SmartJob, a first-of-its-kind impact consultant
focused on closing the disability wealth gap by catalyzing employment through
innovation, has launched a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment
to Action, in partnership with Enable
Ventures — the first impact venture fund
dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap.
Announced Monday at this year’s CGI meeting, the Moonshot Disability
Accelerator Fund will provide direct funding for 10 global accelerators
working with early-stage entrepreneurs innovating at the intersection of
disability and technology to prepare them for investment by Enable Ventures and
other venture funds seeking market-rate, risk-adjusted returns at the
intersection of disability and tech innovation.
The differently abled population currently experiences crisis-level unemployment and a
lack of capital investing in early-stage solutions. According to the World
Health
Organization,
1.5 billion people globally — roughly 15 percent of the world’s population —
live with disabilities. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s working-age persons
with disabilities (PWD) are not employed. All in all, it is estimated that the
global GDP loses approximately $1.9 trillion annually due to exclusion of
people with disabilities in the workplace.
“The Moonshot Disability Accelerator Fund is an unrivaled step toward truly
supporting a global marketplace for innovators with disabilities and those
working with people with disabilities to create new technologies to improve the
human experience. This is a signpost that people with disabilities will unlock
new value for society and play a prominent role in the workplace and global
marketplace in the coming decades,” said SmartJob founder and Chair Gina
Kline, who is also founder and Managing Partner of Enable Ventures. “For the
first time in history, there is a nexus of rising societal expectations, rapidly
advancing technological innovation and significant capital earmarked for DEI to
build an inclusive economy. The workplace and capital markets can no longer
afford to ignore people with disabilities. This Commitment to Action will ensure
that accelerator partners around the world have the financial support to enable
early-stage enterprises with game-changing tech innovations to become investment
ready. We are incredibly grateful to CGI for its leadership in bringing this
groundbreaking initiative to its world-class convening and amplifying the
message of a rising class of innovators with disabilities across the world and
those working as leaders in the global disability tech market.”
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“SmartJob’s and Enable Ventures’ innovative initiative will provide critical
opportunities for workers with disabilities across the globe,” said Rose
Aka-James, Senior Community Manager of Health Equity at CGI.
“For too long, the disability community has been overlooked by capital markets.
The Moonshot commitment recognizes the boundless opportunities waiting at the
intersection of disability and technology — introducing a new era where equity
is at the center.”
SmartJob will serve as the impact consultant for the Moonshot Fund, which will
be a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture
Fund — an independent 501(c)(3) organization
specializing in helping funder collaboratives and others launch new social
change projects.
In its role as impact consultant, SmartJob will make recommendations regarding
deployment of Moonshot Fund capital to the global accelerators and to
early-stage companies that have been supported by the initiative’s accelerators.
The companies that will comprise the accelerator cohorts will require very early
investment to reach commercial viability. This kind of high-risk capital is
catalytic and crucial to early-stage companies bridging the pioneer gap before
they enter subsequent rounds of venture capital funding.
There are more than 2.5 billion people who would benefit from assistive
products; and people with disabilities, alongside their friends and family,
control over $13 trillion in global disposable income. The global disability
community is expected to increase from 1.5 billion people to 3.5 billion by 2050
as populations age and the rate of non-communicable diseases rises. And the tech
world has slowly started tuning in: Microsoft has developed a growing
collection of adaptive computer
accessories
and AT&T has worked with organizations such as World
Enabled
on projects that scale more inclusive tech
solutions,
but such initiatives remain few and far between. Meanwhile, the assistive-tech
market in the US alone will be valued at $26 billion by 2024.
“The disability market is massively underserved and undercapitalized. I know
from my own experience as an entrepreneur that investing in disability-related
innovations can be profitable and personally enriching,” said Jim Sorenson,
President and founder of the Sorenson Impact
Group, which supports Enable Ventures. “I
believe that the CGI Commitment to Action for the Moonshot Fund will play a
critical role in capturing the enormous innovation taking place at the
intersection of disability and turning these many great ideas into investible
transformational products and services for us all.”
Moonshot Disability Accelerator Fund
The Fund will aim to support 10 accelerators in eight different countries.
Through this initiative, the Moonshot Fund will identify and support cohorts in
these accelerators that will, in turn, support and mentor approximately 220
early-stage companies across the globe in 2022-2023. In addition, the Fund plans
to deploy catalytic, seed-stage investments into companies in the Moonshot’s
accelerator cohorts.
The first global accelerators that the Moonshot Fund intends to support are:
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Sep 20, 2022 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST