Tesla HR chief Valerie Capers Workman is leaving the company, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. Workman first became Tesla’s head of HR in 2020 and was among the most senior Black executives at the company. She first joined the company in 2018 as an attorney in its legal department but now she’s set to join Handshake, the career network firm, as a chief legal officer. In the internal email seen by Bloomberg, Workman compared her experience at Tesla with that of her time in track and field
Everyone has a hobby, most people have some sort of passion, and others, like John, have ambition. He was aged 14-years-old when he started “burrowing” his parent’s phones to see how they were made. He would study the compartments of the devices, taking it all in and making notes. Eventually – he taught himself how to code, started making web applications, and created an NFT (non-fungible token) with node, typescript, and solidity. His skill-set gained him wide-spread attention from his friends, who started spreading the word on his services. At
Angela Majette, a Bronx native, worked as a legal consultant for years before launching her own organization dedicated to helping her community. Her years of experience in the field allowed her to witness firsthand the struggles Black founders on their entrepreneurship journey experienced when it came to getting good counsel for a reasonable price. The struggles experienced by minorities – especially the Black community is what led her to launch Black Connect, an organization that aims to support Black-owned businesses with pro bono legal support and establish solid legal footing. Launched
The Black Female Duo That’s Taking Mentoring To Another Level: Black Girls In Tech Founders Tell-All
Black Girls In Tech is a European-based organization focused on supporting and uplifting young women from the Black community interested in getting a foot in the tech industry. It was launched by two women, Karen Emelu and Valerie Oyiki, who admit that growing up they were never exposed to a range of industries, and instead, they were encouraged to take on the “traditional” routes, such as medicine and law. The organization was launched during the pandemic at a time when the challenges experienced by Britons and those in Ireland, where
Uber and Visa have announced Grants for Growth, a program that will provide $1 million in grant funding to small businesses in 10 US cities that are currently active on Uber Eats. The program will be administered by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Focused on restaurant recovery and entrepreneurship, the program was created to support merchants when they need it most. “We know that this year has been trying for many and that independently-owned businesses continue to face significant business challenges. From natural disasters to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Forbes has just released its list of highest TikTok earners, and none of them are Black despite Khaby Lame being one of the app’s most-followed social media personalities. The platform’s highest-paid influencers collectively hauled in $55.5 million in 2021, a 200% increase from a year earlier. One of the top accounts on the app belongs to Khaby Lame, who has nearly 127 million followers on the platform as of this writing. This is slightly less than Charli D’Amelio, who has 133 million followers — just about 6 million more than Lame. Yet,
Bfree, a Nigerian credit management fintech, has embarked on global expansion after raising $1.7 million in a pre-Series A round. It’s now on a massive recruitment drive for the 16 new markets in which it is setting up operations, including Ghana, India, Uganda, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Russia, Poland, Pakistan, and Indonesia. It was founded by Chukwudi Enyi, Moses Nmor, and Flosbach, who were reportedly looking to develop better, ethical, and tech-inspired debt-collection tools and processes after firsthand experience working for digital lenders in Nigeria. 4Di Capital, Octerra Capital, VestedWorld, Voltron Capital, Logos Ventures,
Kimberly Bryant, who founded Black Girls Code in 2011, released an official statement on December 30, days after the company’s board of directors suspended her after several misconduct complaints. The statement, which can be found on Twitter, said: “After obtaining legal counsel to address my unlawful suspension only days before Christmas, I spoke with ABC7’s Julian Glover to share additional details about concerns with members of the Black Girls. CODE board of directors.” She claimed the suspension was a part of an agenda to “impact a small, women-founded, women-led nonprofit” with women
A Black duo has created an app that they believe allows users to connect in a more genuine way. The app is intended to offer a more individual, absolute, and authentic option than other social networking apps. The founders, Ernest Dancy and Ubong Ekpe, claim on their website that PLUG.ME.IN is the first true social networking app geared specifically for your phone to foster authentic connections. Their app reportedly enables people to give unshared access to their social network based on their personal relationship with the person. Some of its features include voice
Award-winning tech diversity champion Ezechi Britton has been appointed an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours list for his services to Diversity and Young People. It comes years after Britton was named Venture Capitalist of the Year at the Inclusive Tech Alliance (ITA) Awards for his commitment to underrepresented founders and his “impressive transition from software development to venture capital”. Britton is the co-founder of Code Untapped, a social enterprise set up to increase the number of people in tech from ethnic minority backgrounds. The firm provides crucial training
