The Oakland Black Business Fund has been selected as the inaugural recipient of Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand’s Community Grant. The initiative is part of the Jordan Brand’s ‘Black Community Commitment Grant Program.’ It will fund the Oakland Black Business Fund’s [OBBF’s] mission to build peer-to-peer relationships within Black business owners, technical assistance providers, and tech companies. According to PR News Wire, OBBF aims to offer a sustainable growth model for underserved and under-funded businesses coming out of the Bay Area. In a statement, OBBF Co-Founder Trevor Parham said: “OBBF has had
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
Ziscuit, which is thought to be the world’s first grocery search engine, today announced it will launch its platform at the 2021 Techstars Farm To Fork Accelerator Demo Day. The all-new grocery search engine will initially launch in two zip codes in the Atlanta metro area. It will help budget-sensitive customers save $5 to $10 per shopping trip by instantly showing them where the cheapest groceries are in their neighborhood. After Ziscuit’s Atlanta launch, the company will target 25 additional cities. Founder & CEO Mark Anthony Peterson said he started
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
Rheaply, a startup that specializes in recycling and sourcing unused items, has just announced that it received an undisclosed amount of funding from the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance Game Changer Fund. The firm also combines a resource-sharing network with a user-friendly resource management platform. The investment is meant to help the Black-owned venture build an online exchange for building products and other resources. The exchange, which is set to launch in late 2022, will enable businesses in the greater Bay Area to access surplus and salvaged resources at cost-effective rates.
Black-Owned Start-Ups Awarded $1.2M In Financial Support Thanks To The Meda Million Dollar Challenge
Three Black founders have walked away with enough money to make their businesses flourish after the largest Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurial competition in the nation picked them as winners. This is the fourth annual competition where five companies received $1.2 million in financial support. Metropolitan Economic Development Association – also known as Meda – was founded by a group of Minnesota business leaders looking to attack inequity within minority communities in the state. “Meda operates a growing Community Development Fund Institution (CDFI) that provides needed capital for BIPOC businesses
Black-led Investment Bank, Loop Capital, Partners With Goldman Sachs To Help Close Racial Wealth Gap
Black-led investment bank Loop Capital and Goldman Sachs have just announced a partnership to launch a new money market fund that will benefit Black women pursuing careers in STEM. The two money market fund share class offerings will be available exclusively to Loop Capital and Goldman Sachs clients, and a portion of the revenue from the share classes will go to causes that impact increasing racial equity, according to a statement. The Loop Capital share classes will be offered as part of the Goldman Sachs Financial Square Government Fund and
Citi has announced its next round of investments through the Citi Impact Fund, a $200 million fund launched last year to invest in companies that are addressing some of the biggest societal challenges. Daylight, Flume, and Stackshare are among the list of companies included in the round. This brings the Impact Fund’s total number of investments to 23 companies – more than half of which are founded by women and/or minorities. Ed Skyler, Head of Global Public Affairs at Citi, said: “The portfolio of the Citi Impact Fund keeps growing as we continue to
Elizabeth L. Carter, Esq., LLC, a Black-owned securities law firm, has just launched a legal fund to support Black businesses that plan to raise capital through crowdfunding campaigns and other means. Ms. Carter, whose firm created the #BlackCapitalMatters Gift Legal Fund, is seeking corporate and individual contributions to the fund, which will help subsidize securities legal services for Black-owned businesses. It will also allow the firm to provide legal support at below-market-rate so that more Black-owned businesses can combat the disparities in investing that they often face. Black-owned entities, including businesses, nonprofits,
