The Morgan Stanley Multicultural Innovation Lab (MSMIL), an accelerator that helps startups led by women and people of color gain funding, has been named the first participant in the NJ Accelerate. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), which launched the NJ Accelerate, announced the partnership, one of the first times that a state has teamed up with a major financial company on such a program. The accord comes as the MSMIL will expand its program starting in winter 2021 to typically invest $250,000 in such a startup, an increase from $200,000 in prior cohort companies. The new initiative is needful capital-wise. Black founders receive less than 1% of venture capital funds annually, and Black women founders account for less than that, the