# MINWO

The operating system for culturally informed business development.

## Elevator pitch
MINWO is an economic development tech company that’s powering the next generation of Black business development through our product lines Hustle Forward Labs and Rialto. Rialto, the operating system for culturally informed business development, enables organizations that work with Black and multicultural businesses to 1) integrate their ecosystem of businesses and partners, 2) track and measure their impact, and 3) create pathways to sustainability for their organizations.

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/minwo
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:90741
- Last updated: 2026-06-21T05:00:28Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-21T12:07:41Z

## Quick facts
- Techstars Social Impact c/o 2021
- 2021 WBJ Fire Awards Winner: 50 D.C.-area companies, people and organizations on fire.
- 5 customers/communities onboarding in 3 cities with strong sales pipeline.
- Scalable impact: leveraging smart-matching technology (AI) to provide data-as-a-service.
- Partnership with outsourcing company in Nigeria to source top technical talent.
- Exponential impact: our success fuels success for others.
- In-house development and marketing team.
- Venture Atlanta 2021 Showcase Company

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:47230: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)
- wefunder:fundraise:47231: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)

## Story
This slide contains forward-looking projections that cannot be guaranteed.

## FAQ
1. **I'm having trouble grasping the business model. Can you provide a real world example of how it works?**
   - Sure! Our customers have a community of businesses that they support by connecting to resources and experts. Most of them either have no tech supporting this work or use multiple tools to patch together a system that works. Our platform, Rialto, gives them one place to manage the logistics of supporting their community. We charge them a monthly or annual fee to per community space. Hope this helps!
2. **We have an investment group interested in learning more about your company and profiling it to our investment community. How might we setup a time to talk?**
   - Hi Phil, thanks for reaching out. Feel free to use this link to set up a time: https://calendly.com/melanie-akwule/melanie-minwo-investor-meeting

## Team
- Melanie Akwule (Founder & CEO)
- Kimberly Gant (VP of Digital & Design)
- Tyrome Sweet (Head of Engineering)
- Adriane Lanier (CyberOps Manager)

## Recent posts
- MINWO is now WBE and WOSB Certified (2022-07-13T21:08:50Z)
- New Customers on Rialto (2022-05-10T15:26:56Z)

## Q&A
- Q: I'm having trouble grasping the business model. Can you provide a real world example of how it works?
  - A: Sure! Our customers have a community of businesses that they support by connecting to resources and experts. Most of them either have no tech supporting this work or use multiple tools to patch together a system that works. Our platform, Rialto, gives them one place to manage the logistics of supporting their community. We charge them a monthly or annual fee to per community space. Hope this helps!
- Q: Integrating cultural awareness into business development can truly improve client engagement and strategy effectiveness. Platforms like https://help-center.pissedconsumer.com/the-hidden-power-of-a-consumer-review/ show how consumer feedback can drive meaningful change and help businesses better understand diverse perspectives.
- Q: We have an investment group interested in learning more about your company and profiling it to our investment community. How might we setup a time to talk?
  - A: Hi Phil, thanks for reaching out. Feel free to use this link to set up a time: https://calendly.com/melanie-akwule/melanie-minwo-investor-meeting