FastFWD, formerly the Philadelphia Social Enterprise Partnership, was conceived as a way to bridge entrepreneurship with urban problems of the day. The effort was initially funded by a $1 million grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies to the City of Philadelphia, GoodCompany Group and the Wharton Social Impact Initiative.
Its first class of public safety startups graduated in June 2014. Three companies were selected by the city of Philadelphia to pilot their products.
Its second cohort was announced in September 2014.