This Juneteenth, we want to celebrate some Black founders who have set out to uplift and support their communities. Commemorating Juneteenth Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that slavery had been abolished – two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The first Juneteenth was observed in 1866 and has been celebrated by Black Americans ever since. It is often referred to as the country’s second independence day and became an official federal holiday
Loop Health has raised over $120,000 in funding as 21-year-old co-founders Joshua Obasohan and Neto Nwogbo set themselves up for a seed round this summer. The Story Of Loop Health According to TechCrunch, founders Obasohan and Nwogbo were college students brainstorming business venture ideas. After having initial plans of starting companies in Nigeria that came with barriers, they pivoted their idea to a market they were already familiar with, the university healthcare space. Then, the duo, both 21, launched Loop Health, a telehealth startup that aims to improve primary healthcare
Uncle Nearest is the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in history, driving a business worth $1.1 billion, according to Forbes and ISWR data. Uncle Nearest Black woman-owned distillery Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey was launched in 2016 by Fawn Weaver and quickly ascended to global recognition. The company’s rise is a tribute to Nearest Green, the first-known African American master distiller who taught Jack Daniel the secrets of distilling. Expanding its presence to over 30,000 stores, bars, hotels, and restaurants across 12 countries, the business also has a 432-acre distillery in Shelbyville,
Two Black founders have teamed together to create Dreamward Ventures, a new Seattle-based fund that plans to invest in diverse founders, including early-stage startups led by Black entrepreneurs. Dreamward Ventures Dreamward Ventures offers early-stage capital, technical due diligence, and network connections to founders who need them most. According to GeekWire, founders Evan Poncelet and Jesse Posey met at a Seattle Angel Conference event and decided to address the gaps in venture capital for Black founders and investors. “It’s hard for the venture capitalists and angel groups to reach out to founders of color, specifically Black
MyFiLi is a new AI-powered edtech platform designed to transform how families, schools, and nonprofits engage with financial literacy. The Urgent Need for Financial Literacy Currently, consumer credit card debt in the U.S. has hit an all-time high of $1.79 trillion, and savings account balances average just $4,521. MyFiLi.com addresses this gap by providing tools and knowledge that help users navigate the complex nature of financial management. According to BlackNews, Founder and CEO Joseph Green‘s mission is to empower everyone to develop a healthy relationship with money. “By making financial literacy education accessible,
Westbound Equity Partners, formerly Concrete Rose Capital, has raised an impressive $100 million to invest in Black, Latine, and diversity-focused founders. Westbound Equity Partners Spearheaded by Sean Mendy, a former Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula director, Westbound’s mission is to channel resources into startups that demonstrate potential while embodying a commitment to diversity and equitable culture. Mendy’s vision was to create a fund to break the homogeneous investment and entrepreneurship cycle and foster a more diverse and inclusive tech ecosystem. The uniqueness of Westbound lies in its dual approach. On the one
Recent data from Crunchbase reveals that there has been a disproportionate decline in venture funding for Black-founded startups in the United States. A Fall Below The $1B Threshold Last year, these startups secured only $705 million in funding, marking the first time since 2016 that the figure fell below the $1 billion threshold. This sharp decline of 71% in funding to Black-founded companies starkly contrasts with the 37% decrease in overall U.S. startup funding, highlighting a widening gap in investment allocation. This drop signifies a declining share of Black-founded startups
Two computer science majors, Leslie Jones-Dove and Devshi Mehrotra from the University of Chicago, have raised $3 million for their AI platform, JusticeText. Making the criminal justice system fairer Jones-Dove and Mehrotra developed their idea during a class project that they both worked on during their university years. Following protests after the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, the duo decided to interlink their interest in technology and the criminal justice system. “Across the country, there are a number of public defender’s offices where they’re underpaid and overworked,” James-Dove told AfroTech. “It means that they have a
Latimer Ventures has announced plans for a mini-accelerator, Latimer House, for Black and Latinx founders to strengthen businesses, attract investment, and build a network. In honor of Lewis Latimer, Luke Cooper founded Latimer Ventures in 2022. The venture capital firm is focused on helping the next generation of Black and Hispanic enterprise SaaS unicorns. Latimer House Latimer House is an 8-week intensive program for Black and Latinx founders, aiming to help them get to their next growth stage, whether that’s funding or their first enterprise customer. The program also aims to help founders gain
Venture capital (VC) funding for Black entrepreneurs in the US has been decreasing since a peak following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. In 2023, Black founders in the US got only 0.48% of all venture dollars, about $661 million out of $136 billion, TechCrunch reports. This is the lowest in recent years. Peak funding in 2021 In 2020, Black founders received 0.6% of venture funding. By the first half of 2021, funding to Black entrepreneurs in the US reached nearly $1.8 billion, a fourfold increase compared to the same time
