Female and Latinx-founded fintech company, Mendoza Ventures, has taken a massive step in its move to invest in underrepresented startups. Bank of America’s Investment Mendoza recently achieved a first close on its third $100M fund to further their work to support startups founded by diverse founders. The fund, led by Bank of America (BofA), included Grasshopper Bank alongside multiple other investors. The anchor funding comes from BofA’s commitment to making capital much more accessible to founders often overlooked by investors. “Mendoza Ventures is at the forefront of supporting innovation and
The idea of running a business is exciting, but there is no denying that being a startup founder can be an overwhelming experience. From managing finances to staying on top of social media trends, many business owners wear multiple hats to keep their business functioning. According to The Plug’s analysis of Census Bureau data, approximately 10% of businesses that employed less than 20 people were forced to close in 2020. Likewise, statistics have shown that 45% of entrepreneurs have reported feeling stressed, which has led to mental health issues such as anxiety or depression.
Serena Williams is making big moves in the venture capital world. After announcing earlier this year, that she would be stepping away from tennis, Williams has embodied the phrase ‘put your money where your mouth is, by investing over $100 million in early-stage startups. Ugandan-based fintech, Numida, is the latest business to benefit from investment from Serena Ventures. The fintech recently raised $12.3M in a pre-series A funding round led by Serena Ventures. Participation included the Pan-African VC fund, Launch Africa, Breega, Soma Capital, Y Combinator, and MFS Africa. What is
Funding for African startups has hit a new record between January and June. According to reports, the African market is the first to see more than a single digit of growth which was extremely unpredictable considering the slowdown globally. Venture capital deals within the African region reached a striking $3.5 billion in six months, with no other continent coming marginally as close to Africa’s startup funding growth. Of the 300 companies that benefitted from this funding, 27% were led by female founders or had at least one female founder. This is
Byld Ventures, a $15 million fund launched this May, has eyes for startups mainly across Egypt and Nigeria due to the partners’ experiences in those markets. Byld Ventures reached its first close almost in June and a second close at $10 million last month. It expects to achieve its final close by year’s end, according to TechCrunch. Over a dozen athletes have backed the fund as well as the Dubai government and several unnamed institutional LPs. The early-stage fund — which has made four investments: Ceviant, Apata, Thepeer and Anchor — consists of four
Y Combinator’s summer (S22) batch is notably different to its previous ones. Firstly, this batch kicked off with an in-person event – the first since the winter 2020 batch. Secondly, the summer cohort includes 240 companies, significantly fewer than the 414 companies in the winter 2022 cohort. And third, only eight startups in Africa got into the accelerator this summer compared to 24 from the previous batch, representing a 60% reduction. While the region represented about 6% of the entire winter batch, it’s 3% for this batch. When YC went
Nigeria-based fintech startup, Anchor has received over $1M in investment to help expand its workforce and services. The startup fund program is backed by fund program, Y Combinator, and other venture capital firms, including Byld Ventures, Luno Expeditions, Niche Capital, Mountain Peak Capital, and angel investors such as the founder of SeamlessHR, Emmanuel Okeleji. Co-founded in 2021 by Segun Adeyemi, Olamide Sobowale, and Gbekeloluwa Olufotebi, the banking-as-a-service platform, allows consumers to embed accounts, cards, payments, lending, and other financial features to their products within minutes. “We’re now seeing a new development where businesses want to
Black-owned real estate tech startup, Rhove, has announced its new partnership with housing changemakers in New Orleans to promote economic inclusion. The partnership, which includes Forward Together New Orleans, The Mayor’s Fund, and The Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GNOHA), will provide a grant to fund credit to help 2,000 residents invest in commercial real estate using the Rhove app. Rhove, founded by Calvin Cooper, is a fintech company designed to empower everyone to invest in and own real estate. The company, located in Ohio, is on a mission to
Black-owned fintech startup, Guava, has closed a pre-seed funding round of $2.4 million. The funding round, which Heron Rock led, also included investment firm Ruthless for Good Fund, Precursor Ventures, Backstage Capital, and angel investors Lexi Reese and Ed Zimmerman. Guava, founded in 2021 by Kelly Ifill, helps Black-owned businesses bank and build community. The banking and networking platform works to close the racial wealth gap by aiding small Black companies and creators with the tools needed to scale and grow their businesses. The digital platform, which is yet to
San Francisco-based fintech company, TomoCredit, has raised $122 million in funding and debt financing. The funding round was led by Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund and included Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund, MasterCard, and debt from Silicon Valley Bank. The funding will help the platform expand its credit product offerings to help support immigrants with no credit history in the US. TomoCredit, co-founded in 2018 by Kristy Kim and Dmitry Kashlev, is a fintech platform dedicated to providing the next generation with a credit card designed to help millennials boost
