CarpeDM — an online dating app exclusive to Black women — has partnered with KarmaCheck to incorporate full background checks for its members on the dating platform. Howard Law School alumni Naza Shelley and Sali Hama launched the app to ensure Black women could be equally as successful while exploring the world of dating. “We’re excited to partner with CarpeDM to help make the online dating experience safer and more trustworthy for singles. While quickly and accurately verifying user data, KarmaCheck goes to great lengths to ensure that user data is protected
Black people produce and share substantially more content than other groups on Facebook. While Facebook Stories has low usage in most of the U.S., it has “clusters of intense production” in places with a high concentration of African Americans, such as the arc in the Southeast known as the Black Belt, Facebook research found. But increasingly, the community seems to be turning away from the app. The number of Black monthly users on Facebook declined 2.7% in a single month to 17.3 million adults, according to a research report, “Industry Update on
Europe is “solidifying its place as a global tech power”, according to Atomico’s annual State of European Tech 2021 report. However, research still shows women and minorities are not being given enough investment. European tech is projected to cross the $100B milestones of capital invested in a single year, close to 3 times the level in 2020, reported Dealroom. The total number of tech companies that have scaled to $1B+ in Europe has jumped from 223 last year to 321. Large rounds ($250M+) are now the norm in Europe —
SaLisa Berrien, who recently received a $100,000 Black Founders Fund award from Google for Startups, is expanding COI Energy, a Tampa-based company, across the United States. Recognized by Jason A. Scott last year as one of 30 U.S. black founders to watch in 2021, Berrien was one of 50 companies to receive a $100,000 Black Founders Fund award from Google for Startups. She participated in Google Startups for Women, which she completed last December, and has raised $2 million-plus in funds. Now her goal is to make her firm a global company. With just
In June last year, in the midst of violence and a pandemic ravaging the streets of US cities – Justin Shaw built Black Money Builder, a fundraising platform to “empower your community and empower yourself.” Its ultimate goal is to help Black communities rebound from the virus by providing financial relief and bring awareness to current issues that affect the communities worldwide and provide a sense of urgency with potential solutions. The crowdfunding platform also provides Black entrepreneurs a space to build capital and help seed Black visionaries from artists,
A Black-owned music NFT platform, powered by Trapchain, Inc, has collaborated with indie music artist and native Chicagoan Willie Taylor, to drop his first NFT for his music project, “Write My Wrongs.” Taylor first gained notoriety as a contestant from MTV’s “Making the Band 4”, where Sean Combs chose him (P-Diddy) to be a member and one of the main vocalists for the band Day26 on August 26. 360NFT’s launch and debut NFT release commemorate the band’s popularity and success. Its streamlined ecosystem reportedly makes it easy for users to thrive on the blockchain without
The Framework has raised $2 million in a seed round to create an “on-demand business school” aimed at startups. The edtech platform says it already has more than 2,500 people on its waitlist ahead of its launch next year. The firm’s idea is that members learn directly from tech operators from companies including Slack, ASOS, Flo Health, and Netflix via 15-minute “Frameworks” and live office hours sessions. Members can also make 1:1 connections with each other. This is sometimes called “snackable” content. LearnStart, the seed fund of Learn Capital, Evio
Tiktok has teamed up with MACRO again for a first-of-its-kind grant designed specifically with Black creatives in mind. As an extension of the TikTok for Black Creatives creator incubator program, the social media giant is providing creators and artists with career-building resources that will help them thrive on TikTok and in real life. “Our aim is to ensure Black creatives and artists have the resources they need to reach new heights in their careers and spearhead innovation in their respective industries,” said Kudzi Chikumbu, Director of Creator Community at TikTok, in an official statement.
Memphis-born Abiodun Johnson, along with co-founders Boris Moyston and Evan Leaphart created the first “Unicorn Ambition Conference” for Black Men Talk Tech in 2019, and since then, they’ve gone from strength to strength awarding over $80,000 in funding to Black tech founders, BMTT is a collective and concert series that supports emerging and elite Black tech entrepreneurs. Unicorn Ambition Conference is a national tech conference providing exposure and resources to Black tech founders who are building innovative companies and focused on massive growth or becoming the next “unicorn.” What is BMTT all
DrugStoc has raised $4.4 million in a Series A funding round led by Africa Healthcare Master Fund, Vested World, the German Development Bank and others. The investors will play a vital role in the sector’s continued growth. The firm plans to open more fulfillment centers and increase transit points and routes. It also hopes to provide more improved logistic alternatives for deliveries projected to be tardy. The founders plan to tap into more investment prospects in cold chain infrastructure with the hope of creating safer distribution for perishable items. To
