Chanelle Hayes

South Loop Ventures has officially closed a $21 million Fund I to support early-stage startups, with a strong focus on founders of color, TechCrunch reports. The Houston,TX-based venture firm is part of a growing movement to reshape who gets access to capital and where that capital flows. Fueling Founders From The Ground Up Founded in 2022 by Zach Ellis, South Loop Ventures, according to TechCrunch, focuses on seed and pre-seed investments, writing average checks of about $400,000. Anchor investors include Rice Management Co. and Chevron Technology Ventures. Additional contributions came from Texas Capital Bank and The Great Commission Foundation of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. The tech outlet reports that the firm has made 13 investments and plans to back at least 30 companies from the fund. “We thought it was important to have a fund focused on diverse founders here in Houston, given Houston’s diversity,” Ellis told the outlet. Though South Loop Ventures invests nationally, its...

Issa Rae doesn’t just produce hit shows — she creates cultural experiences, too. The entertainment mogul and serial entrepreneur has expanded her hospitality footprint with the recent launch of Downtown Dough, a funk-inspired pizzeria and cocktail bar in downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported early May 2025. According to the publication, Downtown Dough is the latest collaboration between Rae and her partners, Yonnie Hagos and Ajay Relan, under their growing hospitality group, Good Vibes Only ( GVO) . By day, the 6,000-square-foot space continues as Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen, a beloved community hub Rae helped scale across Los Angeles . By night, it transforms into Downtown Dough, which its website states is a “vibrant dining experience that is inspired by the free and forward era of the ’70s.” As far as the menu, expect wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizzas with garlic oil-brushed crusts, and toppings such as truffled cream fondue, Fresno chiles, and Manila clams. Beyond...

With some assistance from artificial intelligence (AI) and a great deal of artistic vision, one business is reinventing the virtual fitting room. Doji, a fashion-tech startup co-founded by Dorian Dargan and Jim Winkens, has raised $14 million in seed funding, led by Thrive Capital with participation from Seven Seven Six Ventures, to scale its AI-powered avatar app that lets users virtually try on clothes in a fun, social, and personalized way. Dargan, Doji’s CEO, shared the news on his LinkedIn page, expressing his excitement about building a platform that puts users at the center of their fashion journey, stating, “Fashion is meant to be fun. But somewhere along the way, shopping for clothes online became overwhelming instead of exciting. We believe there’s a better way – one that celebrates creativity and self-expression.” Doji, which combines the founders’ first names, Dorian and Jim, lets users upload selfies and full-body images to generate an avatar, as TechCrunch reports....

Mark Cuban is stepping into a new game — this time alongside leaders working to reshape the face of professional sports ownership. According to Bloomberg, the billionaire entrepreneur and former Dallas Mavericks majority owner has been named a general partner in Harbinger Sports Partners Fund, a newly launched $750 million private equity fund targeting minority stakes in legacy U.S. sports franchises. The fund is co-founded and led by Rashaun Williams, a venture investor and limited partner in the Atlanta Falcons, and Steve Cannon, former CEO of AMB Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of the Falcons and soccer club Atlanta United FC, Bloomberg reports. Per the outlet, Harbinger is focusing on investments in teams across the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Williams, Cannon, and Cuban together bring operational experience, league relationships, and deal flow access to the table, significant factors that could set the fund apart from other institutional players entering the sports world....

Microsoft is laying off approximately 6,000 employees, around 3% of its global workforce, as CNBC reports, marking the latest round of job cuts as the company continues to realign its business priorities. The move will affect workers across various teams and regions, though the company did not disclose specific departments or locations. A Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC that the layoffs are part of organizational and workforce adjustments “to reduce layers of management” and not related to job performance. The spokesperson further stated, “We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.” Microsoft, which employed 228,000 people worldwide as of June last year, has conducted several rounds of layoffs in recent years. In 2023, the company cut 10,000 positions, according to CNBC . In 2024, Microsoft also laid off nearly 2,000 employees from its gaming division just months after a $69 million gaming...

Kofa , a Ghana-based energy tech startup, secured $8.1 million in a pre-Series A funding round to expand its AI-powered battery-swapping network across Africa, as Techpoint Africa reports. According to the outlet, the investment consists of $3.25 million in equity, $4.32 million in debt, and $590,000 in grants, and was co-led by E3 Capital and Injaro Investment Advisors. Additional contributions came from the Shell Foundation and the UK Government’s Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform, as well as Penso Power’s CEO Richard Thwaites, among others. “This funding validates our vision to transform urban Africa’s energy landscape, and we are committed to building the ecosystem necessary to make this a reality,” Erik Nygard, Kofa’s founder and CEO, said in a press release. “The shift to cleaner energy, for both domestic and commercial use, goes beyond sustainability — it drives real economic impact, but for this transition to succeed, several key elements must come together.” Nygard...

In a story that epitomizes Black excellence, ambition, and resilience, a mother and son are making history together. According to ABC 11, Tamika Stanton and her son, Tomantae Stanton-Jones, were recent graduates of the class of 2025 at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, North Carolina. They walked the same graduation stage, celebrating degrees that represent not only academic achievement but decades of determination. Stanton became pregnant with her son at 15 but did not allow that moment to define or limit her. After earning her bachelor’s degree at NCCU, she returned to pursue her master’s degree in social work, officially earning “Double Eagle” status, according to the news outlet. Stanton-Jones, meanwhile, graduated summa cum laude from NCCU’s School of Law, one of the top HBCU law schools in the country as AFROTECH™ previously reported. He was already building a legacy of excellence inspired by his mother’s unwavering example, as he became a Gates Scholar at...

Two-time NBA champion Rajon Rondo, 39, returned to the University of Kentucky (UK) this month, not for a game but for a graduation ceremony. The former All-Star point guard officially earned his bachelor’s degree in communications during the university’s May 2025 commencement ceremony at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY, as Yahoo Sports reports. The moment marked a full-circle achievement 20 years after Rondo first enrolled at UK as a standout freshman in 2004, the outlet states. After two seasons with the Kentucky Wildcats, Rondo declared for the 2006 NBA Draft, where he was selected 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns and later traded to the Boston Celtics, per Yahoo Sports. What followed was a decorated 16-season NBA career with several teams, including an NBA championship in 2008 with the Celtics and another with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. Rondo last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022. He officially retired from the NBA in April 2024 with a net worth of over $45 million, as...

Five Howard University students have earned a $1 million grant for their school after winning the fifth annual Goldman Sachs Market Madness competition, as part of its HBCU Possibilities Program, according to an announcement posted on the university’s website. As AFROTECH previously reported, Spelman College won in 2024. The winners of the 2025 Market Madness competition, Keyla Arrechea, Jordan Atkins, Aaron Harrison, Kadijah Mansaray, and Jada Rabun, were among the Howard students in the semester-long program, which is designed to provide, immersive introduction to key financial concepts and their real-world applications, as Goldman Sachs’ website states. During the competition, the Howard team competed against students from 11 other HBCUs. Most of the team had not yet completed their first semester of college when the program began, yet they advanced through two virtual rounds and ultimately delivered their final pitch live at Goldman Sachs’ New York headquarters. They were tasked...

A Nigerian healthtech startup has secured funding to scale its next-gen proactive health initiative. According to TechPression, Lagos-based Platos Health has announced $1.4 million in pre-seed funding to expand Platos 3.0, an AI-powered metabolic health platform. The funding indicates significant interest in Africa’s emerging digital health sector, with support from Google for Startups, Invest International, and angel investors from Google, Tesla, and Unicredit, according to the outlet. As part of Platos 3.0, the outlet also states that Platos Health has designed Platos Body Monitor, a home medical device intended to address the rising prevalence of lifestyle-related illnesses in Nigeria. The device is sold in more than 300 pharmacies in Nigeria, including Medplus, Justrite, and Alpha Pharmacy, and costs between ₦80,000 and ₦120,000 ($50 and $80). It’s also available online, with two different options to choose from. “We saw a gap. Health isn’t just clinical; it’s personal,” said...

Aruwa Capital Management, one of Africa’s few woman-led private equity firms, has secured $35 million for its second fund to invest in inclusive, impact-driven businesses across Nigeria and Ghana, according to a press release. Aruwa Capital Fund II drew backing from major institutions, including the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (MFAGF), Visa Foundation, British International Investment (BII), and Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI), the fund’s first local institutional investor, based on the release. It also attracted capital from global family offices and others with a target of $40 million. However, that number has since changed to $50 million, with a hard cap of $60 million. “In the midst of the current challenging fundraising environment, we are excited to have raised 90% of our target fund size for Fund II and to be upsizing due to strong investor interest,” said Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, founder and managing partner of Aruwa Capital Management, in a press release via her...

Seven African healthtech startups have been selected for the latest cohort of the Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) program . Each will receive up to $225,000 in grant funding and tailored support to scale solutions that improve medicine access. Backed by the Gates Foundation, Merck & Co. Inc. (MSD), Sanofi, and others, i3 supports growth-stage startups working to close critical health care gaps. This cohort emphasizes pharmacy-related solutions, a vital part of health care in many African countries , where pharmacies handle up to 70% of initial patient visits, according to Urban Geekz. The selected startups, which are dedicated to developing a range of scalable, tech-enabled solutions, include: mPharma Chefaa Dawa Mkononi Meditect myDawa RxAll Sproxil Their offerings include AI-powered prescription refills, last-mile medicine delivery, cloud-based pharmacy systems, embedded financing, inventory management, and product authentication to reduce fraud and improve drug safety. “It is...