Black-owned blockchain platform, Lumachain, has raised $28.3 million in a Series A funding round. The funding round, which VC Bessemer Venture Partners led, will help the organization revolutionize how beef, chicken, and pork products are produced globally. Perseverance, hard work, and ambition Lumachain is a testament to the perseverance, hard work, and ambition of its founder, Jamila Gordon. Gordan, who was selected as one of the world’s most inspiring and influential women in 2021, has won significant accolades for her work in the industry. Not only was Gordons selected as
A new Chicago Business Bulletin report has revealed that not enough has been done to support Black and Latinx startups. Compared to other top startup ecosystems, Chicago has higher share capital deals. Additionally, Chicago leads significant startup ecosystems in the share of venture capital funding garnered by underrepresented founders. Since 2019, 5.1% of Black and Latino-founded companies have participated in a venture capital deal, compared to 2.5% nationally. “This report is intended to raise awareness of the strategic movement underway in Chicago to drive greater, more equitable investment by and among VCs
Rapper, Zoey Dollaz, has launched a new “Uber service but with bulletproof vehicles” in response to the deadly shootings of entertainers and athletes. In an interview with Radar Radio, Zoey Dollaz opened up about the business initiative he says had been brewing before his own experience in a drive-by shooting. Zoey Dallaz isn’t the first musician to be a drive-by shooting victim, a long line of stars in hip-hop have also been a victim of such attacks, including legendary rapper Notorious B.I.G who died after being shot to death at
American clothing company, Old Navy, will donate $500,000 to the Fifteen Percent Pledge to support the growth of Black creative entrepreneurs. The collaboration, an expansion of the Old Navy’s Project WE series, marks the first product collaboration for the Pledge to support diverse artists as they enter the retail industry on a national level. Project WE, launched in 2021, has helped create a space for diverse and talented artists to gain visibility and equitable access. “Old Navy is proud to amplify and celebrate diverse voices through our Project WE initiative
Nigeria-based fintech startup, Anchor has received over $1M in investment to help expand its workforce and services. The startup fund program is backed by fund program, Y Combinator, and other venture capital firms, including Byld Ventures, Luno Expeditions, Niche Capital, Mountain Peak Capital, and angel investors such as the founder of SeamlessHR, Emmanuel Okeleji. Co-founded in 2021 by Segun Adeyemi, Olamide Sobowale, and Gbekeloluwa Olufotebi, the banking-as-a-service platform, allows consumers to embed accounts, cards, payments, lending, and other financial features to their products within minutes. “We’re now seeing a new development where businesses want to
Leading alcohol e-commerce shop, Drizly, has announced the launch of its ‘Sip with Purpose’ program, dedicated to supporting and driving BIPOC-, LGBTQIA-, and woman-owned brands in the alcohol industry. The platform’s ‘Sip with Purpose’ Brand Accelerator Program is now open for applications. The initiative, which will be highly beneficial for underrepresented founders, aims to provide businesses with a $4 million media commitment to raise awareness and drive support for these brands. Drizly, founded in 2012, is one of North America’s largest online alcohol marketplaces. The platform, which offers a variety
Minneapolis-based e-commerce app, GoodCarts, has partnered with Shopify and Operation HOPE to help build Black-owned online businesses through the 1 Million Black Businesses (1MBB) initiative. Black-owned financial, educational platform, Operation HOPE, is a leading global provider of financial dignity education and economic empowerment programs for low-income or moderate-income youth. The organization founded by John Hope Bryant aims to create a whole new approach to community upliftment. Its 1MBB initiative, in partnership with Shopify, will help millions of Black businesses start, grow, and scale over the next decade to ensure the racial
Black-owned startup, thirdweb, has raised $24 million in investment funding. The funding round led by Haun Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Shopify, and Polygon, also included Shrug VC, Joseph Lacob, and others. The ground-breaking tech startup founded by Steven Bartlett and Furqan Rydhan aims to provide developers with a Web3 development kit to help reduce the time and cost of building and launching applications. The developer tool assists programmers in building NFTs, marketplaces, DAOs, and more. “Web3 is the most important technological shift I’ve witnessed in my lifetime,” said Steven Bartlett, co-founder
SquadTrip, an automated payment solution for large and small group trips, has launched its new online platform. Travel organizers can create booking pages, accept payments efficiently, and manage communication and financials in one place. SquadTrip is the first travel platform targeting millennials with flexible payment installments, Apple Pay checkout, and promo codes. The new software as a service (or SaaS) platform is a time-saving tool that eliminates the need for tracking payments using spreadsheets or sending multiple text/email messages. Travel professionals can build customized trip pages and travel packages and
According to Insider Intelligence, there are currently over 2 million podcasts and 424.2 million podcast listeners worldwide in 2022, a 10.6% increase from the previous year. As of 2020, the global podcasting market size was valued at $11.46 billion. It grew to $13.785 billion in 2021 and is expected to be a massive $153.07 billion in 2030, according to Acumen Research and Consulting. This growth has been spurred by a number of factors – from the proliferation of new celebrity shows, investments from companies like Spotify, and the increased affordability and availability of tech such as smartphones
