Sunday Night Highlight: Five Minority-Led Energy Startups Win $275K
Five startups from the first cohort of Opportunity Hub’s New Energy Technology Incubator have been awarded a total of $275,000 in equity investment during New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. GNO Inc. partnered with Opportunity Hub (OHUB) in 2023 to launch the New Energy Technology Incubator (NETI) in New Orleans, the focus of which is on high-growth, minority-led startups working on responsible energy transition and climate tech solutions.
The first cohort of NETI included 48 founders from South Louisiana and beyond. The winning startups, which received an average of over $50,000 each, are:
- Tikal Industries (Tayyaba Ali) – A smart water platform, backed by the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, to simplify water management, supply chain, and carbon reduction efforts
- OGA Street Tech (Chimadika Okoye) – Decreasing the world’s dependence on temporary asphalt and concrete by selling their patented clean solutions to municipal, state and federal governments
- Maiven Energy (Jacqueline Hall) – Uses AI to analyze your home’s unique energy profile and then calculate the cost and carbon savings of every available energy option
- ECGO (Nicole Tool) – A pioneer in AI-powered waste management solutions, empowering institutions and consumers to divert more waste from the landfill
- Gro Enterprises (Joel Holton) – Seeks to develop affordable, resilient, and climate smart housing solutions via manufacturing of industrial hemp-based building products
OHUB was cofounded in 2013 by Tulane graduate Rodney Sampson, and his wife, Shanterria Sampson.
You can read more about the OHUB, GNO, Inc., and the New Energy Technology Incubator here.