Latine communities start more businesses per capita than any other racial group in the United States. Latine or Hispanic-owned businesses also contribute over $800 billion annually to the nation’s economy. However, they often face challenges accessing the capital, resources, and support needed for the businesses to thrive. For example, in 2022, Latine and Hispanic founders received just 1.5% of venture capital funding, a drop from 2.5% the previous year. So, this Hispanic Heritage Month, we have compiled a list of resources to empower Latine tech founders nationwide! Resources For Tech Founders SoftBank
African venture capital (VC) firm Enza Capital has closed $58 million across its two funds and announced the launch of its Founder Partner Program. Enza Capital Enza Capital is a multi-stage venture fund that backs startups and founders using technology to solve meaningful problems across Sub-Saharan Africa. The Nairobi-headquartered firm invests in and partners with technology companies building in the fintech, logistics, health, human capital, and climate-smart sectors. The firm began its VC journey in 2019 when it launched an early-stage fund to find, back, and help build category-defining startups
Digital Currency Group (DCG) has announced that Professor Tonya Evans, a blockchain and digital assets expert, is joining its Board of Directors. DCG, founded in 2015 by Barry Silbert, is a venture capital company focused on the digital currency market that builds and supports bitcoin and blockchain companies. With investments in over 200 companies in 35 different countries, its mission is to accelerate the development of a better financial system. Meet Prof Tonya Evans Evans is a global leader and academic with over 20 years of experience in law, technology,
Global payments giant Visa is partnering with the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to co-fund data science and AI scholarships for students from underrepresented backgrounds. The partnership stems from the UK’s National AI Strategy, which set out a vision to strengthen the UK’s position as an AI and science superpower over the coming decade. The Launch of Visa’s AI Scholarships The partnership aims to increase diversity in the technology sector, assisting women, Black students, disabled students, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Visa said the scheme
A Florida State University researcher has been awarded the largest National Science Foundation (NSF) career grant in the university’s history. The award is one of the NSF’s most prestigious, designed to support early-career faculty who showcase outstanding scholarship through their research and contributions to education. Dr Yolanda Rankin Yolanda Rankin, an associate professor in the School of Information, was awarded a five-year $1.5 million grant to support her research on Black women’s careers in computing. Her approach prioritizes understanding and valuing the perspectives of Black women. Her work delves into
A federal judge in Georgia ruled that Fearless Fund, a venture capital fund for women of color, can continue offering a grant program only to Black women entrepreneurs. On Tuesday, the judge refused to issue an injunction blocking the program after a lawsuit alleged it engaged in “explicit racial exclusion”. The Lawsuit Against Fearless Fund The American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by Edward Blum, brought a lawsuit against Fearless Fund in August 2023. It targeted the fund’s Fearless Strives Grant Contest, which awards Black women who own small businesses
Peloton’s last remaining co-founder, Tom Cortese, is stepping down from his role as the fitness company’s chief product officer. Taking his place is Nick Caldwell, the former General Manager at Twitter. Peloton Peloton, founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York City, has almost seven million global members and showrooms in several countries. The company offers at-home gym equipment, an exercise app, and live-streamed workout videos that customers can access through screens on Peloton products. Peloton also provides members with expert instruction and immersive, personalized workout experiences through its technology
Movable Ink is hiring on pocitjobs.com Bradley Ciné is an Associate Director for Go-To-Market (GTM) Enablement at Movable Ink, where he works with different teams across the company to deliver training and enablement initiatives. Bradley spoke to POCIT about his journey to Movable Ink, owning his identity as a Black man in tech and defining what a tech space should be for him. Tell me about your journey to Movable Ink I’m a first-generation Haitian-American and grew up in Harlem, New York. Since I was in primary school, I knew
Mundo Hispanic Digital, one of the oldest Certified Minority Latino media platforms in the US, has announced the launch of the MundoNow Project. The new Latino network aims to help advertising push beyond stereotypes to reach bilingual and second and third-generation Latino Americans. Breaking Latino Stereotypes Mundo Hispanic Digital is the parent company of the bilingual news and entertainment site MundoNow. President and CEO of MundoNow, Rene Alegria, has been working on breaking Latino stereotypes in the publishing content industry for over 25 years. According to Ad Exchanger, most programmatic
The Royal Society, an independent scientific academy in the UK, has launched a Career Development Fellowship for underrepresented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The Career Development Fellowship The fellowship aims to provide early career scientists from underrepresented groups in STEM with research funding and high-quality training opportunities. The four-year postdoctoral research fellowship will initially run as a pilot with researchers of Black heritage. If successful, it will be broadened to researchers from other underrepresented groups. Reports from the Royal Society, which looked at trends across 11 years of
