BITCON 2021‘s virtual event kicks off this Wednesday and the conference will feature some of the Black community’s tech icons – from cryptocurrency to cybersecurity. Arlan Hamilton, Judy Smith, Sherell Dorsey, Simon T.Bailey, and Kanika Tolver are among the list of speakers lined up to give away gems to those keen on trailblazing in the industry. A total of 3% of workers at the top 75 technology companies identified as Black and Black founders received just 3% of all US venture capital in 2020. BITCON hopes to change these numbers. The
Fiverr — an Israeli online freelancer platform —has awarded five Black start-up firms $24K through its Future Collective Fellowship Program to help expand their business. The business accelerator is a fellowship for Black entrepreneurs, and five businesses were selected for the program’s inaugural class, and each will receive $24,000. The program is also backed up by 1863 Ventures, a Black-led and D.C.-based nonprofit organization, and Maestra, a women of color-owned business strategy firm, according to Afrotech. “Fiverr’s purpose is to provide anyone, no matter their race, religion, background or beliefs, the opportunity
Klasha, a Lagos and San Francisco-based startup that provides multiple integrations and APIs to facilitate transactions, has raised $2.4 million in seed to scale. Jessica Anuna first founded Klasha in 2018. At the time, the company’s focus was to make it easier for African consumers to purchase products directly from global fashion retailers. Now it has several features and a new business model centered around helping Africans make payments and get the goods they want, regardless of their location, reported TechCrunch. Klasha Checkout also allows international merchants to collect payments from Africa in local currencies and it uses what
Ejara, a one-year-old company founded by Nelly Chatue-Diop, has raised $2 million to pioneer the use of crypto and investment services in Cameroon. CoinShares Ventures and Anthemis Group led the round. They are joined by Mercy Corps Ventures, Lateral Capital, LoftyInc Capital, and NetX Fund. In addition, two angel investors — Pascal Gauthier of Ledger and Jason Yanowitz of Blockworks — and a syndicate social fund participated. Ejara has more than 8,000 users from Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and Senegal, as well as French-speaking Africans in the diaspora (Europe, Asia, and
Emory University is ready to shake up the VC world with its first student-run venture capital fund focused on minority entrepreneurs. The Peachtree Minority Venture Fund (PMVF) was launched at The Roberto C. Goizueta Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. The fund, funded by the Goizueta Business School endowment, was made to support Black, LatinX, and Native American entrepreneurs. It currently has $1M in assets under management, and students are responsible for souring companies, conducting due diligence, and making investment recommendations to the Peachtree Investment Committee, reported
A group of students, who created a machine to predict increases in rent and utility costs at a particular address over time, were awarded thousands by real estate marketplace Zillow during the HBCU Housing Hackathon. The competition, where more than 150 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have to think of an innovative idea to win the top prize, has officially come to an end. Each student had to bring an innovative idea to life to help at-risk renters and struggling first-time home buyers. A total of 49 teams from 17
The Game has partnered with OneOf — a green marketplace designed for the music industry — to release his debut non-fungible token (NFT) Collection titled “Genesis.” The price point is set at $25. The drop, which landed on Wednesday, features the “Get In The Game” pack where fans will receive four randomized action figure NFTs and never-before-seen music content from an unreleased track. The Game’s passions, hobbies inspire the collection and album releases, according to the OneOf website. “I have been able to put forth my creative vision on display and show, not only the growth
Dell XPS, the laptop brand from Dell Technologies, has teamed up with actress and activist Yara Shahidi to “inspire Gen-Z to use technology to drive their passions.” The 21-year-old will be working alongside Dell XPS to highlight how the brand’s laptops are a “force” for storytellers, visionaries, and creatives like herself to bring their imagination to life. The collaboration coincides with Dell XPS’ new campaign, “Expand Your YOUniverse.” Dell XPS and Shahidi will work closely to continue engaging young, diverse creatives to deliver on the ethos of tech as the great equalizer, reported PR
Google has announced the launch of a $50 million “Africa Investment Fund,” which will be invested in African startups. The tech giant made its plans known at a virtual event, where CEO Sundar Pichai announced its intentions to commit $1 billion over the next five years in tech-led initiatives on the continent. Chosen companies will also be provided access to Google’s employees, network, and technologies to help them build products. In three years, the accelerator program has supported more than 80 startups in seed to Series A stages, providing equity-free mentorship and
A study assessing the working conditions of Black workers during the pandemic has found that they preferred remote working compared to the office as they felt more valued and supported. Although working from home has its challenges from endless Zoom calls and juggling child care duties – for many Black workers in white-dominated jobs, getting out of the office has resulted in a vast improvement in their employee experience. According to a survey by the Future Forum, a research consortium created by software maker Slack Technologies. The survey of more than
