Morgan Stanley is set to commit $1m to startups run by women or ethnic minorities in Europe, as the Wall Street bank expands a programme it has run in the US since 2017.

The US bank is aiming to help provide seed capital to a group of companies that often struggle to find funding, and will be offering £200,000 each to five start-ups in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with either female or ethnic minority founders in a 'Dragons' Den' style pitch process run over five months that allows entrepreneurs to present to investors.