NEW BEDFORD – Entrepreneurship For All South Coast will showcase its 2017 accelerator cohort at an event on Sept. 21, where the nonprofit will also celebrate the second anniversary of its launch.
EforAll South Coast officially opened its doors on Sept. 24, 2015, during an event in New Bedford hosted by the entrepreneurial group SoCoLAUNCH in the offices that a few months later become the Groundwork! co-working space.
In the two years since then, EforAll has founded a second home in Fall River and shepherded 47 early-stage ventures through the 12-week intensive EforAll South Coast Accelerator Program. The nonprofit has also awarded more than $100,000 in cash prizes to the winners of its regular pitch contests, in which close to 100 startups have participated to date.
The graduates of EforAll’s Accelerator Program have gone on to generate $1.7 million in revenue and raise $1 million in capital, and 155 jobs will have been created by the 47 program alumni by the end of 2017.
“The ventures that have come through the program are making the community better with their ideas by launching ventures where they see a gap but also, generating revenue,” wrote Shelley Cardoos, executive director at EforAll South Coast, in a statement.
Cardoos added she expects the revenue and job-creation numbers from accelerator alumni to continue growing.
EforAll is currently accepting applications for the Winter 2018 Accelerator Program. Interested entrepreneurs can find more information or apply to the program at www.eforall.org. The deadline for applications is Oct. 31.
The anniversary event will be held Thursday, Sept 21, from 6-8 p.m. at Bristol Community College’s Fall River campus. The most recent cohort of 14 startup businesses to participate in the EforAll Accelerator Program will showcase their products and services to the public. EforAll will also announce which of the program’s finalists will receive a portion of the $15,000 prize pool.
Dean Snell, owner and CEO of golf-ball manufacturer Snell Golf, will deliver the keynote address.
The event is free of charge. To register to attend, visit the celebration’s Eventbrite page.
Galen Auer is a PBN contributing writer. Email galen.auer@gmail.com or follow on Twitter at @PBNAuer.
