DALLAS, April 24, 2026 — Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and drives nearly $415 billion in annual health‑related costs, according to the American Heart Association, highlighting the need for scalable, real‑world health innovation. In response, the American Heart Association is investing in early-stage health innovators and collegiate entrepreneurs working to build solutions designed for adoption, trust, and measurable impact.
The Association today announced the close of applications for the 2026 EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator™, a national, eight-week program that provides early-stage, purpose-driven businesses with nondilutive funding, deep mentorship, and market validation to help purpose-driven businesses scale solutions that advance equitable health.
The EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator is built for founders navigating complex health systems where success depends not only on bold ideas, but on adoption, trust and measurable impact. Rather than focusing solely on pitch refinement, the program equips entrepreneurs to understand how decisions are made across healthcare and community ecosystems, identify structural barriers to progress and design pathways for sustainable change.
“Innovators closest to communities often have the most powerful solutions, but they face the steepest barriers to growth,” said Marcella Roberts, Esq., member of the American Heart Association Board of Directors. “The EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator helps close that gap by pairing funding with the insight, validation and narrative clarity founders need to move from promising concept to real‑world impact.”
Source: New accelerator targets real world adoption of health innovations | American Heart Association
