Black-owned venture capital firm, MaC, has raised $203 million for its second fund, building on the initial $110 million they secured in seed-stage funding last year. The firm focuses on investing in underrepresented founders of color. The highly resourceful team uses their skills and knowledge to support the next generation of tech companies, focusing on reshaping the culture and providing resources to underrepresented communities. MaC was launched in 2019 by four founding partners: former Washington D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty, former talent agent Charles D. King, VC veteran Marlon Nichols, and
Green NFT platform, OneOf, has launched an exclusive NFT collection, allowing fans to collectively license the audio recording of the Notorious B.I.G.’s most famous freestyle. The collection, in partnership with the Christopher Wallace estate, will provide collectors with a series of 3D profile picture (P.F.P.) NFT collectibles, also known as avatars. The characters on offer will be inspired by Biggie Small’s life, style, lyrics, and fashion. Biggie Smalls, who tragically passed away in a drive-by shooting in 1997, immensely influenced the hip-hop scene we all know and love today. In
Ghana-based Fintech company, Fido, has raised $30 million in equity investment in a Series A funding round. The funding round, led by the equity fund company, Fortissimo Capital, included venture capital firm Yard Ventures and a series of other private angel investors. Fido, co-founded by Nadav Topolski, Nir Zepkowitz, and Tomer Edry in 2012, provides mobile loans of up to $250 to small businesses and individuals. In addition, the fintech company aims to build a digital bank, which will give hundreds of adults in Africa access to flexible loans and other financial services, which
Jenna Wills, a former vice president at Afresh, filed a lawsuit against the company in April. Wills, who is Black, alleges she faced racial discrimination at the grocery-software startup. But an Afresh spokesperson said that Wills’ race was not taken into account in her termination. Here’s what happened. Wills joined Afresh in June 2021. Joining the startup was an easy decision for her because she was inspired by what they were building and their “incredible” mission to use artificial intelligence to help grocery stores order just the right amount of
After shooting his music video “House I Built in the metaverse, Snoop Dogg has decided to explore a series of new ventures. According to a tweet by trademark attorney Michael Kondoudis, Snoop Dogg, real name Calvin Broadus, applied for new trademarks for his new digital cannabis project. The musician filed a claim under the brand names “UNCLE SNOOP” and “UNCLE SNOOP’s.” The virtual business will provide various products, including virtual clothing, headwear, footwear, energy drinks, and pre-rolled hemp cigarettes. Users can also purchase virtual cannabis and downloadable cannabis products authenticated
As cryptocurrency adoption gains steam on the African continent, it will be important for potential investors—and ultimately, regulators—to learn from the scams that have come before. Some high-profile examples of these scams include; back in 2019, Uganda’s Dunamiscoin Resources closed suddenly with $2.7 million in investor money. Dunamiscoin Resources had taken money from more than 4,000 people, promising them returns of 30% returns in 21 days by investing it in bitcoin. The returns never came. Kenya Another is Velox 10 Global, a pyramid scheme with roots in Brazil, in which Kenyans lost
Justin Samuels, the CEO of Render Atlanta and qualified engineer, is on a mission to build on that influence by making Atlanta a true power player in the world of technology, essentially blending software engineering with culture. What does his company Render Atlanta do? It’s a software engineering experience; where tech meets culture, inclusion, and accessibility. RenderATL is a four-day software engineering conference & music festival featuring your next career opportunity with 50+ expert speakers in tech covering upcoming and current best software engineering practices, web3, engineering leadership, accessibility practices, and more.
ANJEL Tech, a Black-owned cloud-based application that turns any smartphone into your personal body cam, has announced a historic partnership with 1 Million Madly Motivated Moms (1M4), an organization led by African American moms to address police brutality through legal action and legislative policy education. We previously interviewed the founder of ANJEL Tech, who told POCIT that he’d struggled to get attention from mainstream reporters and investors when it came to his app. The app in question has been described as an initiative that “could help protect minorities.” When activated, the
This month, the city will be opening the Atlanta Blockchain Center (ABC) – its first blockchain startup incubator. Opening in Buckhead, the headquarters — founded by serial tech entrepreneur Marlon Williams — will welcome anyone interested in learning more about blockchain technology. The center is looking to bring together the growing Blockchain-related community and put Atlanta on the map for the development of crypto, Blockchain, and Web3.0 technologies. Fully funded and operated by Starter Labs, ABC is set to feature a coworking space and training center, according to the press release.
Jack Dorsey, the former CEO and co-founder of Twitter Inc and the founder of Block Inc, has teamed up with rapper Jay-Z to launch and self-fund The Bitcoin Academy. The 12-week program will take place in Brooklyn for Marcy House residents with the aim to provide the community with all the necessary tools to gain financial independence, inclusion, and literacy in the childhood place of Jay-Z. It will consist of a series of online and in-person classes focusing on Bitcoin, and the classes will take place twice per week. Notably, the participants of The
