Black women remain the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, more than doubling in number since August 2019, according to a new report by GoDaddy Venture Forward. GoDaddy Venture Forward is a research initiative that quantifies the impact of over 20 million microbusinesses on their local economies and provides a unique view into these entrepreneurs’ attitudes, demographics, and needs. In August 2023, Venture Forward completed its 10th national survey with responses from over 6,000 small business owners across the US and UK. Black microbusiness ownership Most of the businesses surveyed were microbusinesses,
Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) has announced the close of its Morgan Stanley Next Level Fund, aimed at early-stage tech companies led by underrepresented entrepreneurs. The fund has closed at its target size of $50 million of total capital commitments with investors including Hearst, Microsoft, and Walmart. Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Morgan Stanley’s Next Level is MSIM’s impact-focused private equity business. It makes privately negotiated equity and equity-related venture capital investments in primarily stage tech and tech-enabled companies with women or underrepresented founders as part of the founding team. “We
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) has announced a new partnership with Google. It aims to highlight Google’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) platform systems for young college talent. SWAC is considered one of the premier Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCU) conferences in the country, and currency ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alums playing with professional sports teams. The Initative Through the initiative, SWAC and Google are focused on providing an innovative approach to engage students in tech during their college tenure,
The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation and Amazon have partnered to bring Native American and Indigenous teams together in Robotics. The REC Foundation The REC Foundation is a global organization dedicated to increasing student engagement in science, technology, engineering, math, and computer science (STEM). They engage students in hands-on, curriculum-based robotics and drone programs. The foundation empowers educators to inspire and equip students for success through comprehensive programs encompassing competitions, education, and workforce readiness. Now, partnering with Amazon, Indigitize, and Google, they are bringing Native American and Indigenous teams
Canada Black Music Archives Launches Digital Archive: Celebrating A Century Of Black Music In Canada
Canada Black Music Archives (CBMA) has announced its official launch as a digital repository dedicated to preserving and celebrating the musical heritage of Black Canadians. CBMA CBMA was founded in 2020 as a testament to the enduring contributions of Black musicians to Canada’s cultural landscape over the past 100 years. The story of the CMBA began with the history of WORD – Toronto’s award-winning Black Culture Magazine co-founded by Phil Vassell and Donna McCurivin in 1991. The first issue of WORD was published in March 1992, distributed free across the
Black Black Friday is a new initiative in Seattle that encourages residents to spend money at local, Black-owned small businesses. Statistics show that 7.9% of Seatlle’s population is Black, with less than 1% of their businesses Black-owned. Five times as many of these businesses are closing down compared to white-owned companies. This is why Black Black Friday was created, empowering Seattle’s Black-owned businesses by bringing the entire community on board. Black Black Friday Black Black Friday is organized by Intentionalist – a company that helps people support local, diverse small businesses. Intentionalist
A new Black-led professional technology training program is coming to Charlotte as a boot camp in February 2024. Boot camps serve as an alternate pathway into tech careers, and focuses can range from software development and designing user experience to coding and cybersecurity. According to an analysis shared by the NAACP, less than 6% of participants in technology-focused boot camps are Black. Dark Mode is a company aiming to connect and train diverse talent in the tech industry. Lusenii Kromah, a Charlotte native, founded it. The UX Bootcamp They have announced their
Banks are now considering using AI for their annual review processes, according to Workday Inc., which may cause issues for Black and minority workers. Workday Inc. has rolled out new products that rely on AI to write job descriptions or aid managers in writing up annual reviews of workers’ performance. Co-Chief Executive Officer of Workday Carl Eschenbach told Bloomberg that banks have expressed interest in those products. Less Time And More Productivity It’s all part of their efforts to streamline operations and cut costs, he said, announcing the offering will
As part of the Signature Series, the Kinfolk Foundation is placing four new Augmented Reality (AR) monuments throughout New York to celebrate Black culture and identity throughout the city. AR technology creates interactive, immersive, experimental experiences where our real, physical world is digitally augmented. The Kinfolk Foundation Kinfolk Foundation is a non-profit digital and educational platform that uses art and emerging technologies such as AR to re-center the stories and lives of African-American figures. This aims to highlight the contributions and success of communities of color, uprooting systems and reimagining
Black women in teams with a more significant number of white peers may have worse job outcomes, a new study has found. Elizabeth Linos, the Emma Bloomberg Associate Professor for Public Policy and Management, along with colleagues Sanaz Mobasseri from Boston University and Nina Roussille from MIT, conducted the study. Underrepresentation of People of Color In Leadership According to the study, the underrepresentation of people of color in high-wage jobs, especially leadership positions, still needs to be solved. To better understand and reduce racial inequalities, researchers have often focused on
