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This is history in the making! Minority Equality Opportunities Acquisition Inc.(MEOA) is now the first minority-led special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market (NASDAQ). The company is currently trading under the “MEOAU” ticker symbol. As of Aug. 30, MEOA closed a $126.5 million upsized IPO of units including one share of Class A common stock and one redeemable warrant. The warrant allows the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. “In the last five years, we’ve seen exponential growth among minority women business owners. Black and Hispanic women business owners, alone, account for more than 50% of the growth,” Robin D. Watkins, CFO, MEOA exclusively shared with AfroTech. “What we have not witnessed, however, is an increase in the investment capital needed for minority businesses to scale. The IPO process gives MEOA the financial leverage to identify minority companies with stellar products and services and...
New research into the racial equity inequality gap shows bad news — and good news. According to research conducted by the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council (MMSDC), it will take 333 years to close the racial equity inequality gap if growth continues at its current rate. “This research makes it crystal clear that the current path is one we cannot continue if we wish to achieve economic equity for people of color in our lifetimes,” said Michelle Sourie Robinson, president, and CEO of the MMSDC, in a statement provided in the research. There were other key discoveries in the research pertaining to the racial equity inequality gap. For example: Minority-business enterprises (MBEs) drove 14.2 percent of new jobs from 2014-2018 but collected only 7.2 percent of revenue growth during that same period. During the pandemic, minority businesses were impacted more severely, with Black-owned businesses do wn 41 percent, Latinx-owned businesses down 32 percent, and Asian-owned...
Coach D now works his magic off of the field! As he continues to work to revitalize the football program at Jackson State, Deion Sanders has helped to ink a deal with Pepsi to join forces with the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) as a major sponsor. Sanders’ first relations with the leading beverage company began in the mid-1990s and now Pepsi has become the primary beverage sponsor for all SWAC football and basketball championship games through 2023. In the midst of his first season as the coach for Jackson State, the Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback can now add the role as a SWAC ambassador to his resume. According to USA TODAY, in a three-year deal, Pepsi reiterates its support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The deal is a component of the brand’s Racial Equality Journey which includes a series of initiatives launched in April 2020 by the company with a commitment of $400 million over the next five years. “This is kind of next level,” said...
Bank of America has upped the ante. We previously told you that the mega-bank set up a $300 million investment fund for Black businesses and banks in an effort to increase racial equality efforts. Then, the bank announced that they made a four-year, $1 billion commitment to racial equality efforts. Now, according to Business Wire, Bank of America has increased that commitment to $1.25 billion. “The urgency we feel to address long-standing issues of inclusion and racial inequality has only increased following the attacks and hate speech directed at Asian people over the last year,” said Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan in the press release announcement. “Across the public and private sectors, it is clear that we must do more – to take action, help others convene, and serve as a catalyst for a broad-based, collective response to the critical issues affecting our nation.” The additional funds that were announced today will be used for racial justice and equality efforts....
On a mission to bring “simplicity and transparency to consumer banking,” digital platform Blend has become a force in the industry by making it easier to access mortgages and other financial products through the power of upgrading technology at banks and other lenders. For Blend, this mission has meant taking a hard look in the mirror at an industry with a history of creating roadblocks for Black and brown people trying to get ahead financially. As a result, Blend has doubled down and taken up the challenge of addressing financial hurdles from the growing wealth gap to inequalities in homeownership. Launching an ambitious, multi-pronged approach, Blend has invested in partnerships with those serving minority-owned institutions, while also advocating for policy changes to directly address discriminatory lending practices within underserved communities. Through The Benchmark, a video series that highlights advice and insight from leaders in various industries, Blend CEO Nima Ghamsari...
Recent documentaries reveal how social media algorithms and other artificial intelligence (AI) programs often do not treat users of certain backgrounds equally. Computer scientist Rediet Abebe aims to fix that. Born in Ethiopia, Abebe moved to America to attend Harvard University where she received her M.S. in applied mathematics and B.A. in mathematics. She completed her Ph.D in computer science at Cornell University. During her studies she noticed how some vulnerable populations in wealthy nations do not have access to vital resources, according to Technology Review. She uses her skills in computational techniques to address the disconnect between people who write and deploy AI and those using it. In a Forbes article written by Abebe, she highlights why diversity is the solution. “ Just as AI systems susceptible to bias are a problem, so too is inadequate focus on contributions that improve the lives of marginalized communities, such as Black and brown individuals, economically...
Fifth Third Bank is the latest company to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to diversity and inclusion! The bank has committed $2.8 billion to speed up their efforts on inclusion, equality, and racial equity — a triple threat when it comes to the advancement of Black Americans. According to Black Enterprise, the Cincinnati-based bank will provide $2.2 billion in lending, $500 million in investments, and $60 million in financial accessibility. Another $40 million will be used toward its Executive Diversity Leadership Council’s Accelerating Racial Equality, Inclusion, and Equity commitment. “As we continue to make meaningful strides in advancing inclusion and diversity in our industry and in our communities,” said Greg Carmichael, Fifth Third CEO and Chairman, in a news release. “The dedicated investment, philanthropy, and lending efforts will help accelerate our progress toward promoting equality, equity, and inclusion, both within the Bank and in our communities,...
Back in June, PayPal made a $530 million commitment to Black and minority-owned businesses to fight racial injustice. Now, as a part of that promise, the financial giant is paying up. In a press release , Paypal announced an investment of $50 million in eight early-stage Black and Latinx-led venture capital funds: Chingona Ventures; Fearless Fund; Harlem Capital; Precursor Ventures; Slauson & Co.; VamosVentures; Zeal Capital Partners; and one additional fund. The money will be funneled to each company through PayPal venture capital arm, PayPal Ventures, which invests in startups from series A to late-stage funding. “Black and Latinx founders have been underrepresented in venture capital funding for far too long,” said president and CEO of PayPal, Dan Schulman. In addition to providing capital to minority-led VCs, PayPal Ventures is offering a three-month fellowship to a Black or Latinx graduate student each semester. In the program, the student will be mentored about business....
As part of its progress for racial and economic equality, financial giant Bank of America has announced a $300 million investment fund as part of its $1 billion commitment to be allocated toward Black and brown-led businesses and banks, Black Enterprise reports . According to American Banker , the Charlotte, NC bank shared that it plans to dedicate all $300 million of the funds to four key areas: $200 million to Black and brown entrepreneurs and businesses; $50 million to minority depository institutions; $25 million to community outreach; and $25 million to support job initiatives in Black and brown communities across the nation. “These initiative investments will address access to jobs and support for small businesses by creating more pathways to employment in communities of color and more support for minority entrepreneurs,” Chairman and CEO, Brian Moynihan, said in a press statement . After announcing its huge billion-dollar four-year commitment to economic opportunity...
The gender gap in the tech industry has long sparked conversation. Thanks to two executives, the conversation just got more upbeat. In a recent TechCrunch article , Girls in Tech Founder and CEO Adriana Gascoigne revealed that progress is happening, and for one reason : revenue generation. Citing a 2017 study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, Gascoigne revealed that due to innovation, companies with diverse management teams have 19 percent higher revenue. That discovery may cause many tech shops to pursue diversity initiatives more assiduously. Maddox Events co-founder Michaela Jeffery-Morrison would agree that tech companies need to do more. Jeffery-Morrison established Maddox Events as a way of creating events to encourage diversity. Gascoigne founded Girls in Tech in 2007 after observing a paucity of female counterparts in her field. The mission of the global nonprofit is “to put an end to gender inequality in high-tech industries and startups .” Now, in its twelfth year,...
The organization plans to support its goal with inclusive initiatives, programs and competitions. Fighting for a seat at the table in the world of tech is hard enough for women, but keeping that spot often proves to be just as difficult. Women make up just 25 percent of the tech workforce and the statistics are even more disproportionate for women of color (1 percent for Latina/Hispanic women, 3 percent for Black/African American women and 5 percent for Asian women), according to a study by NCWIT . Another sobering statistic cited is that 56 percent of women will leave the tech sector by the time they are mid-career professionals. Big tech companies such as Facebook, Lyft, and Google release annual diversity reports to show how they are combatting diversity disparities that are rife in the industry. Organizations such as AnitaB.org are taking active steps to ensure that women technologists have space in an industry that has traditionally shut them out. AnitaB.org is diligently...
In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. joined the community of Selma, AL to lead the Selma-to-Montgomery March that would change voting rights history forever. His Nobel Lecture the year before suggests why King, if alive today, might address innovation inequality as the civil rights issue of our era. “In spite of spectacular strides in science and technology, and still unlimited ones to come, something basic is missing. There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Lecture, 1964 There is perhaps no greater example of this wealth and moral gap than Silicon Valley, where at the same time it radiates as a global symbol of technological advancement and wealth creation, it is the center of moral criticisms and a deficit of values. Within Silicon Valley tech companies, unfair treatment is...
The Harvard Political Review raised questions recently about the fact that two of the most prominent college entrance exams, the ACT and the SAT, are now offering digital versions of the classic exams — and what that means for those affected by the digital divide that still exists. Although our world is shifting to a digital-first reality, the fact of the matter is that not all students have the same access to technology or the same level of digital reading comprehension. Therefore reading and executing the test on a computer can pose a larger challenge for some students than others. In general, research shows that digital reading tests differ from reading on paper because our brains engage in a different way, making it so we don’t engage with reading the same across platforms. Because of the ways many schools are evaluated based on test scores, this might also suggest that the change could force some schools scrambling to focus on sharpening students’ computer skills immediately....
Nearly 90 percent of African American households own a computer according to the National Urban League’s 42nd annual State of Black America report . But in that same report, the data proves that not even 6 percent of total black employment last year was in tech (compared to 8.5 percent of white workers). And only 8.2 percent of degrees earned by black students fell under the STEM fields (compared to 12.8 percent of white students). Clearly, there’s still a disparity between the interest black people have in technology and the number of black people hired to work in tech. The equality gap is especially high in social media and technology companies according to the National Urban League’s Digital Inclusion Index, so much so that fewer than 5 percent of employees at these companies are African American, while at least half of employees in these same companies are white. So although there are still plenty of people without access to technology or the internet at home, that’s not the...
Disney shareholders have rejected a proposal that would require it to withdraw from a corporate equality index. According to its website, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) is intended to uphold LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion through its benchmarking tool that measures “corporate policies, practices, and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) employees.” “For 22 years, the CEI has served as corporate America’s roadmap for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion—not as a political statement, but as a framework for building stronger, more competitive businesses where all talent can thrive,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement shared in its 2025 CEI report. She later added, “The path forward requires courage, commitment, and clarity of purpose. We will continue to serve as a partner on this journey. Together, we’re building not just better workplaces, but a stronger, more competitive, and more...