A team of Morgan State University graduates has banded together to empower other HBCU students financially.

Venture for T.H.E.M. is a D.C.-, Maryland-, and Virginia-based accelerator and social impact collective that was founded in 2024 to serve marginalized founders, students, and creatives. It is led by Kiante Bush (CEO) and Clarevonte “Clay” Williams (COO), who are joined by Jewel E. Bush (communications director) and Jeffrey S. Scruggs, M.S. (CTO), according to its website.

It offers resources that include weekly workshops and networking, one-on-one mentorship from venture capitalists and C-suite executives, and funding pathways, including non-dilutive grants for HBCU startups. Already, more than 20 entrepreneurs at HBCUs have received funding.

Under Venture for T.H.E.M., the AI-powered mobile app Fund.FWD has launched to connect HBCU students and alums to grants, scholarships, investor opportunities, and accelerators, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™.

It is driven by a proprietary engine called Venture AI, which considers Venture for T.H.E.M.’s mentorship sessions, panels, and insights, and can also help users with actionable items such as proposal writing.

“This AI model helps users navigate readiness assessments, proposal writing, and growth strategy — translating hundreds of hours of talks and workshops into personalized, actionable guidance,” information on the press release mentions.

Users can also benefit from a tab featuring videos that provide entrepreneurial education on startup funding, scaling strategy, marketing, leadership, and more.

The app also invites corporations, accelerators, and community organizations to join the platform and share grants, scholarships, and business programs through the Partner Opportunity Portal.

“Fund.FWD is about closing the funding gap for underestimated founders,” said CTO Scruggs in the press release.

“We built a tool that empowers users not just to find opportunities, but to get funded — pairing mentorship, AI, and real-world knowledge from our ecosystem,” he continued.

The app is currently available on Apple iOS and the Google Play Store for Android.