Brennan Nevada Inc., reportedly New York’s only Black woman-owned PR and media agency for tech companies, has partnered with SoLo, the US’s largest Black-owned personal finance company. Building Brennan Nevada Inc Founded by Brennan Nevada Johnson in 2021, the agency has quickly established itself as a formidable force in the industry. Johnson, a descendant of Carter G. Woodson, the founder of Black History Month, channels her heritage into her work, emphasizing the promotion of Black and BIPOC stories in the tech world. Johnson’s background in journalism and experience in a
Forbes has unveiled its third 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. Brenda Darden Wilkerson – President and CEO of AnitaB.org Wilderson, 63, founded the nonprofit AnitaB.org, which aims to diversify tech by bringing in more women and nonbinary talent. She began the role at age 57 after spending eight years with Chicago Public Schools and has now boosted her organization’s
The Fifteen Percent Pledge was launched three years ago by creative director, activist and fashion designer Aurora James to urge major retailers and corporations to commit 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. Since then, more than 625 Black-owned businesses have developed business relationships with 29 companies across three countries that have taken the pledge such as Ulta, Sephora, Vogue, Macy’s and Old Navy. According to Forbes, the Pledge’s work with its partners has created the potential to shift $14 billion to Black entrepreneurs and businesses. Now, to mark
Many startup cofounders have exciting stories to share about how they met. From bonding as college roommates or former colleagues to surprise encounters leading to entrepreneurial adventures but for some, that perfect cofounder is found through a match-making platform. Damilare Ogunleye is the co-founder and CEO of FoodLama. He runs the Google-backed startup with his cofounder – 18-year-old Santiago Schmitt. But how does the startup work? FoodLama is a free-to-install-and-use browser extension that simplifies online grocery shopping with preferences. By taking into account your household’s individual allergies, preferences, and needs,
Talent x Opportunity has announced the launch of its third cohort. The initiative, designed to support artistic geniuses with the tools they need to scale and grow, welcomed a new set of founders for this year’s program. The TxO program, founded by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (known as “a16z”), works to help accelerate the growth and impact of upcoming tech companies. They select elite entrepreneurs and prepare them with the ideal tools to build and expand their companies. Here are five founders joining the TxO community in Fall 2022.
Black woman-owned sports tech platform PowerHandz has closed a “multimillion-dollar investment” with one of the world’s largest investment companies, Vanguard Holdings Group. In 2021, the company announced its merger with PH Innovation Holdings. The partnership enabled PowerHandz to feature some of its performance products and training content in the multi-sport training app’s live stream, reaching a more comprehensive range of youth, coaches, and parents worldwide. The platform received a multimillion-dollar capital injection from Vanguard Holdings Group a year later. Vanguard has also made a private tender offer to the tech
Bizao has raised $8.15 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by AfricInvest, Adelie, and Seedstars Africa Ventures and will help the platform accelerate its expansion, helping them provide services to citizens across the continent. Bizao, founded in 2019 by Aurélien Duval-Delort, helps companies accept all local payment methods across Africa. The tech platform uses powerful APIs and advanced financial flows to simplify the challenge of getting Mobile Money, Visa/Mastercard, and Airtime payments. The outlet powers all businesses: local retailers, online merchants, international digital content providers, money
Ingressive Capital, a $10 million venture capital fund launched by Maya Horgan Famodu with its headquarters in Nigeria, celebrated a five-year-mark last week. Horgan Famodu launched Ingressive when she was just 25. Today, at the age of 31, her fund is focused on leveling the playing field for female entrepreneurs: about 40% of its portfolio companies are founded or co-founded by women. In 2020, Ingressive doubled its fund to $10 million, with backers that include Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund, Michael Seibel of Y Combinator, Techstars, and others. The fund that invests
Doing it for the culture. Husband and wife duo Jermaine and Whaketa Hargrove plan to launch streaming animation network, Animation TV, later this year and it’s set to offer a range of exclusive content. A subscription and linear channel model will also be available for ease of access to viewers. Animation TV will also work in collaboration with Small Town Animation Studios to deliver original, exclusive animation content. This includes the highly anticipated diabetic superhero movie Gumshe: The Type 1 Protector, or faith-based series The Sunday Schoolers, and other originals like Animate My Life, Welcome to
Emtech, a Black female owned central bank digital infrastructure provider, targets emerging markets where payments infrastructure need aligning with digital innovations — to improve efficiency, introduce new products and services that are likely to promote financial inclusion, and in ensuring the secure movement of money.
