Conducive Capital, a newly formed South African venture capital firm, has launched a $50 million fund for early- and growth-stage tech startups across Africa. Meet The Team The fund is headed by Clive Butkow and Mitchan Adams. Butkow is the founder and former CEO of Kalon Venture Partner and former COO of Accenture South Africa. Alongside Adams, the co-founder of Ozow and current CEO of Aions, the two have collectively invested over R300 million, with an internal rate of return of more than 30% over the past seven years. Their combined expertise is set to invigorate the African
Black Tech Nation Ventures (BTN.vc), a venture firm based in Pittsburgh, has announced the final close of a $50 million inaugural fund. BTN.vc This fund specifically targets software startups led by founders from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, including Black, Latinx, Indigenous, female, and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. BTN.vc’s founding in 2020 resulted from a collaboration between three serial entrepreneurs, Kelauni Jasmyn, David Motley, and Seán Sebastian. The focus addresses the long-standing issue of inequity in funding and anticipates significant returns within the venture industry. “We set up BTN.vc to equip and train a
Nex Cubed has announced a partnership with nonprofit HBCU.vc to support founders from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and train the next generation of Black venture capitalists (VCs). Nex Cubed is a pre-seed venture accelerator on a mission to invest in and uplift underrepresented founders and underserved communities. They recently announced the launch of a $40 million HBCU Founders Fund aimed to boost startups led by at least one founder who is a HBCU student, alumnus, or faculty. This week, they announced the partnership with HBCU.vc – a nonprofit
As he retires from the NBA, former professional basketball player Andre Iguodala is set to lead Mosaic, his venture capital (VC) fund. Iguodala had an established reputation for nearly two decades as one of the NBA’s most versatile players, an All-Star, and an Olympic gold medalist. He has now announced his retirement from pro basketball to DealBook to focus on his other career as a startup investor. “It’s been a blessing to play for that long,” he told DealBook. Mosaic Mosaic is Iguodala’s $200 million venture capital fund raised with
Black founders raised only 0.13% of all capital allocated to US startups in Q3 of this year, Crunchbase has reported. A decline in funding Only 0.13% of venture dollars allocated between July and September went to Black founders. This equates to about $39.7 million of the total $29.9 billion allocated, a massive year-over-year drop for Black founders. In Q3 2022, Black founders raised $1 billion out of around $81.7 billion in venture dollars, approximately 1.2%. TechCrunch also reported a massive quarter-over-quarter drop as in Q2 of 2023, Black founders raised
The California Senate Bill 54 (SB 54) has been signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, requiring venture capital firms in the state to report the diversity of the founders they back annually. This is the first piece of legislation in the US that aims to address racial disparities in the venture capital (VC) landscape. There is currently no official data on how VC firms invest their money founder and tech activist who helped ideate and draft SB 54, Allison Byers said. She added that California is responsible for 36%
BLCK VC, a nonprofit for Black investors, has appointed two-time founder and investor Robert Gordon IV as its CEO. BLCK VC BLCK VC is a nonprofit organization that equips Black investors with the access, education, and community they need to accelerate their venture capital (VC) careers. Typically, Black entrepreneurs receive less than 2% of overall dollars each year in VC funding. Additionally, by the end of 2022, adverse market conditions led to a 36% drop in overall VC dollars, but Black entrepreneurs saw a 45% decrease in the financing. BLCK
Amazon Catalytic Capital, launched in 2022, has announced four new venture capital funds, bringing its total portfolio to eight. Amazon Catalytic Capital Amazon Catalytic Capital was launched as a $150 million commitment focused on investing in Black, Latine, Indigenous, women and LGBTQIA+ builders in tech. Specifically, the initiative provides capital to funds, venture studios, accelerators, or incubators that back startups led by underrepresented founders. Recipients also receive 1:1 mentorship from Amazon executives and unique business opportunities for partnerships, technical support, and scaling resources. Amazon Catalytic Capital has announced its investment
Conservative group American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by Edward Blum, has brought a lawsuit against Fearless Fund, which supports women of color who own small businesses. Reuters reports that the lawsuit accuses Fearless Fund of violating Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which bars racial bias in private contracts by opening its grant competition to Black women alone. Lawsuits brought by Blum and the conservative group led to the June Supreme Court’s ruling to shut down affirmative action, barring universities and colleges from considering race in their
A new report by Dropbox DocSend has shed light on the funding divide in the tech industry, particularly regarding race and gender disparities among founders. While 2021 witnessed record-breaking levels of VC funding and increased engagement with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, 2022 proved to be more challenging for historically underfunded founders. Turning tides In 2021, VC funding for early-stage founders experienced a significant boost, with record-breaking funding levels. Historically underrepresented founders also experienced a surge of investor interest driven by DEI-related investment initiatives in response to the murder
