Online lending marketplace LendingTree published a new study on places with the most Black-owned businesses in the United States, based on the US Census Bureau Annual Business Survey data. Fayetteville, NC was found to have the highest percentage of Black-owned businesses in the US. Other metros in the South — including Washington, DC — join Fayetteville at the top of the list. Pittsburgh, however, ranked the lowest out of the 50 American metros listed, with a mere 1.0% of small businesses being Black-owned — a percentage that falls below the national Black
Brazilian companies have started to explicitly seek out Black and Indigenous workers to diversify their ranks, a step to reverse the deep inequality that has racked the country since the area was first settled centuries ago. The country is LinkedIn’s third-largest market, after the United States and India, with 55 million users, or one in every four people in Brazil. So naturally, employers would advertise jobs there. But in February, a think tank in São Paulo was looking for a financial coordinator that would be willing to take on the
Today the Kapor Center, a nonprofit addressing racial inequities in STEM education and the tech industry, in partnership with the NAACP, released their 2022 report titled State of Tech Diversity: The Black Tech Ecosystem. The report analyzes and synthesizes the latest data, demonstrating the continual exclusion of Black talent across the tech ecosystem, which represents a great loss of talent and innovation for one of the major drivers of our nation’s economy. The report findings reveal that progress towards racial equity is not only stalled but in many respects, regressing, throughout
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
This week, Apple has released its latest Inclusion and Diversity report and the data in the report shows trends in Apple’s workforce between 2014 and 2021. Apple has been reporting its diversity numbers since 2014 when its workforce was under 93 thousand employees when women represented 30% of the worldwide workforce, 20% filled technical roles and 28% had leadership positions. The company now has over 165,000 employees globally across its retail, tech, non-tech, and leadership roles. From the data – it’s clear that the firm has increased its number of
New York-based wellness startup Better & Better, which makes “vitamin-infused” vegan toothpaste, has just raised $4 million from investors including a VC firm cofounded by Will Smith and Japanese soccer player Keisuke Honda. Vladimir Vukicevic, cofounder and CEO of Better & Better, said the startup’s launch in 2020 was done with the ambition of allowing consumers to “microdose” vitamins through daily habits people have such as brushing their teeth. Microdosing involves the taking of small doses of substances, which has seen increased attention in recent years as scientists have tested
Tiffany Johnson’s journey is impressive. Since moving to the United States at age 14, Tiffany Johnson has been determined to find her way. Despite a difficult start t in the country that reportedly included living undocumented for five years and raising two younger siblings, Johnson’s drive and ambition became a passion for business. It led her to become the CEO and founder of feminine care and wellness brand Moozii and secure a job at Amazon. In 2018, she worked with Amazon’s sales team to help US sellers expand their businesses to
Founders Denis Asamoah and Jay Cheng are the founders of Buzzup, a platform that provides an alternative medium for creatives to connect and ultimately monetize their most engaged fans. The startup launched its alpha version to a small cohort of creators back in January. The initial phase lets creators share their top followers who are generating “buzz” on their Instagram page by pulling publicly available API data from the Meta-owned platform. Buzzup has reportedly already raised $500,000 with investments from creators (many of whom are Buzzup’s earliest users) and is
Codecademy announced that it will be partnering with the Black and Brilliant advocacy group on a new mentorship program and accelerator in Africa. Last year, the two organizations joined forces for their first accelerator and are now eager to expand the program to help create a new pipeline of tech talent across the African continent.  The intiative created by husband-and wife-team Tony Effik and Perky Noah-Effik was launched as a way to diversify the tech workforce and increase access for BIPOC communities. The 10-week program will focus on upskilling and mentorship within
Xbox continues to power dreams through gaming and has announced an expansion of its sponsorship with the iconic NBA franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers. To celebrate, the Microsoft-owned video game company teamed up with philanthropist and NBA All-Star Dwight Howard to remodel part of the Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley. The new state-of-the-art gaming lab features new artwork, custom purple and gold Xbox Series S consoles, gaming PCs, screens, and more to allow the club members to experience the joy of gaming and exploring their passions. A family-oriented nonprofit dedicated
