Inspectorio, a minority-owned software company in Minneapolis that helps consumer-goods companies keep track of suppliers' compliance with rules, has an opportunity to make Apple one of its clients.
Apple said Tuesday it selected Inspectorio for its virtual Impact Accelerator, which is designed to help grow Black and Brown-owned companies that are focused on environmental solutions. Only 15 companies nationwide were chosen.
The firms will receive guidance and advice from top Apple executives over the next three months. Following completion of the program, Inspectorio and the others could be chosen to help Apple reach its goal of being carbon neutral for its supply chain and products by 2030.
"The size of that opportunity is really important, and then of course the reputation and legitimacy that comes with working with a client like this," said David Klein, the co-founder and president of Inspectorio.
Inspectorio's network has over 15,000 users, including about 30 brands and large retailers with significant footprints in the U.S. and Europe, and that have facilities and suppliers spread across the globe.
One of its cloud-based software products, Inspectorio RISE, provides users with the means to manage compliance around the world, Klein said.
The software sends them automated reports with real-time data on how facilities are complying with environmental, social and technical standards. It also helps companies be more transparent with consumers who want to know which raw materials are being used, how waste is being handled at facilities, and what are that company's social and labor best practices, Klein said.
"Apple, because of their commitment to sustainable supply chains and their whole journey and experience in building sustainable supply chains, provides a very important opportunity to understand the problem a lot more deeply than we currently do, and that means being able to continue to ensure our product is effective as ever to resolving it," Klein said.
Apple, which is based in Cupertino, Calif., said it will assess investment opportunities into companies selected for its Impact Accelerator on a case-by-case basis. Klein said Apple has not yet made an investment.
The accelerator is open to companies that are majority-owned by a Black, Hispanic or Indigenous American person. The Impact Accelerator is part of Apple's $100 million initiative to advance racial equity and end systemic racism and social injustice. The company announced the initiative following the global reaction to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year.
Inspectorio was founded by Klein, Carlos Moncayo, Fernando Moncayo, and Luis Moncayo in 2016. The company relocated its headquarters from Hong Kong to Minneapolis that year after participating in the Target Techstars accelerator program. It now has about 170 employees.
The company has raised over $13 million from investors that include Techstars, Ecolab Inc. and Target Corp.
