Last year, African startups raised $2.9 billion in deals worth $100,000 and above (excluding exits). Although this amounts to a 39% drop compared to 2022, the continent is showing signs of resilience. Shifting investor landscape In 2023, Techstars was the top investor with 56 deals, surpassing Launch Africa. Other key players included Founders Factory Africa, Ventures Platform, Norrsken, and Y Combinator. All but Norrsken did fewer deals in 2023 than in 2022. For example, YC added only 12 African startups to its 2023 cohorts, compared to 43 in 2022 and
Venture capital (VC) funding for Black entrepreneurs in the US has been decreasing since a peak following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. In 2023, Black founders in the US got only 0.48% of all venture dollars, about $661 million out of $136 billion, TechCrunch reports. This is the lowest in recent years. Peak funding in 2021 In 2020, Black founders received 0.6% of venture funding. By the first half of 2021, funding to Black entrepreneurs in the US reached nearly $1.8 billion, a fourfold increase compared to the same time
Breakr, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) alumni-founded music platform, has raised an additional $1.9 million. Breakr is reshaping influencer collaboration through its SaaS platform designed explicitly for record labels, artists, and brands. By enabling creator-to-creator relationships at scale, labels and brands can move at the speed of culture, and creators can get paid fairly for making it happen. The Three-Sided Marketplace Breakr’s unique selling point is that it effectively treats the basic concept of connecting creators to build influencer campaigns as a programmatic opportunity. The company recently came
SoftBank is selling its Open Opportunity Fund to its chairman and managing partner, Paul Judge, and Marcelo Claure, who is being appointed the fund’s vice chairman and general partner. The Open Opportunity Fund SoftBank Group is a Japanese multinational investment holding company focusing on investment management. It announced the launch of its second fund under the Opportunity Growth Fund this year, rebranded as the Open Opportunity Fund (OOF). Judge took the reins as chairman of the second fund. Claure, who initially launched OOF, previously served as SoftBank’s COO until 2022
London-based fintech startup Jenesys AI has secured $1.1 million in a pre-seed funding round. Founded in late 2022 by Nicolai Thomson and Dr Tosin Dairo, Jenesys elevates the role of bookkeepers and accountants with a conversational AI named “Jack”. The investment round was led by Twin Path Ventures, with contributions from Fuel Ventures, Antler, Hatcher+ in Singapore, and seasoned angel investors from the US and UK. Meet Jack: The conversational AI Jenesys AI’s flagship product is “Jack,” a conversational AI designed to support finance teams. Integrated with platforms like Slack
Lagos-based fashion and beauty e-commerce platform Maka has raised $2.65 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Pan-African venture capital firms 4DX Ventures and Janngo Capital. Other contributors include Palm Drive Capital, angel investor Jonathan Shipman, and executives from delivery platform Wolt. Maka Maka empowers trusted creators to live-stream and sell directly to their audiences. The platform allows shoppers to purchase through live-streams, on-demand videos, or online catalogs. Founded in 2021 by Diana Owusu-Kyereko, former CEO of Jumia Ghana and ex-CCO of Jumia Kenya, Maka originated as an interactive social commerce platform. During the
Digital news platform UrbanGeekz has unveiled UrbanGeekz 50, its inaugural list of Black disruptors who are leaving a mark on the innovation economy. Presented by Atlanta-based MHR International, the list spotlights gamechangers in tech, venture capital, and entrepreneurship and is set to become an annual tradition. Industry gamechangers The largest category on the list is ‘Community Builders & Ecosystem Warriors,’ showcasing founders and leaders such as those from Goodie Nation, Black Women Talk Tech, and The Gathering Spot. The Venture Capital category brings together familiar names for POCIT readers, such
Fearless Fund has filed an appeal against a court ruling that temporarily blocked their grant program for Black women entrepreneurs. The ruling came amid an ongoing lawsuit by the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), which alleged the fund’s grant program was racially discriminatory. The Racial Bias Lawsuit Black-woman-owned venture capital fund Fearless Fund invests in women of color-led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level, or series A financing. The AAER brought a lawsuit against them in August 2023. Notably, AAER founder Edward Blum is the conservative activist behind the Supreme Court’s affirmative
From dealmakers at significant funds to founding partners of new firms and industry-changing nonprofits, Forbes 30 Under 30 listed young leaders helping to shape venture capital’s future. The list spotlights funders and founders aged 29 or younger as of December 31, 2023. We have compiled a list of some people of color founders who are helping the venture capital industry. Sesana Allen – Associate Investor, Smash Capital Allen is an investor at Smash Capital, a late-stage venture firm backed by former Disney executives and investors from Insight Partners. She sourced the firm’s investment in
Braze has expanded its product grant program, previously known as Tech for Black Founders – now called Tech for an Equitable Future. Braze is a comprehensive customer engagement platform that powers relevant and memorable experiences between consumers and the brands they love. Tech for Black Founders was launched in 2020 to address findings that only 1% of US founders backed by venture capital are Black. Today Braze’s program has 24 Black-founded businesses, including ten women-founded startups, active in the program, totaling $735,00 in annualized Braze product value. Tech For An Equitable
