All posts by

Kumba Kpakima

Bizao has raised $8.15 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by AfricInvest, Adelie, and Seedstars Africa Ventures and will help the platform accelerate its expansion, helping them provide services to citizens across the continent. Bizao, founded in 2019 by Aurélien Duval-Delort, helps companies accept all local payment methods across Africa. The tech platform uses powerful APIs and advanced financial flows to simplify the challenge of getting Mobile Money, Visa/Mastercard, and Airtime payments. The outlet powers all businesses: local retailers, online merchants, international digital content providers, money

American rapper and lead MC of hip hop group The Roots, Tariq Luqmaan Trotter, also known as Black Thought, recently announced his journey into venture capital.  According to HipHop DX, the lyricist has joined early-stage tech venture firm Impellent Ventures as a general partner. Black Thought will work alongside the team to help recruit and encourage entrepreneurs to help them continue growing their new business while giving them the tools they need to build a longstanding business.  His role as a partner at Impellent Ventures will help him elevate Black entrepreneurs

Financial giant, Mastercard, has officially announced the class of this year’s Start Path program, an award-winning engagement program aimed at providing global support and mentorship to the brightest late-stage startups.  According to a press release, Mastercard selected three early-stage startups led by underrepresented founders and four late-stage fintech innovators looking to scale their businesses for this year’s program.  “As we continue our eight-year legacy of successful collaboration with startups around the world through Start Path,” said Blake Rosenthal, executive vice president, Fintech & Segment Solutions at Mastercard. “The companies we selected are on

WNBA star turned software engineer, Neisha Butler, recently announced the opening of her educational center, S.T.E.A.M. Champs in New York, dedicated to kickstarting Brooklyn kids’ learning development in coding, robotics, and app development.  The educational center in Downton Brooklyn specializes in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). The establishment aims to nurture future industry leaders by giving them a head start in reading data and developing solutions to complex problems, all necessary skills needed to help kickstart their future careers.  “We’re excited to bring quality STEM curriculum to the Brooklyn and

Black-owned tech platform, ColorStack, has announced the launch of its second annual Stacked Up Summit. The summit aims to equip Black and Latinx computer science students with the tools they need to pursue a career in tech successfully.  The annual summit, which will take place from August 17th to August 19th this year, will feature a range of talks, panels, and networking events with professionals and recruiters from big tech companies like Netflix, Meta, and LinkedIn.  In addition, the event, which caters explicitly to Black and Latinx computer science students, will include

Tech giant, Microsoft, is venturing into the clothing industry in their latest collaboration with Black designer Gavin Mathieu. The “Hardwear” collection encapsulates a “normcore” aesthetic, which primarily focuses on inner, not outer, value. As a result, the capsule features a range of minimalistic graphic tees and MS jackets, pants, pullovers, and hats. The collection was shot in front of the company’s iconic grassy hill desktop background and embodied the nostalgic start-up sound and wallpaper many users grew to love in the platform’s early days. The clothing brand, launched in partnership

The largest global development institution has committed $2 billion to help support small Kenyan businesses and women-owned organizations through partnerships with banks in the country. International Finance Corporation (IFC) was established to end extreme poverty by encouraging the growth of the private sector in developing countries. Since 1956, the company has invested more than $321 billion into emerging markets and developing economies. According to the outlet, their work which supports the World Bank Group’s goal of ending extreme poverty, has helped to create new jobs and raise the living standard

Black-owned digital platform, InterApp, has raised $1.2 million in its pre-seed funding round. The funding round was led by Columbia-based investment firm WP Capital Group, an organization that focuses on emerging technologies for consumer engagement.  InterApp Inc., co-founded in 2016 by CEO William Brown, is an image recognition app that aims to make augmented reality (AR) a necessary tool for consumers. Their work, specifically designed for graphic designers, transforms print into interactive AR experiences for consumers to enjoy. The platform transforms print packages and apparel graphics into augmented reality, ultimately transforming

Black-owned tech startup, Readyhubb, has launched a new website booking service to empower appointment-based professionals across the U.S. Readyhubb, founded in 2022 by Chidi Ashley, is a booking platform that caters to many industries. The app streamlines all aspects of the booking process by designing a system that minimizes the number of daily tools professionals need to manage. Businesses that have a presence on social media and may not have a proper booking and client management system will benefit hugely from this platform. Not only does it provide an easily

Tech giant, Meta, has seen an unexpected increase in diverse hires since expanding its remote working options.  Facebook, also known as Meta, is one of many companies that have introduced new remote working options for its employees following the pandemic. As a result, between 2021 and 2022, the tech company reported a slight increase in the share of Black, Hispanic, and Asian employees joining its US workforce, while the proportion of white workers dropped by 1.5%.  According to Facebook’s Chief Diversity Officer, Maxine Williams, employees from underrepresented backgrounds and people

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