Serena Williams has joined an initiative created by Reckitt to support up to 200 health and hygiene start-ups founded by women and under-represented entrepreneurs. The initiative, called Reckitt Catalyst, is a five-year commitment with up to £10 million ($13.7 million) to provide entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship, and expertise from Reckitt leaders and Serena Williams. Since 2020, the company has helped 60 entrepreneurs across 13 countries, allowing business owners to unlock access to health, clean water, and sanitation for one million people, as stated in a press release. What is Reckitt
According to some estimates, 80% of medical bills contain errors; Avelis Health utilizes AI to help Americans save money on these bills. The startup recently raised $500,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by Y Combinator. Founded in February 2025 by Angel Onuoha and Ahmad Shehu, Avelis Health utilizes AI agents to scan users’ medical bills, identifying common errors and helping Americans save thousands of dollars. Onuoha’s personal experience with a chronic knee injury prompted his decision to build the company. “Over the past decade, I’ve had to fight down
London-based startup Definely, a legal tech company, has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round to help lawyers streamline their work with the aid of AI. Paris-based VC firm Revaia led the funding round, with participation from Alumni Ventures, Beacon Capital, Clio, Octopus Ventures, Zrosk Investment Management, The Raine Group, and Cornerstone VC, according to Vest Bee. “We are proud to lead Definely’s Series B and support a company that is setting the standard for AI-powered legal technology,” Morgan Kessous, Partner at Revaia, said. What is Definely? Founded by
ChurchSpace, a Houston-born tech startup that transforms underused church buildings into rentable community spaces, is expanding its mission to the Midwest. The company has announced the relocation of its headquarters to Detroit alongside the close of an oversubscribed $1.2 million funding round. “What we built in Houston was more than technology—it was transformation,” said ChurchSpace Co-Founder and Co-CEO Day Edwards said in a press release. “We expanded our purpose and packaged proven strategies to help churches thrive, transform communities, and even combat food insecurity. Now, with prayer and the support of our team
Growth Warrior Capital recently raised $26 million for its first fund from investors like Bank of America, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, and Pivotal Ventures, the investment firm founded by Melinda French Gates. Promise Phelon launched Growth Warrior in 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina to support underrepresented and overlooked entrepreneurs. Since then, the firm has written checks up to $3 million and has a portfolio of 11 companies. These include Capitan, an AI insurance claim platform that raised $104 million, and ForceMetrics, an AI platform for first responders. Supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs Growth
Yale juniors Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow have raised $3.1 million in pre-seed funding for their social network platform, Series, which helps users connect with others who offer mutual value. Series, still just a few months old, secured the funding in only 14 days after a trailer posted by Johnson on LinkedIn went viral in the college entrepreneurial community. The buzz attracted strong investor interest, including from former a16z investor Anne Lee Skates, who went on to lead the pre-seed round through her venture fund Parable. Changing the way we
Campus, an online community college, has announced a $46 million Series B investment, bringing its total amount raised to over $100 million. The community college offers students live classes with highly regarded professors who have backgrounds from colleges and universities such as Stanford, UCLA, and Howard. Additionally, students receive wraparound support such as on-demand tutoring and personal success coaching, as stated in a press release. Who founded Campus? Before there was Campus, there was Campuswire, an online learning software Tade Oyerinde founded in 2016. In 2018, Oyerinde conceived the idea for Campus
Nigeria is preparing to set up a $40 million fund to back early-stage technology startups, strengthening its support for entrepreneurs who have typically relied on private investors. Semafor reported that the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Japanese government’s overseas development assistance arm, is investing half of the fund. The remainder will be matched by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), as Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, head of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), stated. $40 Million Fund to support startups in Nigeria The fund is part of Nigeria’s broader commitment
Michael Seibel, one of Silicon Valley’s most influential Black entrepreneurs and investors, announced on Wednesday that he is transitioning to a “partner emeritus” role at Y Combinator (YC) after more than 12 years with the startup accelerator. “This role allows me to continue to do office hours with the 1000+ companies I’ve worked with in the past decade while giving me the free time to explore new adventures,” he shared on X. “It also means that the W25 batch was my last batch funding new YC companies.” Garry Tan, CEO
It’s difficult for Black female founders to get their foot in the door, especially when it comes to raising capital for their business. However, billionaire businessman Mark Cuban told ESSENCE that Black women shouldn’t necessarily be looking for funding. Instead, he believes they should take a different approach, one that he has personally followed in his own journey. Why should founders stop looking for funding? The Shark Tank investor spoke with ESSENCE at SXSW in Austin, Texas, ahead of his panel discussion on entrepreneurship with Tabitha Brown and entrepreneur Justin Fenchel.
