Bank of America this week launched its Breakthrough Lab accelerator program for startups to network and gain access to technology support their companies need to scale.

The six-month mentorship program follows two previous pilot programs the bank hosted in 2021 and 2022, according to a Bank of America release. “We received fantastic feedback from the pilot startups about the impact of the program — and particularly about the access to industry experts and potential investors,” Derrick Walton, program sponsor and head of emerging payments in global transaction services at Bank of America, told Bank Automation News.

Through the accelerator program, pre-seed-stage companies with ideas related to fintech or tech-enabled innovations will have access to instruction on business topics, tech support, best practices on cybersecurity, branding packages and selling to large enterprises. The program culminates with an opportunity to pitch their businesses at the end of the program, according to the release.

Underrepresented entrepreneurs

Breakthrough Lab is focused on increasing access for underrepresented groups, Rina Arline, managing director and director of the initiative at Bank of America, told BAN.

“According to Crunchbase, venture funding to Black-founded startups in the U.S. was $324 million in the second quarter 2022, a steep drop from [the] prior quarter. Hispanic and Latino founders are disproportionately represented at just about 2% of the overall pie, and women on average receive 2.2% of overall [venture capital] funding.

“Breakthrough Lab is just one of the bank’s initiatives that we hope can change that reality,” Arline said.

Applications for the cohort will be accepted through June 8, and the six-month cohort will start in September, according to the release.

Accelerator programs

Bank of America, which has committed $421 million to minority and women-led funds to date, joins other banks that have established their own accelerator programs.

For example, Morgan Stanley’s in-house accelerator lab, the Inclusive Ventures Lab, also promotes financial inclusion for startups led by minority founders, according to the Morgan Stanley website.