Snap has launched a new accelerator that’ll supply up-and-coming Black creators with cash grants, mentorship, and access to Snapchat’s content monetization and creator/brand matchup marketplace.
The Black Creator Accelerator is part of Snap’s 523 program, which kicked off in December 2021 to “support and spotlight small content companies and creators from underrepresented groups.”
Creators who are accepted into the yearlong accelerator will receive a $10,000-per-month stipend for the full twelve months. They’ll also get mentorship from Snap’s talent partnerships team and from the accelerator’s sponsors: Google Pixel, UNCMMN, and Westbrook Media.
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Additionally, participants get “Snap Star status,” giving them advanced audience analytics, all of Snapchat’s creator monetization products (including its tip jar feature Gifting), and the branded content-facilitating creator marketplace it debuted last year.
They’ll get access to new features, too: Snap says it wants participants to beta test potential tools and provide feedback, something it hopes will “create a meaningful feedback loop between Black creators and Snap product teams to improve the inclusivity of the platform for Black creators.”
“Black creators face unique systemic barriers across the creator industry—from disparities in compensation and attribution, to toxic experiences and more,” Snap said in a blog post about the accelerator. “We believe one of the ways we can help remove some of those barriers is to provide mentorship and financial resources to emerging Black creators in the early stages of their professional career.”
Applications are open today through Aug. 12, and 25 creators will be notified of their acceptance by early September.
Snap says creators will be selected “based on their unique voices, alignment with Snap’s values, and vision for their career without giving preference to follower numbers or previous brand partnership experience.”
This is Snap’s first accelerator specifically for Black creators. It also runs Yellow, a biannual accelerator for media- and tech-focused startups. That program has been going since 2018, and invests $150,000 per cohort in exchange for an undisclosed ownership stake in each company.
