The Nigerian agritech startup has just announced that it raised $4.2million through a seed round and a series of grants to scale its business across the country. Releaf, which has built a proprietary hardware and software solution to make farmers and food factories more efficient and profitable, was first launched in 2017 by Ikenna Nzewi and Uzoma Ayogu. The pair then went on to build Kraken, a proprietary patent-pending machine. But how does it actually work? Releaf buys nuts from farmers, then uses the Kraken to crack the nuts and crush the kernels into
Facebook has announced a $100-million commitment to a program that supports small businesses owned by women and minorities by buying up their outstanding invoices. This means that small businesses, who otherwise could have had to go months without getting paid by their customers, will be able to pay off their staff or bills. The tech media giant’s ‘Invoice Fast Track program’ is its latest effort to build its relationship with small businesses, which use its social media platform for business and advertising. Although the program isn’t necessarily new because it
Barclays Eagle Labs has partnered with Foundervine [CEO Izzy Obeng pictured] to launch its second 12-week virtual accelerator program designed just for Black-founded early-stage tech businesses. The program, which officially kicks off on November 22, was created to help new startups founded by one or more black entrepreneurs access resources to help them with sales strategy, operations, product development, and leadership. According to Barclays, applications are now open for the Accelerator to UK-based digital and tech start or scale-ups with a “minimum viable proposition for their business and with one or more
Issa Rae keeps her private life to herself, but when it comes to business, she’s all about “getting her bag.” As she prepares for the return of Insecure season 5, a show about navigating through adulthood from an African-American female perspective, POCIT has decided to take a deep dive into her several startup investments. We break down which companies the producer, actress, and writer has invested into and how the businesses are thriving. Streamlytic – Founded in 2018 It seems Issa’s first investment was in a tech company that aims to
Minority Equality Opportunities Acquisition Inc, known as MEOA for short, is now the first Black-led special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The news on the milestone move comes after MEOA, which will continue to focus on historically undercapitalized minority-owned or controlled businesses, closed a $126.5 million upsized IPO of units on August 30. Its founders – chairman Shawn Rochester and CEO Robin Watkins – believe “the mission and purpose of MEOA will help catapult minority enterprise in this country.” Mr. Rochester told the Seattle Times that as a
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss Rihanna joining the billy club, as Forbes reports she is worth $1.7B and what it means to be a billionaire nowadays (0:15) They also break down: Square acquires Afterpay for $30B and the risks of buy now pay later companies (7:53) Instagram makes changes for under 16’s but is it too little too late? (15:20) Fleets is no more, the unofficial ‘mega block’ and not being afraid to kill projects (23:23) Why smaller active wear brands are beating big brands like Nike
Radancy is hiring on pocitjobs.com Eboney Robinson’s journey to tech began in 2012 when her mother picked up a flyer. It was for the SLICE Program, which provides employment and educational opportunities to young people from low-income backgrounds. Today, Eboney works at Radancy, an enterprise SaaS talent acquisition platform, as a Senior Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer and is the first in her family to be employed in the technology industry. In this interview, she discusses her job at Radancy, what initially sparked her interest in technology, and how she’s giving
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss why Facebook is looking to target churches and commercialize religious services on the app —is this another step too far for the social platform? They also break down: Freedom day, mask mandates and vaccines passports Chinese tech stocks crash due to China imposing tighter regulations on publicly traded companies Simone Biles putting health before glory and why Gen Z prioritize their mental health Sponsors FreeWill is hiring a Engineering Manager. Check out the role here Podia is hiring a Support Agent. Check
In 2020, despite a global pandemic, a total of 89 companies gained unicorn status globally. According to CB Insights and as of January 2021, there are 537 unicorns worldwide with a total value of $1.6 billion. 2020 was a record year for investment into the African startup ecosystem. The African Tech Startups Funding Report 2020 highlights that 397 African startups have raised a fund equivalent to $701.5 million USD. Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa stand out as the main destinations of capital, with 89.2% of the total amount of funds
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss fashion designer Virgil Abloh selling a majority stake in Off-White to LVMH but what is the cost of losing its Black-owned status? (21:58) They also break down: Twitter’s new dislike button (1:03) Bezos vs Branson’s space flight (5:30) Clubhouse is open to the public but is it too late? (9:32) Why Black employees prefer to work remotely and the Netflix employees that were caught slipping on Slack (12:20) Sponsors Get your ticket for Inbound 2021! Speakers include Oprah Winfrey, Tristan Walker, and
