the same technology as the world’s largest enterprises,” said Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services. “AWS is committed to helping underrepresented founders succeed and build powerful cloud solutions that capture the attention of investors and customers.”

Applications have already opened for the first AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders, with the program kicking off in June for U.S.-based startups.

The first AWS Impact Accelerator for Women Founders will take place in the second half of the year for U.S.-based startups.

The AWS Impact Accelerator for LGBTQIA+ Founders and AWS Impact Accelerator for Latino Founders will follow in 2023.

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