Black Girls CODE board member Heather Hiles is breaking their silence regarding allegations made against them from Black Girls CODE founder Kimberly Bryant. Hiles’ comments are the latest in a still developing fight between Black Girls CODE’s board and the nonprofit’s recently ousted founder Kimberly Bryant. Earlier this month, Black Girls CODE announced that they have officially removed Bryant from the organization. The announcement follows Bryant’s own move to take ownership of the narrative. The Business Insider reports that Bryant has filed a suit in federal court against Black Girls CODE, alleging that she was
Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform Omnibiz has secured $15 million in pre-series A funding. The funding round, led by Timon Capital, included Ventures Platform, Lofty Inc, Chapel Hill Denham, Chandaria, and Musha Ventures. Omnibiz, founded by Deepankar Rustagi, is a distribution platform that works to create a more revolutionized approach to distribution. The platform aims to completely change how the retail ecosystem in developing markets operates by eliminating the disorganization of traditional trading and digitizing the retail chain. “We believe the smart informal retailer – not shopping malls – is the
Black Business Month isn’t over just yet! Amazon has announced that they are testing a new badge that aims to help boost the exposure of Black-owned businesses that buy and sell products through its online store. The initiative, which comes just after the anniversary of the app’s first Black Business Accelerator program, will highlight to customers when a Black-owned business sells a featured offer product. That way, customers can discover, shop, buy and support Black-owned businesses, ultimately helping small business owners expand their clientele and reach a broader demographic. “As part of
Angeles Investors have announced the winners of this year’s Estrellas award. The line-up features a collection of the top 40 funders and venture capital firms investing in Hispanic and Latinx startups. This year’s cohort exemplifies leadership in investing in top startups and Hispanic and Latinx founders, among the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy. “It’s exciting to see the number of top funders and venture capital groups investing in Latino startups grow,” said Adele Cepeda, Angeles Investors Board Chair and Director at BMO Financial Corporation. “In 2020, we started
Black-owned venture capital firm Brown Venture Group announced that it had received a $1.5 million investment from the Bush Foundation. Brown Venture Group, co-founded in 2018 by Dr. Paul Campbell and Dr. Chris Brooks, is an investment firm committed to investing in BIPOC tech startups and founders. The firm aims to help all startups in its portfolio grow as a brand through investment capital, training, and professional networks. By focusing on excelling in tech entrepreneurship, Brown Venture Group hopes its investments will help bypass many of the racial biases that
American bank, Wells Fargo, is set to retreat from the mortgage business after years of scandals that have plagued the bank’s reputation. According to Bloomberg, the company plans on pulling back its mortgage business. The decision will reduce the bank’s ties to outside mortgage firms, which helped them generate $205 billion in new home loans last year. The demand for mortgages drastically falling is another reason the mortgage giant, Wells Fargo, has decided to step away from the industry it once dominated. “Like others in the industry, we’re evaluating the size
Silicon Valley-based startup, Sanas, is working to build real-time voice-altering technology that aims to make international workers sound more “Westernized.” For many years, Black workers have been advised to use their “white voice” when communicating with colleagues or customers in a professional working environment. Additionally, movie adaptations such as “Sorry To Bother You” show that Black workers achieve higher success rates when they choose to emulate a “whiter” voice. Despite the program working to “protect the diverse voice identities of the world,” many wonder whether the product is actively working to remove unconscious
Capitol Music Group has severed ties with the FN Meka project following accusations that the AI rapper perpetuated racial stereotypes online. FN Meka, a virtual “robot rapper,” created by the founders of Factory New, a “first of its kind, next-generation music company specializing in virtual beings.” In a short time, FN Meka amassed over 10 million followers on TikTok and 500,000 monthly Spotify subscribers based on music and lyrics generated by an AI based on popular rap music. The robot rapper, which industry professionals described as a “preview of what’s
Music platform, Shazam, has officially crowned Drake as the most searched artist of all, with over 350 million searches. According to Variety, the platform put together a list of its most searched artists to celebrate the app’s 20th birthday. Unsurprisingly, musician Drake was ranked as the most sought-after artist on Shazam’s radar. Out of all tracks in Drake’s discography, “One Dance” was one of the most searched tracks with over 17 million Shazams. Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” took second place as the most Shamazed song, with most people searching for the
African-based agri-tech startup iProcure has closed a $10.2 million Series B funding round to further expand its services to Uganda and Tanzania. The funding round led by Investisseurs and Partenaires included participation from Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), and Ceniarth. iProcure, founded in 2013 by Stefano Carcoforo and Nicole Galletta, has grown to become one of rural Africa’s most significant agricultural supply chain platforms. Not only has the platform revolutionized agriculture supply chains in Africa, but it has also helped connect manufacturers and distributors with local retailers. Additionally, iProcure
