Colourintech, working with Meta, found that Black students and professionals face many barriers when advancing in the tech industry. To try to understand the scope of the matter, the research team looked at 2,000 individuals in tech – asking questions about finding a job, getting hired, advancing, and being supported in their careers. More than 60% of Black professionals encounter barriers to entering the tech profession, the new figures unveiled as it shone a light on the hurdles still being faced in the industry. Saloni Shah, a student at Imperial
After opening a pop-up in Westfield London last year, Black Pound Day is now set to open a permanent store in the shopping center. Black Pound Day founder, Swiss of So Solid Crew, announced the opening of the permanent store on social media. “This is an absolute special one for us because we are proud to officially say, we have signed a permanent lease to trade at Westfield London, the biggest shopping center in Europe, and we couldn’t have done it without You!!!!” Swiss wrote. The launch of the pop-up
Black-owned tech firm Better Life Technologies Group, Inc. has been awarded a patent for its wristband smartwatch used for non-invasive detection of glucose and pathogens, including COVID-19. It may have applications for non-invasive cancer detection, according to Black News but POCIT cannot yet confirm this. The glucose diagnostic system will reportedly be able to be worn like a watch and help detect early stages of cancer, and symptoms of diabetes, electrolytes, and much more. “A lot of times, the venture capitalists and angel investors look the direction that everyone is going.
Recently, Esusu, a firm that builds the accountability and systems you need to save more, joined the list of growing Black-led startups that have hit the $1 billion valuation mark and it got me thinking…how many of you know that there are quite a few unicorns that have been led by Black founders or CEOs? So here’s a small but mighty list that might act as a source of inspiration to you. Firstly – a “Unicorn” is a venture capital term used to describe firms that have achieved a valuation of more than
Recent YC graduate Topship has raised a $2.5 million seed round months after concluding the recent YC winter batch with Flexport as its lead investor. Other backers include Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Starling Ventures, Olive Tree Capital, Capital X and True Capital. The individual investors in the round include Immad Akhund, Mercury CEO and Arash Ferdowsi, co-founder of Dropbox. Topship is considered a borderline local and international shipping solution between digital freight and e-commerce fulfillment. It was founded in 2020 during the pandemic when co-founder and CEO Moses Enenwali reportedly noticed a surge in merchants’ needs for
Precious Drews’ personal story is one of perseverance and passion. She’s the second youngest of eight children and first became an entrepreneur in middle school – making YouTube videos for her favorite artists in exchange for easy money. Although she didn’t consider herself an entrepreneur – anyone that hears her story can be quick to identify her as a natural-born leader. She was also the first in her family to go to college and later start her own small business – a natural skin care line that uses recycled coffee
Chicago teenager, Zaire Horton, will be embarking on a solo trip in his motor glider with plans to visit seven HBCUs that were influential in teaching pioneering Black pilots during World War II. By age 14, Horton was learning how to fly a motor glider and by 15 – he was able to soar the skies solo. When he turned 16, he obtained his glider pilot’s license and at 17 Horton expects to receive his private pilot and aeromechanics license before graduating from high school. According to CBS News, the teen pilot started
Donald Boone, CEO of BoxedUp, an equipment rental company, started the company back in 2019. He would spend hours and even days packaging orders himself with dozens of equipment lying around his family home. Now he runs a three-person company that’s got $2.3M in funding. The 30-something-year-old Maryland native had the realization that in order to make an impact on his community- he needed to find a way to pursue entrepreneurship full time. After a corporate career in engineering, a failed startup, and a career at Amazon, he’s found a
Identitypass today announced that it has raised $2.8 million in seed funding, months after graduating from Y Combinator. The round also comes a few months after the startup raised $360,000 in pre-seed investment last November, bringing its total funding to $3.1 million. The startup, launched in 2021, is focused on making it possible for digital businesses in Africa to easily verify their customers within seconds. It’s a simple compliance and data security platform that allows online businesses to easily verify and confirm a transacting party’s identity using existing forms of identification. Identitypass
Greenwood, the digital banking platform for Black and Latino individuals and business owners, has announced the acquisition of The Gathering Spot, a private membership network focused on the Black community. Greenwood and The Gathering Spot (TGS) share the same mission of supporting financial freedom for minorities through community building, entrepreneurship, group economics, and wealth-building. The combined company has a community of over 1 million people. Together, they will continue to deliver features including community building, personal finance content, and banking services. TGS was launched in 2016. It offers spaces for
