Emory University is ready to shake up the VC world with its first student-run venture capital fund focused on minority entrepreneurs. The Peachtree Minority Venture Fund (PMVF) was launched at The Roberto C. Goizueta Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. The fund, funded by the Goizueta Business School endowment, was made to support Black, LatinX, and Native American entrepreneurs. It currently has $1M in assets under management, and students are responsible for souring companies, conducting due diligence, and making investment recommendations to the Peachtree Investment Committee, reported
Ellington West is the CEO of Sonavi Labs, a company using a digital stethoscope with Bluetooth connectivity, called Feelix, to identify and diagnose respiratory disease from lung and body sounds. The recognition comes after she closed a seed round with over $3.5 million raised. It was supported by Sand Hill Angels of Silicon Valley, Gaingels, Nightingale Partners, Matt Hellauer of PTX Capital, and other angel investors. The company has also received two grants through the National Institutes of Health worth over $3 million combined. She then went on to win $100,000 in the Princeton Empower 2021 pitch competition. In addition, the company received
From attorney to tech history maker – Natalie King’s vision led to the first Black woman-owned electric vehicle recharging station. Dunamis Clean Energy Partners has a fast charger that can recharge a vehicle in 30 minutes. It also comes with a screen that allows operators to advertise to pick up an additional revenue stream. With the residential model, users can mount it to their garage wall and expect a full charge for their electronic vehicle in four-to-six hours. King’s journey to building Dunamis Charge began in 2007 when she and her ex-husband
The UK Black Business Show aims to bring together the best Black start-ups in the country through exhibitions, workshops, interactive panels, and seminars. It’s known to be Europe’s biggest Black-Owned Business show of the year with 4,000 annual attendees, and it’s retaking place on October 30th this year. We’ve broken down everything you need to know before the event What is it exactly? According to its website, this event will enable personal, professional, and corporate development through business exhibitions, deep-dive workshops, interactive panels, and seminars delivered by industry pioneers. To
Although there aren’t many, Black-owned banks have gone from strength to strength and have enabled the community to accumulate savings, learn finance skills, start their businesses, and more. Some might question why these banks are necessary, and the truth is, in some parts of the world, financial exclusion has put Black people at a severe disadvantage. And if you take a closer inspection at America’s staggering wealth gap where the median wealth for a Black family is just a tenth of a White household’s – it becomes more apparent why minority-owned banks
Facebook is set to donate millions to Black-owned Wine Collection McBride Sisters to help them continue their efforts to give back to other Black women-led businesses. Through the SHE CAN Fund, run by the collection, Black women entrepreneurs will be eligible to receive $20,000 in Facebook advertising credits. They’ll also receive guidance from the Facebook Elevate community and learning program designed to fuel the growth of Black and Latinx and Hispanic-owned businesses, according to Afrotech. Members of the program are also encouraged to visit the Elevate Hub to join the Facebook Elevate
Former ESPN data scientist Tiffany Kelly has just raised $2.1million in a seed round of funding for her adtech startup Curastory. The company, first launched in 2019, is a creator tool helping student-athletes by “connecting brands in need of video content with athletes, influencers, and actors who create video content and are willing to create directly for brands,” according to Sport Techie. Lightspeed, Techstars, and Mindspring Capital led the funding round to help Curastory’s staff expansion, market growth, and sales and engineering footprint. The milestone seed comes after the firm secured a deal with
The not-for-profit organization is raising funds to publish a book highlighting the achievements of 51 Black women in tech to give young people in schools access to role models from diverse communities. Once the book, dubbed The voices in the shadow, is published, TLA Black Women in Tech aims to distribute 300 copies to schools in the UK and Ireland for free. The mission has also been backed by the Digital and Culture Minister, Caroline Dinenage, who said it was important for children to know they can do anything in life. There
The Black founded start-up with a mission to make culturally competent healthcare accessible for minority communities has announced that it raised $1.6 million in seed funding led by the Female Founders Fund with participation from Serena William’s venture firm. Founded in 2018, HUED’s database now features over 600 healthcare providers tailored specifically towards communities of color and has developed a digital training curriculum for healthcare systems and stakeholders. The curriculum provides tools to dismantle structural and policy barriers that prevent these communities from accessing the care they need. Other round
The last few weeks (but really years) have been nothing short of emotionally challenging. In between bouts of deep sadness and profound rage, I’m a confused mess. It hurts deeply to care so much about a world that’s not designed to promote the prosperity of Black people. While I’m consistently proud of (and enamored by) the resilience of our community throughout history, I often wonder about the amount of violence a community of people can endure before the damage is irreparable. I frequently worry about the collective psyche of oppressed
