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
Investment firm Twenty Five Ventures recently announced the launch of their diversity fund: 25V Diversity Fund. The venture capital firm aims to invest up to $10 million in early-stage real estate, property, and fintech startups led by Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. Twenty-Five Ventures, founded in 2020 by Maximillian Diez, works to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem that allows everyone to access financial and knowledge-based resources where founders and investors can thrive. According to a Crunchbase report, Black and Latinx founders receive less funding than non-minority counters. So, despite recent figures showing
Black-owned fintech startup, Guava, has closed a pre-seed funding round of $2.4 million. The funding round, which Heron Rock led, also included investment firm Ruthless for Good Fund, Precursor Ventures, Backstage Capital, and angel investors Lexi Reese and Ed Zimmerman. Guava, founded in 2021 by Kelly Ifill, helps Black-owned businesses bank and build community. The banking and networking platform works to close the racial wealth gap by aiding small Black companies and creators with the tools needed to scale and grow their businesses. The digital platform, which is yet to
San Francisco-based fintech company, TomoCredit, has raised $122 million in funding and debt financing. The funding round was led by Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund and included Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund, MasterCard, and debt from Silicon Valley Bank. The funding will help the platform expand its credit product offerings to help support immigrants with no credit history in the US. TomoCredit, co-founded in 2018 by Kristy Kim and Dmitry Kashlev, is a fintech platform dedicated to providing the next generation with a credit card designed to help millennials boost
Mexico City-based fintech platform, Arrenda, has raised $26.5 million in a pre-seed funding round of equity and debt. The funding round, which Fasanara Capital and Kube Ventures led, also included ODX Ventures, Toehold Ventures, Wharton Fintech, Lightspeed Venture Partners Scour Fund, PRMM Inmobiliaria, and a range of angel investors. Arrenda, founded in 2022 by Joe Merullo, is a revenue-based startup that works to provide market-specific insurance and financial products to the real estate markets and landlords of Latin America. Not only does it offer advance payments to landlords, but it
Bizao has raised $8.15 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by AfricInvest, Adelie, and Seedstars Africa Ventures and will help the platform accelerate its expansion, helping them provide services to citizens across the continent. Bizao, founded in 2019 by Aurélien Duval-Delort, helps companies accept all local payment methods across Africa. The tech platform uses powerful APIs and advanced financial flows to simplify the challenge of getting Mobile Money, Visa/Mastercard, and Airtime payments. The outlet powers all businesses: local retailers, online merchants, international digital content providers, money
Tech giant, Meta, has seen an unexpected increase in diverse hires since expanding its remote working options. Facebook, also known as Meta, is one of many companies that have introduced new remote working options for its employees following the pandemic. As a result, between 2021 and 2022, the tech company reported a slight increase in the share of Black, Hispanic, and Asian employees joining its US workforce, while the proportion of white workers dropped by 1.5%. According to Facebook’s Chief Diversity Officer, Maxine Williams, employees from underrepresented backgrounds and people
Africa-focused investment firm, Persistent Energy, has raised $10 million in its Series C funding to help support the renewable energy sector in Africa. The funding round, led by Kyuden International Corporation and FSD Africa Investments, also saw private investors Kotaro Tamura, BK Ventures BV, and DPI Energy Ventures participate. Persistent Energy, founded over a decade ago, is a pioneer investor in Africa’s renewable sector. The investment firm works to support and build businesses that can “scale sustainably.” They provide financial capital for startups and allow their team members to work
Kinly has announced a new partnership with data aggregation platform MX, a financial data aggregation tool, to help the company build and enhance its custom-built financial tools. The Atlanta-based financial tech company, Kinly, is dedicated to helping Black Americans build generational wealth. The platform offers members a range of benefits, including a Visa debit card and early wage access. In addition, it gives members access to financial education to help them improve their economic outcomes. The partnership with MX will see the platform introduce a range of embeddable user interfaces
Black-owned money movement, Zazuu, has raised $2 million in investment funding in a new venture round. The startup, which works to build a more robust remittance for residents in the diaspora, has quickly evolved to become the world’s first cross-border payment marketplace. Zazuu, co-founded in 2018 by Kay Akinwunmi, Korede Fanilola, Tola Alade, and Tosin Ekolie, is on a mission to ease the difficulty of sending money back home, which is currently expensive, slow, and unfair to millions of migrant customers. The platform has helped empower customers by building an
