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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...
Kevin Hart is aligning himself with an initiative to support Black founders using artificial intelligence (AI). The AI Illumination Grant has been launched by the Fifteen Percent Pledge, a nonprofit advocacy organization founded by Aurora James. The initiative challenges retailers and corporations to allocate 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned brands. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, 29 retailers have committed to this pledge, benefiting 800 Black-owned brands . The Fifteen Percent Pledge is scaling its efforts to support Black entrepreneurs with the aid of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz’s (A16z) Cultural Leadership Fund. Eligible members of the Fifteen Percent Pledge’s Business Equity Community are invited to apply for a chance to gain insights on leveraging AI and compete for a share of a $35,000 grant pool—$20,000 for the winner and $15,000 for the runner-up. “It is specifically focused on ensuring that the Black founders that are a part of the 15%...
There is no shortage of companies out there that promise to repair and restore your credit. However, for 21-year-old Michael Broughton, that promise is not only one he can keep, but one he’ll gladly do for free. The CEO and co-founder of Perch Credit — an app that’s designed to teach financial literacy — just closed a $2.5 million seed investment round, according to a press release. Now, he’s ready to take the app to the next level. A press release states in this latest round of funding, whose investors include Marcy Venture Partners, Citi, Softbank Opportunity Fund, Concrete Rose, and Village Capital, the young entrepreneur said that Perch will achieve its first major milestone: helping more than 100,000 people build their credit score. Step one of reaching this goal is already underway, with the Perch Beta officially launching on iOS today. Broughton, himself, said that he came up with the idea after he was denied a loan for $10,000, which he needed to finance the remainder of his...
HarbourView Equity Partners just landed a major financial boost to supercharge its growing empire. The Black-founded investment firm, led by Sherrese Clarke Soares, has secured $500 million in debt financing from KKR, according to a press release. The funds will be used to expand the firm’s portfolio of music, media, and sports-related intellectual property. The financing was structured by Barclays, with Barclays and KKR Capital Markets serving as placement agents and Fifth Third Bank as passive placement agent. “We are thrilled to have KKR’s continued support as we further scale the firm,” Soares said in the press release. “This additional capital will help us accelerate our strategy to align with where the media, sports, and entertainment markets are headed. We see a tremendous opportunity to continue investing in evergreen intellectual property, which we believe is historically uncorrelated to broader market volatility and forms a powerful diversification tool.” The new capital...
A strategic partnership has formed to empower Black leaders. AFROTECH™ and The Gathering Spot (TGS) will be teaming up to scale AFROTECH™ Insider, a membership program designed to place participants on a track of excellence in tech and business through exclusive conversations and meetups, such as fireside chats, panel discussions, cocktail hours, and personal branding privileges, including priority for speaking events such as the annual AFROTECH™ Conference and PR opportunities. By teaming up with The Gathering Spot — a private-membership club bridging the gap between community and culture — AFROTECH™ will be able to provide greater resources, relationship building, and platforms to scale organizations for the membership community, which consists of Black executives, founders, and visionaries. “The Insider program was built for the modern executive who isn’t just leading teams — they’re shaping industries,” said Morgan DeBaun, founder and CEO of Blavity Inc. “Our partnership with...
Hybrid and electric vehicles have been a big trend in recent years as new and innovative technologies prioritize convenience and sustainability. BYD (Build Your Dreams) is a Chinese company that has positioned itself as a dominant force, leveraging cutting-edge technology to challenge the industry’s established leaders . One of the most recognizable brands in the EV industry is Elon Musk’s Tesla . While Tesla has long been regarded as the undisputed innovator in this realm, BYD is steadily carving out its own niche. In global markets with impressive advancements in EV technology, vertical integration and growing sales figures the question is no longer if BYD can compete with Tesla, but how it will continue to close the gap. The foreign company is already doing well for itself in terms of both market share and technological prowess. BYD was founded in 1995 in Shenzhen, China. It is a publicly traded company with major holdings under the control of Wang Chuanfu, the founder and...
Highlighting bias in artificial intelligence (AI) is essential, but equally important is educating people on ways to prevent it. In 2019, Salesforce established its Trusted AI Principles to address the ethical implications of predictive AI and machine learning. By 2023, with the rapid evolution of generative AI, Salesforce deepened its commitment to responsible AI by participating in the AFROTECH™ Conference, where it discussed strategies for prioritizing ethical and inclusive practices in generative AI. During the session, “ Closing The AI Trust Gap: Battling Bias | Presented by Salesforce,” Jackie Chambers de Freitas, Vice President of Agile Delivery and Coaching at Salesforce, shared how Salesforce’s focus on AI began in 2014, when CEO Marc Benioff declared that the company would become an AI-first company. Watch the session here via AFROTECH™ Labs. View this post on Instagram A post shared by AFROTECH (@afro.tech) “The goal was to transform Salesforce into an intelligent...
Through their foundation, Stephen and Ayesha Curry plan to invest $25 million in Oakland, CA, over the next five years. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the couple are founders of the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, which is intended to improve the lives of children through increased literacy rates, healthy meals, and opportunities for active lifestyles. Their work is being carried out in their “adopted hometown” of Oakland. In 2022, the foundation committed to building 150 libraries across Oakland and bringing 30,000 books into the hands of the youth. Additional efforts over the years have included $5 million in grants to support tutoring across more than 20 elementary schools, $2.5 million in grants allocated to libraries and teachers, and the remodeling of two elementary school libraries, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™ . Photo Credit: Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation $25M Commitment Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation continues to scale its commitment in light of a $25...
Father-son duo John and Joshua Johnson are behind a multi-million-dollar furniture and interior design firm securing major contracts. Inception The pair is leading Space Continuum, a venture that John started in 2016 after working decades in corporate roles. During an interview with AFROTECH™, John noted he evolved from working in corporate America to dealerships where he planned construction projects and offered design and installation services. He was then approached by top manufacturer company MillerKnoll to start his own dealership in Chicago, IL, which would help to increase its minority presence in the sector. “A lot of the corporate clients were saying, ‘Listen, we have initiatives that we need to meet and we’re asking, how can you help us meet those particular initiatives?’ With me already being in the marketplace and with my history and experience, everyone knew of me. So, they approached me and asked, would I consider becoming a MillerKnoll dealer, which I did. And we have...
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,...
In the words of Jay-Z, “I won’t buy it until I can buy it twice.” The Hip-Hop mastermind turned business mogul has been dropping gems for Black people to get their finances in order for quite some time now. So, it’s only right that he does his part to help the community do so by investing in Altro, a platform that helps build credit and provides education on financial literacy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Altro (@altro_finance) Altro — formerly known as Perch — has just secured the funding needed to further democratize credit building “through recurring payment forms like digital subscriptions” — think Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and more. With approximately 63 million Americans who are either unbanked or underbanked, Altro is on a mission to use streaming service payments to help people not only build their credit but improve it. According to a press release, the Series A funding round, led by Pendulum, totaled $18 million thanks to other companies like Jay-Z’s Marcy...
Sir Mix-A-Lot is one of the latest musicians to join in on the non-fungible token (NFT) action. Anthony L. Ray — better known as Sir Mix-A-Lot — is teaming up with META-X Studios to launch his debut collection of unique NFTs titled “BIT BUTTS.” According to a press release, the drop provides “cheeky” fun to celebrate the success of the 1992 hit song “Baby Got Back” and will also bring attention to cancer research and raise funds. “NFTs are a supercharged media for storytellers,” said META-X Studios CEO, Joe Sichta, in a press release. “We chose BIT BUTTS as our debut launch because we all need a good laugh right now for a good cause. Working with Sir Mix-a-Lot and the Colorectal Cancer Alliance was the perfect fit to showcase our firepower as an NFT creative factory, while raising awareness of a serious issue that can be embarrassing to talk about. We’re out to de-stigmatize colorectal cancer with a bit of ridiculous fun, and to donate a portion of the proceeds to support the work...
Jay-Z might be the new go-to source for all things authenticated in the collectibles space. According to Business Insider, the music and business mogul’s Roc Nation company has just invested in the transaction of Blackstone’s acquisition of the Certified Collectibles Group (CCG) — a company that authenticates collectible items such as comic books, magazines, trading cards and other items — which now values the company at more than $500 million. The outlet reports that CCG estimates it has certified over 62 million of its collectibles, with a combined fair market value reaching roughly $50 billion. Blackstone — which Bloomberg describes as the world’s largest alternative investment firm — also reports that its shares were up 0.3 percent last Friday (July 2) and now hopes to “develop CCG’s digital presence, add employees, and branch CCG’s geographic reach.” In addition to Roc Nation, other investors in the acquisition include but are not limited to Fanatics founder and executive...
If you’ve been reading AfroTech for any period of time, you know about things like “investors” and “venture capitalists.” Specifically, you know that there are things these types of people look for before investing in a company. But these “types of things” don’t matter to Vin Rock or to Money Avenue’s Donahue Baker. They know, perhaps better than anyone, that not every professional businessman started out that way. “One of the things I hope to accomplish with my role as Community Outreach Officer for Money Avenue is to reach people that other people — other investment firms — don’t reach, or won’t reach,” he told AfroTech. “That’s one of our unique value propositions — to provide access to capital to people who otherwise wouldn’t have it.” Money Avenue is a 100% Black-owned and operated digital financial services platform that fulfills the residential mortgage, investment, personal finance, and life insurance needs of clients nationwide. The platform is designed specifically with...
Jay-Z no longer owns TIDAL. According to Rap-Up, the hip hop great-turned-business mogul has finalized the deal to sell the streaming service to the Jack Dorsey-owned Square for a hefty $302 million. The deal turns over the majority of the shares of TIDAL to Square, thus fully releasing Hova of all financial responsibilities of the app. Dorsey first announced that Square would be acquiring TIDAL last month. So now that Jay-Z no longer owns TIDAL, what does that mean for his interest in the company? Well, for starters, even though he no longer owns the majority stake in the company (Square got 80 percent of the company in the deal), Hova (real name: Shawn Carter) will join Square’s Board of Directors, while Square executive Jesse Dorogusker will lead in the interim until a new Head of TIDAL is found. And even though Square will now own the licensing deals with the major record labels, the existing shareholders — a music industry who’s who that includes the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna,...