Business accelerator program, Comcast RISE, has dedicated $1 million to supporting Philadelphia BIPOC-owned businesses. The program, which was initially launched in 2020 as a response to help small business owners of color who were impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, will award more than 100 Philadelphia small businesses owned by women and people of color with $1 million in grants. According to a press release, Comcast RISE has distributed over $16 million in grants to early-stage businesses, and $75 million in in-kind support for marketing and technology services, impacting more than 9,500
Talent x Opportunity has announced the launch of its third cohort. The initiative, designed to support artistic geniuses with the tools they need to scale and grow, welcomed a new set of founders for this year’s program. The TxO program, founded by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (known as “a16z”), works to help accelerate the growth and impact of upcoming tech companies. They select elite entrepreneurs and prepare them with the ideal tools to build and expand their companies. Here are five founders joining the TxO community in Fall 2022.
California-based VC firm, L’Attitude, has launched its new fund to support early-stage Latino founders. The investment firm raised $100 million from big-name investors, including Bank of America, Trujillo Group, Barclays, Cisco, Royal Bank of Canada, and a “strategic anchor investment” from JPMorgan Chase. According to the outlet, Latino business owners have grown 34% over the last decade. Yet, despite this, 72% of Latino entrepreneurs face funding shortfalls, with a large majority relying on personal savings, and only 1.8% are venture-backed. L’Attitude, founded in 2019 by Kennie Blanco and Sol Trujillo,
The Black Girl Magic Digital summit, which has returned for its fourth consecutive year of programming, will allow small-business female-owned entrepreneurs to qualify for a prize pool of $100,000 in grants. The summit, produced by Boss Women Media production, aims to educate, empower, and equip Black women. The summit’s goal will be to celebrate and support thousands of global attendees, including a network of corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, and student changemakers. “We are on a mission to provide Black women with the tools and education they need to take the next
Financial group, BMO, has unveiled new plans to invest $650,000 in business hubs based in Madison. This includes two Black-owned business hubs, Urban League of Greater Madison’s Black Business Hub and The Center for Black Excellence and Culture business. The financial firm aims to develop the Madison community and create greater access to opportunities for BIPOC in the banking industry. The investment of $250,000, which will be given to each company across five years, will work to help talented Black people build their careers by providing economic growth and prosperity
Africa-focused VC, Oui Capital, closed its $300 million second fund, Capital Mentors Fund II, targeted at supporting pre-seed and seed stage businesses. The funding round included investors, D Global ventures, Angur Nagpal’s Vibe Capital, One Way Ventures, and Ground Squirrel Ventures. Oui Capital, founded by Olu Oyinsan and Francesco Andreoli, launched its first $10 million fund in 2018. The investment firm aims to bridge the gap between high-growth technology startups in sub-Saharan Africa. It is on a mission to become the first “yeses” entrepreneurs hear as they embark on their startup
Vice President Harris has announced new public and private sector that aims to align the government with a coalition of companies and foundations to address economic disparities. The initiative, spearheaded by solutions firm Next Street, will see a community of investors make significant contributions to BIPOC businesses by connecting them with investments made by the Biden-Harris administration. A collective commitment The EOC consists of executive leaders from giant companies, including Bank of America, Capital One, Goldman Sachs, Google, Mastercard, Netflix, PayPal, and more. In addition, the community has already invested
Working in venture capital after business school, Kelly Ifill has seen how difficult it can be for Black entrepreneurs to raise money through the earliest rounds of fundraising, known as the friends and family round, designed to help fledgling startups get off the ground. As the cozy term suggests, founders are expected to secure investments ranging from $10,000 to $150,000 from trusted, well-heeled contacts to serve as seed money before moving on to more significant investments from angel and institutional investors. But it’s not always easy for some groups to
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 Professionals in Tech (BPTN) has officially made its debut in Zambia. The community network, which currently has more than 60,000 Black members worldwide, has created a global network for professionals working within North America and across countries worldwide. BPTN’s new network, which went live at the Bongo Hive Technology Lusaka earlier this week, connects large tech companies with Black tech professionals. It provides employment opportunities to members and offers mentorship and educational resources to help entrepreneurs develop long-standing, successful careers within the tech industry. The platform enables tech giants to hire
