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Latest Articles

Former White House Advisor Ashley D. Bell And Dr. Bernice A. King Plan To Acquire Utah-Based Bank

A new Black-owned financial institution could emerge west of Texas. The Sacramento Observer reports that the Black-led investment group Redemption Holding Co. (RHC), led by former White House Policy Advisor Ashley D. Bell, wants to acquire Holladay Bank & Trust in Holladay, UT. If planning is approved, the Utah financial institution will be renamed Redemption Bank , per the outlet . What’s more, it would become Black-owned and serve as the only Minority Depository Institution, which offers financial services to underserved populations, west of Texas. As CEO of Black-owned fintech startup Ready Life , Bell helps underserved communities start on the path to homeownership. “All of us require a bank to operate, and the reality was there was no Black-owned bank that we could sit on top of to operate with the way we’re currently constructed,” he told The Sacramento Observer. He continued, “Therefore, we are dependent on other communities and banks to allow us to do that service. So the...

Samantha Dorisca

Mar 12, 2024

Chris Paul, Tinashe, And Quavo Invest In Altro's $4M Funding Round To Democratize Credit Building For Everyone

Notable names in sports and music have gathered to make credit building more accessible to the masses. According to a press release shared with AFROTECH™, Tinashe, Quavo, Chris Paul, and Marshawn Lynch are among the investors who participated in Altro’s latest strategic funding round totaling $4 million. The round brings the credit-building and financial literacy platform’s total funding to $22 million. Altro, formerly known as Perch, was founded in 2019 by Michael Broughton. It allows users to strengthen their credit scores through “everyday payment and subscriptions” such as Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Starz, and more. Additionally, the company offers educational resources even to its baseline free membership model. Resources include Altro’s Convo, consisting of brief audio episodes discussing various cultural and financial subjects, and in-person and virtual networking events and opportunities. Prior, Altro was available in 10 U.S. states. In light of the star-studded round,...

Samantha Dorisca

Mar 6, 2024

How Mark Cuban Propelled This Black-Led Tech Company He Invested In — 'Even When We Weren’t Able To Make Payroll, He Helped Us'

Felix Lloyd’s company is among the 13 Black businesses to catch the attention of billionaire Mark Cuban during his time as an investor on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Lloyd is former dean of students at the SEED Public Charter School and was recognized as Washington D.C.’s Teacher of the Year. In 2013, he and his wife, Jordan Lloyd Bookey, Google’s head of K-12 education outreach at the time, were inspired to create Zoobean. Initially introduced as a “book-of-the-month business” to connect families, with a focus on “non-traditional genres and interests,” the platform has since transformed into software catered to libraries and educational settings, the company website reads. It now encompasses features such as summer reading programs, simplified reading records, progress tracking analytics, and the option for users to host fundraising events centered around reading. In 2014, the founders were featured on season five of “Shark Tank” with their original business model. The opportunity to...

Samantha Dorisca

Mar 5, 2024

Biden-Harris Administration Commit $32M To North Carolina Women- And Minority-Led Venture Capital Firms

The Biden-Harris Administration is directing millions of dollars toward entrepreneurs located in North Carolina. On Friday, March 1, Vice President Kamala Harris visited Durham, NC, to shed light on a $92 million plan to invest in historically underserved small businesses and entrepreneurs, according to Technician, North Carolina State University’s student newspaper. Harris was greeted by Gov. Roy Cooper during an event at the city’s historic Black Wall Street, in which she revealed 10 North Carolina women- and minority-led venture capital firms will be given $32 million in federal funds. The financial commitment will be provided through the U.S. Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), and awardees include Nex Cubed (Founders Fund); RevTech Labs (majority female and Latina-owned entrepreneurship center and accelerator); LaVert Ventures (woman-owned AgTech fund); and Latimer Ventures (early-stage venture capital fund). The investment will trigger an...

Samantha Dorisca

Mar 4, 2024

Longtime Friends LeBron James And Drake Invest In The PGA Tour

Longtime friends LeBron James and Drake are investing their dollars in the PGA Tour. As AFROTECH previously told you, the PGA announced $1.5 billion “in immediate and future equity” from the Strategic Sports Group (SSG), which will permit 200 PGA Tour members to become “equity holders” in the newly established PGA Tour Enterprises. The grants will be contingent upon “career accomplishments, recent achievements, future participation and services, and PGA TOUR membership status…” Strategic Sports Group, composed of team owners led by Fenway Sports Group, closed on the investment totaling up to $3 billion. “We greatly appreciate the opportunity to join PGA TOUR players in this important next phase of the PGA TOUR’s evolution,” John Henry, principal owner of Fenway Sports Group and manager of the Strategic Sports Group, said in a news release. “Our enthusiasm for this new venture stems from a very deep respect for this remarkable game and a firm belief in the expansive growth potential...

Samantha Dorisca

Mar 4, 2024

VC Funding To Black-Founded US Startups Reportedly Hit $705M In 2023 — The First Time The Number Fell Short Of $1B Since 2016

The state of venture capital (VC) funding for startups in the United States paints a concerning picture for Black entrepreneurs.

Michelle Burk

Feb 29, 2024

Tech Entrepreneur Andre Swanston Is Connecticut's First Black Majority Owner Of A Pro Sports Team

Andre Swanston is one of the few Black men to sell a tech company for nine figures. Swanston founded Tru Optik in 2013. He was driven to have a solid work ethic by his father, who ventured from the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United States and worked several jobs to support his family, according to Forbes. The younger Swanston obtained a finance degree from La Salle University and a business degree from the University of Connecticut between 1999 and 2004. He would then secure a job as a financial advisor at Ameriprise Financial and later take on a post at JPMorgan Chase & Co. as vice president of investments between 2010 and 2012, per his LinkedIn. During the early 2000s, he owned nightclubs and restaurants, he shared in a Q&A with TransUnion. He also invested in local advertising to bring more exposure to his businesses. It was then that Swanston made a discovery that would prompt his pivot to the tech industry full time as the founder of Tru Optik. The system is “an...

Samantha Dorisca

Feb 28, 2024

Black Tech Nation Ventures Reaches Final Close Of Its $50M Fund For Black- And Diverse-Led Startups

Black Tech Nation Ventures (BTN.vc) has officially crossed off a major goal that it set out to achieve.

Ngozi Nwanji

Feb 28, 2024

Whoopi Goldberg Invests In Blkfam, A Streaming Platform Catering To Black Communities, Founded By Digital Marketing And Media Vet Larry Adams

Whoopi Goldberg is investing in the culture. Variety reports the EGOT winner (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards) has become an equity investor in Blkfam, a family-focused streaming platform that “entertains, educates and celebrates Black American family-friendly content.” Larry Adams, founder of the streaming service, pushed forward with the venture after seeing “a ton of R-rated content” from popular streaming services when looking for Black programming for his family. “Black culture and content is so often stereotyped, siloed or written off, so I wanted to create a platform where my kids and I can be entertained without having to face those same daily biases,” Adams told Variety. “By curating authentic content — proven through data and AI — primarily from Black storytellers, we’ve built a service reflecting true inclusion and diversity, where Black parents and children especially can feel holistically represented.” In 2023, Adams reached out to Goldberg to gauge her interest in...

Samantha Dorisca

Feb 26, 2024

After Birthing Twins, Founder Jade Kearney Dube Has Raised $2M To Help Mothers Identify Concerning Symptoms During Postpartum

After birthing twins, Jade Kearney Dube developed a tool to advance her efforts in the maternal health sector. As AFROTECH previously mentioned, Kearney Dube founded digital health platform She Matters after feeling “invisible” in the healthcare system during postpartum. The platform requires professionals working with Black mothers to complete cultural competency training. In 2023, Kearney Dube was faced with another epiphany after being dismissed from the hospital after giving birth. At home swollen, with two babies who were just 5 days old, she was simply given a magnet to place on her refrigerator to help her determine if her blood pressure was high. She recognized this was an issue. “You can be a culturally competent physician and healthcare network and give all the resources, but once the mom leaves, she’s gone, right?” Kearney Dube told AFROTECH in an interview. “I’m on the third floor, and I have kids all around me. There needs to be something that’s on my body that can tell...

Samantha Dorisca

Feb 20, 2024

Grammy Award-Winning Audio Engineer Derek 'MixedByAli' Ali Raises $7.5M For His Music Tech Startup EngineEars

Derek “MixedByAli” Ali has a decade of experience in the music industry and remains dedicated to enhancing the field. Forging A Lane In Music Fresh off a recent Grammy win, the 33-year-old recording and mixing engineer, who has stamped his name alongside hit records such as “The Box” by Roddy Ricch, “This Is America” by Donald Glover, and Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” and “Humble,” was not raised with a musical background or training. Growing up with severe ADHD, he began to tinker with remote-controlled cars and computers and became fascinated with their functionality. When he learned he could experiment with music, it birthed a new passion. “I started in high school — making ringtones. I was a hustler when I was playing football. I found out how to crack the Nextels and Boost Mobile chirp phones and put real songs on there rather than the model ringtones that were out during that time,” Ali told AFROTECH. “I would have friends come over after football practice and come record and put...

Samantha Dorisca

Feb 20, 2024

This Nigerian Founder Has Raised $1M In Pre-Seed Funding For His Edtech Startup That He Began Building At Age 18

Persevering after a tragic event led this Nigerian founder to build a company from the ground up that fills a gap in the edtech market.

Ngozi Nwanji

Feb 9, 2024

Tiger Woods Says New Program Allowing PGA Tour Players To Collectively Access Over $1.5B In Equity Is 'Sports History'

Tiger Woods, famed golfer and PGA Tour Players board member, discussed plans for major changes in the world of professional golf.

Michelle Burk

Feb 7, 2024

Black Founders Snag $300K From Mark Cuban And Michael Rubin For Their AI Startup, Which Helps Users Create Bots To Secure Concert Tickets And More

This company is trying to bring hope to consumers thanks to the help of its bots. Bot-It Founder Maurice Bachelor is behind a platform that allows users to develop their own online bot, regardless of their knowledge in coding, Eqvista reports. Bachelor conceived the idea after seeing a friend struggle with completing an online task. He then surfed the internet for a solution, knowing an automated bot would lessen the burden. However, he recognized there was a gap in the market and believed he could create a solution. “I saw a big opportunity for consumers to start automating. So I started to build out the proof of concept for Bot-It,” Bachelor told Eqvista. “I wanted to build an affordable web and mobile application where you could simply tell the system what website you want to automate and the system would handle the rest. That is how Bot-It was born.” According to the platform’s website, beginning at a price point of $9.99 per month, users can create a bot to complete tasks that...

Samantha Dorisca

Feb 6, 2024

Mastercard Buys A Minority Stake In The Fintech Division Of MTN Group, Africa’s Largest Cell Phone Provider

Mastercard has purchased stake in MTN Group’s fintech division, Africa’s largest mobile network operator. In August 2023, TechCrunch reported Mastercard was looking to invest in MTN Group. Six months after the initial announcement, both parties have moved forward with an agreement during a time when MTN Group is looking to expand its reach in the fintech space, according to ITWeb. The move would be timely for MTN Group as it was searching for investors after parting ways with the carrier’s main telecom business. The outlet also notes Mastercard is looking to accelerate MTN Group’s technology and infrastructure and establish greater financial inclusion in the continent. MTN Group had reached over 290 million subscribers by the end of June 2023, and its transaction volume had reached $8.3 billion in the first half of 2023. “This commercial relationship is a key enabler for the acceleration of our fintech business’ payments and remittance services,” the company said, per ITWeb. “MTN...

Samantha Dorisca

Feb 6, 2024