Rusty and River Fields, two brothers born and raised in Brooklyn, have started the first hacker house for young Black tech entrepreneurs. The house, nicknamed “R-House,” brings tech enthusiasts together to live and work alongside each other for four weeks as they build their own Web-3.0 startups. Speaking to Bronx.news, Rusty Fields, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a neuroscience degree, said: “Black builders, they face unique challenges when they go to launch companies.” “We really wanted to create the space and experience for them to build deep and authentic
Black-owned acceleration organization /dev/color recently announced its partnership with visual discovery platform, Pinterest, to help support its mission of changing the tech industry for good. The $3 million partnership launched last year is dedicated to elevating Black technologists and leaders throughout the tech industry. Both companies will provide coaching and mentorship programs to help empower Black software engineers, executives, and entrepreneurs, giving them the tools they need to succeed within the tech industry. Also, HBCU students will benefit from this partnership as both platforms look to invest in the Black
“I got my job through Twitter 🎉” I never thought that I’d be the one saying those words. I’ve always seen posts of people from tech Twitter who have shared that they got a job on Twitter or that online presence helped them secure a job. Little did I know that I would be a witness to this too. Welcome to all, and thank you for taking your time to read about my journey of how I got into tech, the challenges I’ve faced, the resources I’ve used, how I
If you feel lost and overwhelmed and have been looking for a guide or a little pick me up, this post is for you, and I hope it gives you the clarity and answers you need. Before you continue reading this, I want you to close your eyes and take a slow, deep breath. You have come too far to give up now. I recently started talking to newbies for 30 minutes on weekends and doing design reviews, sharing my knowledge and tricks. It’s my way of giving back 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
There is an ever-growing list of schemes and networks which support diverse and underrepresented founders in Europe’s tech ecosystem. From Czechitas, a non-profit aiming to increase diversity in the tech sector through education and workshop initiatives, to Diverse and Equal — UK, a two-day conference on diversity and inclusion held in Manchester – there’s an increase in communities working on upskilling those from diverse backgrounds, empowering migrants and refugees, and engaging young people in tech. Here’s a list of other initiatives Diversidays — France This organization promotes social, cultural, and
“Try not to use the word minority, say underprivileged or underserved; otherwise, if you say minority, investors will make certain assumptions.” “What assumptions?” “Oh, you know…” That was an interaction between a first-time Black founder and a white venture capital (VC) investor who was supposed to be advising her. Speaking to POCIT, she said she felt several investors she had spoken to had an unconscious bias towards her as a founder and the audience she was targeting. While she understood POC markets were ‘small’ in her native country – on
Non-profit tech platform, CodeHouse, has received a $1 million grant from Google.org to commence its second year of the CodeHouse Scholars Initiative (CHSI). The program provides opportunities for Black and Latinx students aspiring to enter the STEM industry. It is committed to building a diverse tech workforce in the US and offers four years of mentorship to underrepresented students attending HBCUs to help them kickstart a career in STEM. CodeHouse, co-founded in 2019 by Morehouse alumni Ernest Holmes, Jaycee Holmes, and Tavis Thompson, focuses on tackling the diversity gap in the tech industry. Their initiative program provides mentorship
Africa’s tech ecosystem has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, with 2021 seeing a record number of investments. The year 2021 was a great one for startups globally and Africa in particular. The continent saw total venture funding exceed two and a half times what it was in 2020. This figure amounted to an impressive $4.77 billion. As far as distribution is concerned, 30 African nations raised at least $100,000 in funding across the year. The ‘Big Four’ countries, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya, received 81% of the investments. Five of the eight
On 13 July, coding school Holberton announced that it had agreed to be acquired by the African Leadership Group (ALG). It comes more than a year after Holberton managed to raise $20 million in a Series B funding round led by Redpoint Ventures. Daphni, Imaginable Futures, Pearson Ventures, Reach Capital, and Trinity Ventures also participated in the round, which brings Holberton’s total funding to $33 million. The original promise of Holberton was that it provided students — which it selects through a blind admissions process — with a well-rounded software development education akin to a college education for free.
