Y Combinator’s latest batch — W22 — features 414 startups from 42 countries, representing more than 80 sectors. America reportedly has the most representation while India comes in second with 32 startups and Nigeria sits in third, having delivered 18 startups. This is the first time an African country is appearing in the top three. The W22 batch of the Y Combinator programme, which played a role in the early days of companies like Airbnb, Coinbase and Dropbox among others, is currently taking place, and concludes with a demo day end of
Back in 2020, Black Founders Matter made its first investment in a company called A Kids Book About, founded by Jelani Memory but since then it has invested in one of the most-decorated track star in US history and many others. Here’s the back story. Despite his best effort, Marceau Michel could not secure venture funding, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. What started off as a small T-shirt line that hosted the slogan, Black Founders Matter, to generate revenue for his own company has now turned into an ambitious
Black Tech Nation Ventures operates as a venture capital firm. The Company invests in start-up and seed stage technology companies based in the United States. Last year the firm was able to close in on $25 million for its national technology venture fund — Black Tech Nation Ventures (BTN.vc) — in under a year since launching. David Boone, founder of BlendED, became BTN.vc’s first portfolio investment. Along with Boone are the Pittsburgh Pirates and First National Bank as fellow investors in the fund. BTNV’s partners emphasized that while the fund has a social
An annual conference for Black tech entrepreneurs — reportedly the largest in the country — is relocating from the West Coast to Austin. Due to the pandemic, organizers switched AfroTech’s event from an in-person event to a virtual event in 2020 and 2021. But now – it’s back in person. Black Americans continue to be underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and math sector. According to the Pew Research Center, Black workers account for only 9 percent of the country’s STEM workforce but 11 percent of the entire workforce. “Black
Only a small percentage of Black founders in the UK received VC funding between 2009 to 2019 — and none so far have received late-stage funding. But 2021 proved to be fruitful, with initiatives like Google’s Black founders’ – and others – awarding Black and minority startup founders for their innovations. One such founder, who received backing, is Erika Brodnock, the cofounder of Kami, a parental support platform that gives parents access to expert advice via a mobile app. The startup received a $67k grant from the BFF in June
Emtech, a Black female owned central bank digital infrastructure provider, targets emerging markets where payments infrastructure need aligning with digital innovations — to improve efficiency, introduce new products and services that are likely to promote financial inclusion, and in ensuring the secure movement of money.
You might have read the article published last year on the Silicon Valley employee who hid his disability from his employers. In an in-depth piece about his experiences, they started off by saying: “I have a learning disability, meaning that I learn differently from other people. I live and work in Silicon Valley, the natural habitat of road runners. I’ve spent my professional life as one of those worker bees who creates the widgets and doodads that make life a little easier. For the sake of this story—and my employability—let’s
The historical and ongoing cost of not addressing our climate disasters is some-what insane. The United States is said to have spent $29bn cleaning up climate disasters in the 1990s, but $112bn dollars in the last five years. That’s a huge jump. This week we’re celebrating the Black-owned innovative companies from across the US that are working on sustainability and environmental solutions. The three founders, based across the US — from Silicon Valley in California to tribal nations across the Midwest — are driving innovation in energy efficiency, AI, solar,
It’s not the first time we’ve heard of a startup founder or colleagues reportedly fabricating things in order to appear more advanced than they are. Remember Ozy Media?
The Capital Factory and DivInc Black winners in Tech Challenge pitch competition have been announced. Typically – there is just one winner but according to reports the competition was too good this year and two startups were chosen. The local winner of the challenge, which is aimed at increasing diversity in the tech community, was Safer Management, a public school and university attendance tracking startup. Safer was founded by Fred Burns in 2020. His company, along with Indiana-based gig work platform Clutch, took home a $100,000 investment. According to reports, Burns noticed one of these
