Guetto Institute, a Rio de Janeiro-based non-profit organization is enabling access to cutting-edge technology and a brighter future for Black Brazilians while tackling systemic racism. It’s focused on equipping its target audiences with skills for the new economy and fostering black entrepreneurship. How did the organization begin? It started from a Facebook group created in 2016 by sociologist Vítor Del Rey. At the time, Del Rey was studying at the prestigious business school Fundação Getúlio Vargas with a scholarship provided by Educafro, an organization focused on education inclusion for black
Since its launch in 2009, WhatsApp has intensified instant messaging and made communicating easier for families, friends, and companies. But in most recent years, particularly during the pandemic, it’s being used for much more. Teachers in Africa took advantage of the platform during the lockdowns when schools were shut. Data from a study conducted by Sabinet analyzed a WhatsApp group of 24 economics teachers and three lead teachers (heads of departments) from 15 schools in Kwazulu-Natal province, South Africa and a focus group interview was thematically analyzed to present findings.
Angeles Investors have announced the winners of this year’s Estrellas award. The line-up features a collection of the top 40 funders and venture capital firms investing in Hispanic and Latinx startups. This year’s cohort exemplifies leadership in investing in top startups and Hispanic and Latinx founders, among the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy. “It’s exciting to see the number of top funders and venture capital groups investing in Latino startups grow,” said Adele Cepeda, Angeles Investors Board Chair and Director at BMO Financial Corporation. “In 2020, we started
Venture capital firm, LatinxVC, has opened applications for the third cohort of LatinxVC fellows. The eight-week program prepares participants for a successful analyst, associate, and senior associate role at a venture capital firm. In addition, the program will equip Latinx candidates with the tools needed to succeed and break into the investment world. LatinxVC was founded in 2019 by Rami Reyes, Maria Salamanca, and six other Latinx professionals. It works to grow the number of Latinx professionals in venture capital by helping them develop their careers and network. Their eight-week program
Miami-based cybersecurity startup, Lumu, has closed an $8 million investment round. The funding round led by Panoramic Ventures also included SoftBank Group’s SB Opportunity Fund, KnowBe4 Ventures, Land Bess, a former Zscaler, and Tom Noonan, former CEO at Internet Security Systems. Lumu, founded in 2019 by Ricardo Villadiego, is a cybersecurity company that helps businesses identify and isolate cyber-compromise in real-time. The platform identifies and isolates potential threats, attacks, and adversaries affecting enterprises. As more nation-state criminal groups continue targeting everything from business IP to government secrets, Lumu’s services have proven to
California-based VC firm, L’Attitude, has launched its new fund to support early-stage Latino founders. The investment firm raised $100 million from big-name investors, including Bank of America, Trujillo Group, Barclays, Cisco, Royal Bank of Canada, and a “strategic anchor investment” from JPMorgan Chase. According to the outlet, Latino business owners have grown 34% over the last decade. Yet, despite this, 72% of Latino entrepreneurs face funding shortfalls, with a large majority relying on personal savings, and only 1.8% are venture-backed. L’Attitude, founded in 2019 by Kennie Blanco and Sol Trujillo,
Tech giant, Apple, has launched its inaugural Entrepreneur Camp for Hispanic/Latinx founders and developers. This year’s program will specifically focus on supporting Latinx founders and will encourage leaders and developers from nine app companies in the US, Brazil, Guatemala, and Portugal to build the next generation of apps. “We are so excited to bolster the impact of Entrepreneur Camp with the addition of this new cohort for Latin technologists,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “It’s an honor to support these founders and
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
A new study has found racial and gender bias in the job performance feedback given to business employees. Textio, an augmented writing platform, surveyed over 25,000 business employees and also analyzed actual performance feedback documents, and noted consistent patterns of inequity by gender, race, and age. Latinx and Black employees were more likely to receive job performance feedback that was negatively biased and not actionable. What did they find? According to the findings, Asian people get more feedback than people of any other race—25% more than white people—and Black men
The Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund is a $5 million fund that provides promising U.S. Latinx-led startups non-equity cash awards to help fuel their businesses. Google announced the fund last year as part of its $15 million commitment to economic equity for Latinx people in the U.S. Across the country, 50 founders will each receive $100,000 in cash to help grow their business. They’ll also receive hands-on support from Google employees across the company, $100,000 in Google Cloud credits, and access to therapy to support founders emotionally and professionally.
