Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a $30 million pre-seed and seed matching fund program to help early-stage startup companies. The funding for the program will come from the State Small Business Credit Initiative to provide extra support to small businesses owned by historically marginalized individuals, including Black and brown entrepreneurs and traditionally disadvantaged individuals. The initiative, part of New York’s $500 million federal investment, aims to help small businesses recover from the pandemic and rebuild local economies. As a part of the program, Governor Hochul will offer early-stage startup companies
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the biggest federal climate deal in history and is great news for Black-owned carbon transformation startup Twelve. According to reports, the IRA contains $500 billion in funding to boost clean energy, reduce healthcare costs, and increase tax revenues. The Act follows negotiations on President Biden’s Build Back Better Act and is welcome news for climate startups like Twelve. “The Inflation Reduction Act, that’s been really amazing. We’re so excited about that,” said Twelve co-founder Ethosa Cave in an interview. “There’s so many provisions in there:
Black-owned startup Suvera has been named one of the world’s most promising digital health companies. The UK-based virtual care platform made CB Insight’s Digital Health 150 – a list of 150 companies transforming healthcare using digital technology. The 150 winners were selected from a pool of over 13,000 companies. What is Suvera? Suvera uses a dedicated remote care team and in-house technology to reduce the workload and waiting times at doctors’ clinics. From tracking blood pressure readings to administering prescriptions, the platform supports people with chronic health conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.
If you don’t know Nelly Cheboi yet, now is the time to start doing your research. Nelly Cheboi, the founder of Kenyan recycling company, TechLit Africa, has been named CNN’s Hero Of The Year for her revolutionary work across Africa. Who is Nelly Cheboi? Nelly Cheboi, who grew up in a poor rural village in Kenya, redistributes recycled technology to rebuild computer labs in African schools. At a very young age, Cheboi was exposed to the struggles of poverty. Yet, despite having no computer access, Cheboi landed a scholarship to study computer
American cloud-based software company, Braze, has announced that they will be accepting applications to their Founders Program at the start of 2023. What is Braze’s Black Founders Program? Braze’s Black Founders program, which the company first launched in 2020, has made excelling simpler for Black founders. Since launching in 2020, the platform has provided 22 companies free access to its comprehensive customer engagement platform. Fast forward to today, more than 20 Black-owned startups are participating in the program and have greatly benefited from the platform’s technology. To build on the success of
Indianapolis-born actor Mike Epps has announced new plans to open an entertainment venue in downtown Detroit featuring Black-owned spirit and wine brands. The instability of our economy has forced many people to look for new innovative ways to increase their income and help others. As a result, celebrity entrepreneurship is rising, and comedian Mike Epps’ latest business venture exemplifies that. One Mike Detroit is a multi-faceted entertainment venue designed to celebrate the people of Detroit. According to Detroit News, the site will host live music, stand-up comedy, spoken word, and a VR experience. The
Debbie Dickinson and her daughter Markea Dickinson are the dynamic duo behind the new AI-driven wristband and app, Thermaband, which uses technology to help menopausal women manage hot flashes. What is Thermaband Zone? Founded in 2019 by Debbie Dickinson and her daughter Markea Dickinson-Frasier in Miami, Florida, Thermaband aims to revolutionize women’s health, especially for those undergoing the menopause. After facing her challenges with menopause, Debbie Dickinson grew frustrated by the lack of cooling relief solutions for hot flashes. Refusing to accept thermal discomfort as a new way of life,
Black founder Jim Gibbs decided to launch parking payment app Meter Feeder after facing challenges breaking into the software engineering sector. Who is Jim Gibbs? Jim Gibbs, co-founder and CEO of the digital parking app, Meter Feeder, has built an impressive portfolio in software engineering over the years. Despite his entrepreneurial journey being a lot harder than most, Gibbs has always believed in the success of his business model. Jim Gibbs, a New York native, decided to move to Pittsburgh to attend Carnegie Mellon University as a computer science major. Due
Invesco QQQ’s startup pitch competition is back; this time, it’s even bigger than before. The competition has returned for its second year in partnership with MaC Venture Capital and Concrete Rose Capital. Invesco’s QQQ Legacy Startup Pitch Competition Invesco QQQ, an exchange-traded investment firm based near Chicago, first launched the Legacy Classic startup pitch competition last year. Initially, the competition was only open to Black founders from HBCUs. However, according to AfroTech, the 2023 competition is open to all Black-founded seed-stage companies with less than $3 million. Since the news was announced,
Chicago entrepreneur Arthur Burton is working to increase access to the clean energy sector by providing job training to youth in underrepresented communities. Who is Arthur Burton? After establishing his company in 2019, Arthur Burton has been committed to providing opportunities for members of disinvested communities by making training for green jobs more accessible. Before launching his clean energy initiative, Burton focused on expanding his experience within the sustainability sector. After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in telecommunications, the entrepreneur worked at AT&T for 18 years as a technical