Just 1% of venture capital raised goes to Black entrepreneurs. Fifth Star wants to change that. It’s writing checks at the earliest stages of a startup’s life — the “friends and family” round — providing investments between $25,000 and $50,000 for each startup. It has so far raised just under $1 million, with plans ultimately to deploy $5 million to Chicago’s Black founders. Launched in February 2021, Fifth Star Funds has created a unique venture capital fund specifically dedicated to backing Black founders in Chicago. Fifth Star Funds aims to foster a more
Jade Kearney, who experienced postpartum depression herself, developed an app to help solve this particular problem. Although the journey as a Black female founder hasn’t been easy – she’s keeping hope. Kearney’s mental wellness journey began soon after giving birth to her daughter as she experienced postpartum depression and anxiety, and had difficulty finding a community and culturally competent resources to turn to. The birth of her daughter made her realize the neglect Black mothers face when it comes to their mental well-being. But the mother had to teach herself
Just one percent of VC-funded founders in the US are Black and the rates of investment in European Black-owned businesses are even lower. Just three percent of Londoners working in the tech sector are Black and only 8.5% of senior leaders in the UK tech sector are from Black, Asian, or minority ethnic backgrounds. If we were to break these numbers down further – the numbers would be very low for Black women. But this isn’t because they aren’t creating amazing things. Take Sheilisa McNeal Burgess for example – a
SMASH, a STEM racial justice nonprofit focused on addressing inequities in education, and the nationally renowned HBCU Spelman College have announced a partnership to offer programming and support to young women of color interested in academic and professional careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. With this partnership, Spelman College joins a network of several universities around the country, in addition to Atlanta’s Morehouse College, that offers programming through SMASH to historically underrepresented groups in STEM. The cohort will comprise 25 female high school students, who will have the opportunity to participate in multi-year immersive
The Omaha-based AIM Institute is working with southwest Iowa organizations to bring a free 10-week technology course to the growing Spanish-speaking community in the area. The courses will be offered alongside English as a second language (ESL) classes taught by Iowa Western Community College. According to ZipRecruiter, participants will leave the program with proper training to become front-end web developers, whose entry-level salaries nationally average more than $55,000. The US Census data shows 12.8 percent of the city’s population in poverty, with the Hispanic population making up a disproportionate share. The CB Tech
Thousands of Africans studying engineering and other subjects in Ukraine are desperate to leave as Russia invades the country. Many of them are using social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter to keep people updated on their struggles to return back home. One Nigerian Twitter user said she and other students from the West African country were stopped by Polish border guards when attempting to flee. In her video, viewed over a million times, a crowd can be seen pleading with guards, who are standing with leveled weapons. Some,
Using his experience from working at Google, Anthony Mays says he is hoping to bring others in the door by giving accessible tips, one-on-one mentorship, and interview help. His drive for wanting more diversity within the tech industry came after he had spent his first year at Google as a software engineer in 2013. In that same year – the company publicly released its diversity numbers for the first time. He knew the numbers were likely low, but he didn’t realize just how bad they were. It seems that Silicon Valley has
Virginia Tech’s Black College Institute (BCI), a four-day summer academic enrichment program for talented rising high school juniors and seniors, has received a silver Anthem Award in the special projects category. Since it first started, BCI has contributed to an increase in the number of Black students who matriculate at the university, from 4.5 percent of the entering freshman class in 2017 to 8.8 percent in 2021. This year, there will be two in-person BCI sessions for high school seniors, June 19-23 and June 26-30, and a virtual BCI for
You might have read the article published last year on the Silicon Valley employee who hid his disability from his employers. In an in-depth piece about his experiences, they started off by saying: “I have a learning disability, meaning that I learn differently from other people. I live and work in Silicon Valley, the natural habitat of road runners. I’ve spent my professional life as one of those worker bees who creates the widgets and doodads that make life a little easier. For the sake of this story—and my employability—let’s
The Blacks in Tech (BIT) employee resource group at Capital One wants to help all its members think through and navigate career elevation. I So in 2021, the group launched the Rise Up mentorship program, where for six months, participants are paired with mentors based on mutual career interests, current job positions, and professional goals, such as leadership or exploring another role. The Rise Up program provides long-term career mentoring and guidance in professional development. Eloise Hudgins, Chief of Staff, Budget and Labor at Capital One, is a mentee from the program.
