The Oakland Black Business Fund has been selected as the inaugural recipient of Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand’s Community Grant. The initiative is part of the Jordan Brand’s ‘Black Community Commitment Grant Program.’ It will fund the Oakland Black Business Fund’s [OBBF’s] mission to build peer-to-peer relationships within Black business owners, technical assistance providers, and tech companies. According to PR News Wire, OBBF aims to offer a sustainable growth model for underserved and under-funded businesses coming out of the Bay Area. In a statement, OBBF Co-Founder Trevor Parham said: “OBBF has had
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has announced the lifting of the Twitter ban – only if the firm meets his conditions, including paying tax and setting up a local office. The president disclosed his list of conditions during his televised broadcast to Nigerians on the country’s 61st Independence Day anniversary. “Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed, and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens to continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements,” he said. The president
Ellington West is the CEO of Sonavi Labs, a company using a digital stethoscope with Bluetooth connectivity, called Feelix, to identify and diagnose respiratory disease from lung and body sounds. The recognition comes after she closed a seed round with over $3.5 million raised. It was supported by Sand Hill Angels of Silicon Valley, Gaingels, Nightingale Partners, Matt Hellauer of PTX Capital, and other angel investors. The company has also received two grants through the National Institutes of Health worth over $3 million combined. She then went on to win $100,000 in the Princeton Empower 2021 pitch competition. In addition, the company received
From attorney to tech history maker – Natalie King’s vision led to the first Black woman-owned electric vehicle recharging station. Dunamis Clean Energy Partners has a fast charger that can recharge a vehicle in 30 minutes. It also comes with a screen that allows operators to advertise to pick up an additional revenue stream. With the residential model, users can mount it to their garage wall and expect a full charge for their electronic vehicle in four-to-six hours. King’s journey to building Dunamis Charge began in 2007 when she and her ex-husband
A Facebook-backed subsea communications cable is set to become the world’s longest – directly connecting three continents — Africa, Europe, and Asia. On Tuesday, the major tech firm announced that the 2Africa cable would now extend more than 45,000 kilometers (27,960 miles) once it’s completed. The 8,000-kilometer extension will see 2Africa become the most extended subsea cable system in the world upon completion, Facebook said. This means it will also beat the current record set by the SEA-ME-WE 3 line that stretches 39,000 km and connects 33 countries across South East Asia,
Ziscuit, which is thought to be the world’s first grocery search engine, today announced it will launch its platform at the 2021 Techstars Farm To Fork Accelerator Demo Day. The all-new grocery search engine will initially launch in two zip codes in the Atlanta metro area. It will help budget-sensitive customers save $5 to $10 per shopping trip by instantly showing them where the cheapest groceries are in their neighborhood. After Ziscuit’s Atlanta launch, the company will target 25 additional cities. Founder & CEO Mark Anthony Peterson said he started
The UK Black Business Show aims to bring together the best Black start-ups in the country through exhibitions, workshops, interactive panels, and seminars. It’s known to be Europe’s biggest Black-Owned Business show of the year with 4,000 annual attendees, and it’s retaking place on October 30th this year. We’ve broken down everything you need to know before the event What is it exactly? According to its website, this event will enable personal, professional, and corporate development through business exhibitions, deep-dive workshops, interactive panels, and seminars delivered by industry pioneers. To
The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, has just announced plans to invest $10 million in venture capital funds that reiterate the company’s stance on diversity, technology, and entrepreneurship.
Although there aren’t many, Black-owned banks have gone from strength to strength and have enabled the community to accumulate savings, learn finance skills, start their businesses, and more. Some might question why these banks are necessary, and the truth is, in some parts of the world, financial exclusion has put Black people at a severe disadvantage. And if you take a closer inspection at America’s staggering wealth gap where the median wealth for a Black family is just a tenth of a White household’s – it becomes more apparent why minority-owned banks
Pamela Lujan From Latinas In Tech Believes It Takes A ‘Village’ To Make A Difference In The Industry
Board Member at ‘Latinas in Tech’ Pamela Lujan, who also works at firm Oportun, is helping pave the way for those in the community that wants to get into the tech scene. In her interview with the organization, where she also works as a secretary, the recent ‘Top 40 under 40’ honoree said it “takes a village” to make a difference in the industry and elevate the community. Currently, Black and Latino people are being “left out” of the tech industry, and big firms like Google still have a lot
