NFL Star Jonathan Taylor has invested $6 million into Sports Tech company Strive in a Series A funding round. The funding round, led by venture capital firm, Future Communities Capital, included a range of investors, including SeaChange Fund and Seed to B Capital. NFL quarterback Troy Smith and Jonathan Taylor were new investors who also participated. Strive, founded by Nikola Mrvaljevic in 2016, aims to provide accurate muscle data to athletes and teams. Mrvaljevic decided to launch the company after seeing that college coaches welcomed his ideas on using data
Children’s social media platform Zigazoo has raised $17 million in Series A funding. Liberty City Ventures led the funding round, which included the National Basketball Association (NBA), Causeway Capital Management, Dapper Labs, OneFootball, Medici VC, Animoca Brands, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Zigazoo, founded by Zak Ringelstein in 2020, has become one of the leading platforms for children’s short-form videos. The digital program, which has recently launched a non-fungible token (NFT) collection, aims to provide children with a safe and positive community where they can find joy, develop healthy online relationships,
Black-led fintech startup, Moove, raises $20 million in investment funding from the British International Investment (BII) program, formerly known as the CDC. The investment reflects the BII’s plans to build a resilient market in Nigeria, providing access to various economic opportunities for upcoming businesses while simultaneously accelerating the country’s limitless entrepreneurial spirit. Moove, co-founded by Jidi Odunsi and Ladi Delano in 2020, is a mobility fintech platform that provides revenue-based vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs across Africa. The co-founders, both British-born Nigerians with degrees from the London School of Economics
African-based distribution platform, Afrikamart, has raised $850,000 in seed funding. The funding round, led by Bloc Smart Africa and managed by Bamboo Capital Partners, saw a range of investors participate, including Bamboo Capital Partners, Orange Ventures, Launch Africa, and Teranga Capital. Afrikamart, co-founded by Albert Diouf and Mignane Diouf in 2018, is a digital distribution platform that works to provide services to farmers. The brothers launched the tech platform to address farmers’ problems with poor market access and late payment from intermediaries using technology to collect products from thousands of
Black-owned beauty and tech company Mayvenn has announced that it raised $40 million in a Series C funding round. Leading investments came from Chicago-based venture fund Cleveland Avenue, with participation from the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a16z. Mayvenn allows consumers to search for and book hair stylists in their local area. In addition, stylists are able to operate their businesses on the platform, including selling products and marketing their salon-based services. The company says it is now home to over 50,000 hair stylists across the
London and Kenyan-based educational entertainment company, Kukua, has raised $6 million in its latest investment round. The funding round was co-led by world-leading technology company Tencent and Italy-based VC Alchimia and included participation from EchoVC, Firstminute Capital, and Auxxo Female Catalyst. Kukua, co-founded by Alexandre Terrien and Lucrezia Bisignani in 2015, uses technology to create magical learning experiences for children centered around a universe of superhero characters. The company is best known for creating the first-ever African animated superhero series, ‘Super Sema,’ and aims to empower the children of the
Founder and CEO of mental health tech startup MindRight Health, Ashley Edwards, has raised $1.78 million in seed funding. The funding round led by investment platform Lifeforce Capital included existing investors Acumen America and Impact America Fund. New investors included Hopelab Ventures, Gaingels and Impact Assets, and Pivotal Ventures. Edwards previously raised $1 million for MindRight Health in 2020. In doing so, became one of only 35 Black women in the US, and was reportedly the first Black woman in New Jersey, to achieve this level of VC funding. This
Black-owned venture capital firm, Backstage Capital, has cut 75% of its operational staff due to fundraising and growth challenges, both externally and internally. Backstage Capital, founded by Arlan Hamilton in 2015, was one of the first VC firms to dedicate their services to minimizing the funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders of color, women, and LGBT members. The firm, which Hamilton built from the ground up while homeless, invested in over 170 start-up companies led by underrepresented founders. The decision to downsize its team came just three
Black-owned venture capital firm, MaC, has raised $203 million for its second fund, building on the initial $110 million they secured in seed-stage funding last year. The firm focuses on investing in underrepresented founders of color. The highly resourceful team uses their skills and knowledge to support the next generation of tech companies, focusing on reshaping the culture and providing resources to underrepresented communities. MaC was launched in 2019 by four founding partners: former Washington D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty, former talent agent Charles D. King, VC veteran Marlon Nichols, and
Here is our latest roundup of tech headlines from across the African continent. Kune, a Kenyan food-tech startup that delivered ready-to-eat meals at affordable prices, has closed its doors, the company’s founder and CEO Robin Reecht announced. In a statement posted to his LinkedIn page, Reecht cited a stifled economy and inflated food prices as circumstances that contributed to Kune’s closure. “With the current economic downturn and investment markets tightening up, we were unable to raise our next round. Coupled with rising food costs deteriorating our margins, we just couldn’t keep going,” he said.
