The newly formed Access Georgia Foundation is on a mission to support unserved and underserved entrepreneurs by providing access to angel investments, mentoring from business leaders, and an expanded network that includes investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and more.
The Foundation is a spin-off of the ACCESS program, a program of TiE Atlanta, a chapter of the global nonprofit, TiE Global, that serves entrepreneurs in all stages and industries. Founded in 2020, ACCESS was formed with the intention of supporting women- and minority-owned businesses.
As a program, it focused on early stage entrepreneurs who are post-revenue and are in the Seed or Seed+ round of fundraising to grow their ventures. ACCESS also provided opportunities for angel investors who are seeking to diversify their portfolios.
In four years, the program invested $2 million in 14 companies in various industries such as healthcare, supply chain, feminine hygiene products (FemTech), and more. It also provided over $70,000 in grants for companies with a social impact focus.
“ACCESS’s runaway success made us realize that we can do a lot more for founders who are not quite ready for the cohort, but are well on their way,” said Paul Lopez, founder of the ACCESS program and now co-chair of the executive committee for the Access Georgia Foundation.
With an emphasis on equal access to resources, Access Georgia Foundation was launched in 2024 to continue its work for underserved and underserved entrepreneurs by providing coaching, capital, and connections, or the 3 C’s.
The Foundation will continue the Cohort as its top tier programming offering. Now with a broadened approach, the Foundation aims to deliver a broad range of programming aimed at empowering the entrepreneurs with the tools and resources needed to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. Additionally, as a part of its strategic plan, the Foundation will launch a Peer to Peer Mentoring Network to bring together entrepreneurs to learn and collaborate with each other; develop an Access Marketplace for corporations and small businesses to partner with entrepreneurs who are scaling; create an Investors’ Roundtable to allow more angel investors and angel groups to participate and meet early-stage founders; and more.
The Foundation is working with municipalities, corporations, chambers of commerce, and other entrepreneur ecosystem organizations to expand its reach and impact.
The 2024 Executive Committee includes: Neda Barqawi, Eric Ensor, Bruce Keenan, Paul Lopez, Devika Rao, Amyn Sadruddin, and Jagruti Solanki
For more information or to contact the organization, visit www.accessgaf.org
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About Access Foundation: The mission of the ACCESS Georgia Foundation is to provide education, mentoring, and capital for underserved and unserved entrepreneurs and their companies to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. The Foundation has invested over $2 million into 14 companies across the Southeast and engaged over 60 mentors who have provided over 1,200 hours of mentorship. accessgaf.org
