The London-based venture capital startup Black Seed VC, has been named winner of the Startups 100 DEI Award, which celebrates the firms and founders committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
The revolutionary startup has also ranked 41st in the 2025 Startups 100 Index, the UK’s longest-running index of the most promising new businesses.
What is Black Seed VC?
Black Seed VC is seeking to address the jaw-dropping funding gap for Black founders with a European first-of-its kind fund.
Founder: Karl Lokko
Year founded: 2021
How Black Seed VC stand out
With only 2% of venture capital funding in the UK going to all-female founding teams, and an even smaller 0.24% being allocated to Black founders over the past decade, Black Seed VC addresses the difficulties in securing funding by Black founders.
As the first and only Black-led venture fund in Europe dedicated to investing in Black founders, Black Seed VC is a force for change.
“This gap in funding represents a significant opportunity to drive meaningful change and foster innovation,” says Founder, Karl Lokko.
As an emerging fund, Black Seed VC faced initial challenges in raising capital, with potential investors hesitant due to its limited track record. Despite this, Black Seed VC has secured backing from prominent investors like M&G Catalyst and Atomico and partnered with NatWest Bank for initiatives like Lyan’s Den, which promotes entrepreneurship through workshops, networking, and pitch events.
Editor of Startups.co.uk, Zohra Huda, comments:
“Depressing and impressive in equal measure that Black Seed Ventures has the accolade of the first and only Black-led venture fund in Europe. By giving a platform to the altruistic startups that are championing equality across the UK, the Startups 100 Index hopes to promote the good work and business success of inspirational founders such as Karlo Lokko who refuse to accept the status quo.”
About the Index:
The Startups 100, run by Startups.co.uk, showcases the top 100 new UK businesses based on five key areas of analysis: finance, external validation, size of opportunity, innovativeness of idea and strength of concept.
As well as celebrating the best small businesses in the UK, the list is also an opportunity to grow a community of like-minded entrepreneurs and business owners who support and advocate for each other.
