Forbes has unveiled its annual 50 over 50 list, highlighting dynamic female leaders and entrepreneurs who have achieved significant success later in life. Let’s meet some Black women over 50 making moves in tech and proving that success has no age limit. Carlotta Berry – Founder of NoireSTEMinist Berry, 54, a robotics expert and engineering professor at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, founded NoireSTEMinist in 2020. The educational consulting firm promotes diversity in STEM through workshops and products. Berry also co-founded the Rose Building Undergraduate Diversity (ROSE-BUD) program, co-directs a
RUNWAY, a Black-women led financial innovation firm, launched its first in-house integrated capital investment fund. The RUNWAY ROOTED Fund is committed to investing $50 million into businesses, cooperatives, and grassroots organizations that are building wealth in Black communities across select regions in the United States. A New Paradigm in Reparative Finance The RUNWAY ROOTED Fund represents a significant shift from traditional investment models. It serves as a vessel of restitution and revitalization, aiming to address the systemic issues that have long fueled the racial wealth gap. “For too long, the
Over 100 prominent venture capitalists (VCs) have thrown their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris for the upcoming presidential election. Among these supporters are LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Khosla Ventures’ Vinod Khosla, and billionaire investor Chris Sacca. Tech Leaders Rally Behind Kamala Harris The collective, organized under the banner VCsForKamala.org, represents a broad spectrum of tech and business leaders who are advocating for Harris’s vision for America. Their statement emphasizes a commitment to the American dream, entrepreneurship, and technological progress. They also stress the importance of democracy as a fundamental
Venture capitalist (VC) Brittany Davis has shared a list of 80 Black-led VC funds in the US, highlighting the growing presence and influence of Black investors. The Black VC ecosystem Despite the increasing number of Black entrepreneurs, only 2% of VC funds are Black-led according to Davis. In return, Black founders in the US only received 0.48% of all venture dollars in 2023, about $661 million out of $136 billion. Realizing she could not find a recent list of Black-led VC funds, Brittany Davis, a General Partner at Backstage Capital,
Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) in Durban South Africa, has made history by appointing Prof. Nokuthula Sibiya as its first female vice-chancellor. A Collective Victory for Women Professor Sibiya began her education at Tholisu and Sawela Primary Schools and continued at Velabahleke and Vukuzakhe High Schools in Umlazi Township. She pursued higher education at the University of Zululand, where she earned a degree in nursing. Furthering her studies, she obtained a Doctor of Technology in Nursing from the Durban University of Technology. As a C-rated researcher – an established researcher
In recent years, the African tech startup ecosystem has seen steps towards greater gender diversity a new report has found. The report by Disrupt Africa, in partnership with the Africa-focused pre-seed investment program Madica, reveals these advancements while underscoring the need for more substantial efforts to achieve gender parity. Slow but Steady Progress Disrupt Africa’s latest publication, the 24th report and second edition of “Diversity Dividend: Exploring Gender Equality in the African Tech Ecosystem,” offers an analysis of gender diversity among African startups. This report includes both quantitative and qualitative
Beautiful Curly Me, an Atlanta-based toy, media and STEM company founded by 12-year-old Zoe Oli, is expanding with the launch of a new line of plush dolls in Target stores nationwide. This expansion makes Zoe the youngest CEO to introduce a toy brand at Target. The new line, called The Curly and Confident Crew, features unique dolls with natural curly hair that can be styled. Promoting STEM and Empowerment In addition to their design, the Curly and Confident Crew dolls comes with a message that encourages girls to explore their
Intuit is hiring on POCIT. Dishanta Kpatrick is a Full Stack Software Engineer at Intuit Mailchimp with an unconventional career journey. When she’s not at work, she’s learning to roller skate, renovating her house, and finishing her Cybersecurity degree at Kennesaw State University. Dishanta first discovered her computing talent in high school but explored other paths before returning to it in 2012. She taught herself web design and development online, starting in Intuit’s tech support team and working her way up to an engineer. Now, she balances her job with
Plaiced, a growing online social network, has acquired Clutch, a Black women-founded marketplace for digital marketing services. The acquisition marks a shift in the digital marketing industry, promising enhanced opportunities for content creators and brands alike. Clutch: Connecting businesses with creators Co-founded by Madison Long and Simone May in 2020, Clutch has connected numerous creators with businesses seeking marketing and content creation services. The company had secured $1.2 million in pre-seed funding led by Precursor Ventures and had worked with over 70 brands, including Hearst Media. “The creator economy is
On Sunday, hours after Joe Biden withdrew from the presidental race, thousands of Black women met on Zoom, raising over $1.6 million for Kamala Harris in three hours. Black Women for Kamala Harris Every Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET for the past four years, Black women have been virtually gathering, strategizing, encouraging, and supporting one another through the collective “Win With Black Women“. This organization, born out of frustration over the treatment of Black women being considered as running mates for then-candidate Joe Biden in 2020, has grown exponentially. On
