New research by The Plug has revealed nearly 12% of Fortune 500 companies have at least one Black board member who is an alumnus of an HBCU college. The figures released earlier this week highlight the significant role HBCU colleges play in reducing the racial wealth gap and providing more opportunities for Black scholars to excel in their chosen careers. Despite HBCUs making up 3% of colleges and universities in the U.S., it continues to outperform non-HBCU institutions when retaining and graduating first-generation, low-income students. According to the National Science Foundation, almost 18% of Black
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
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
Oakland-based tech entrepreneur, George Hofstetter, experienced a severe racial incident during his trip to study abroad in England. Hofstetter’s response to the racist abuse has taken social media by storm, with many commending the 22-year-old for his brave and teachable response to the disturbing racism he experienced during his studies. So, here’s what happened. George Hofstetter, founder and CEO of US-based tech company GHTech, joined a summer school program hosted by Oxford University, located at Hughes Hall, Cambridge University. On July 15, the university decided to host a formal dinner
Black-owned telecommunications provider, Safaricom, has announced its partnership with the online learning platform, Kodris Africa, to promote coding study classes. The classes, which will be available for all to purchase through tokens on the M-PESA app, will provide children with a year’s worth of online coding classes, which users can activate on their tablets, laptop, or desktop computers. The program, which the Kenyan government first approved in April 2022, will introduce a new syllabus in primary and secondary schools aimed at teaching children one of the most sought-after skills in
Is there anything Keke can’t do? Actress and entertainer, Keke Palmer, has officially become the host of Meta’s ‘Are We There Yet?’, a digital series that focuses on shining a light on the developments currently taking place within the Metaverse. According to the outlet, the new series will see the entertainer sit down with creators, educators, and experts “to find out where the metaverse stands now and what’s coming in the future.” In addition, this video series will showcase how the Metaverse can help “bring people together like never before.”
Billionaire philanthropist Robert F. Smith recently announced the launch of the Student Freedom Initiative, a program designed to provide paid internships to HBCU students. Robert F. Smith will launch the Student Freedom Initiative’s HELPS Program in partnership with financial regulation company Prudential Finance. The partnership will address Black students’ disproportionate financial loan burden, which often hinders their career progression. The program aims to provide science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) HBCU students with $1.8 million in microgrants, which will act as a contingent fund alongside their traditional college loans. Robert F. Smith, famously known
WNBA star turned software engineer, Neisha Butler, recently announced the opening of her educational center, S.T.E.A.M. Champs in New York, dedicated to kickstarting Brooklyn kids’ learning development in coding, robotics, and app development. The educational center in Downton Brooklyn specializes in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). The establishment aims to nurture future industry leaders by giving them a head start in reading data and developing solutions to complex problems, all necessary skills needed to help kickstart their future careers. “We’re excited to bring quality STEM curriculum to the Brooklyn and
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
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
