Braze, the leading customer engagement platform that empowers brands to Be Absolutely Engaging™, is opening applications for the fifth cohort of its Tech for an Equitable Future product grant program and announcing its first-ever partnership for the program with BET+, a premium streaming entertainment service. Applications are being accepted for the Tech for an Equitable Future product grant program now through Jan. 17, 2025.

“Braze remains committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we’re excited to partner with BET+ in an effort to help catalyze business growth by fostering a more inclusive and equitable future.”

The Tech for an Equitable Future program offers 20 companies with underrepresented founders, including Black and women entrepreneurs, with 12 months of free access to Braze technology and supporting resources that enable business growth and scalability. As a specialty streamer with thousands of weekly subscriber touchpoints on TV and film content, BET+’s subscriber acquisition and retention efforts are a best-in-class model for small and early-stage businesses to establish more robust customer engagement strategies.

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Through this new partnership, BET+ will also provide select participants of the program with mentorship, access to a branding masterclass, free email advertising, and more. BET+, a Braze customer, will mentor five companies from the Tech for an Equitable Future program, assisting them with Braze use cases and overall customer engagement strategies. The streaming service will also lead participants in a live Masterclass workshop focused on brand marketing, and provide these five selected companies with free features in BET+ subscriber email campaigns.

“We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Braze through its Tech for an Equitable Future program – which mirrors our brand values around community impact and empowerment,” said Jason Harvey, EVP and General Manager of BET+. “We are embarking on our fifth anniversary as a streaming platform and for nearly all that time, Braze has been a valued partner. We embrace the opportunity to contribute BET+ thought-leadership to the fifth program cohort of Tech for an Equitable future, and to further support a community of under-resourced founders.”

In 2023, Black-founded startups received less than 0.5% of the $140.4 billion in venture funding all U.S.-based startups received, and companies founded solely by women garnered just 2.2% of the total capital invested in VC-backed startups in the U.S. last year. These figures underscore the disparity faced by Black and female entrepreneurs in attaining equitable access to foundational funding., Braze provides a total of 31 early-stage startups with free or discounted access to its comprehensive customer engagement platform, including 16 women-founded businesses, totalling more than $900,000 in annualized product value donated in FY’25 alone as of September 1, 2024.

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“It’s been rewarding to be a part of the evolution and expansion of our Tech for an Equitable Future program, which aims to level the playing field for marginalized founders,” said Rod McLeod, VP of Social Impact at Braze. “Braze remains committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we’re excited to partner with BET+ in an effort to help catalyze business growth by fostering a more inclusive and equitable future.”

Grant Details and Process:

To be eligible for the grant program, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Companies located in APAC, EMEA, or North America with underrepresented-founders, such as those with Black and women founders.
• Bootstrapped business or less than $30M in VC funding;
• Have fewer than 100 employees; and
• Have compatible SDK and appropriate Engineering/Marketing resources

Braze offers technology that allows recipients to capture, analyze and act on customer data to engage their customers across channels and create personalized experiences. For the 20 businesses selected to participate, the program will offer:

• A free Braze Core package, which includes platform access, access to our SDKs and APIs, and a comprehensive messaging package (see full details here)
• Onboarding services and over 25 hours of educational content to get you up and running
• Access to a dedicated Customer Success Manager
• Free Braze certifications
• Access to digital community spaces to network with fellow founders in the program