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Corporate Executive Justin Grant wants to see more Black executives sponsor people within their community. Sponsorship allows an individual in a higher position than you to advocate for you in rooms with the goal of helping your career reach new heights, unlike mentorship , which typically is intended for skill building and obtaining more knowledge. “You want your boss’s peers in other departments to know who you are and to be in your network and to be folks that will, when your name comes up, when they’re deciding who to promote or who to give the bigger bonus to. ‘Yeah, I know that person. I vouch for them.’ So I think that’s the distinction,” Grant said on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. Grant credits three white individuals for serving as executive sponsors throughout his career and speaks to an alarming trend that he witnessed that has prompted a call to action. He notes that Black executives have been less inclined to open...
Tallahassee, FL, is a growing hub for Black businesses, but there is still room for improvement. A survey released by LendingTree reveals that the city has surpassed the national average for Black-owned businesses, notes WUSF. Out of Tallahassee’s 7,828 businesses, 549 are Black-owned. Nationally, 3.3% of businesses are Black-owned as of 2022, which is a 22.2% year-over-year increase. “We found that 7% of businesses in Tallahassee are Black-owned, and that puts Tallahassee tied for 14th among the 50 biggest metros in the country,” Matt Schulz, the chief credit analyst for Lending Tree , remarked, according to the outlet. While Tallahassee’s statistics appear hopeful, considering the area’s Black population, there is still much work to be done. “When you contrast that to the fact that about 32% of the population of the city is Black, there’s a lot of room for growth,” said Schulz. Xclusive VIP Fashions Founder Kenneth Barber commented: “To that point, it becomes a growing pain.”...
Google has launched Career Dreamer, an advanced artificial intelligence analysis tool that evaluates users’ skills and experiences and suggests personalized career opportunities. According to a Feb. 19, 2025 blog post from Grow With Google Founder Lisa Gevelber, Claire Thorn, a military spouse who spent nearly 20 years as a stay-at-home mom before reentering the workforce , was one of the early testers of Career Dreamer. After answering a few questions about her background and interests, she learned how to translate her life experiences into skills and new career opportunities. “(Career Dreamer) helped identify skills that I take for granted and showed me that they’re important and useful in the workforce,” said Thorn, per Google. “Now, I’m armed with the confidence of knowing that I already possess exactly what employers need.” Career Dreamer identifies patterns and connects the dots between unique experiences, educational backgrounds, skills, and interests. The platform then...
CircNova, a Michigan-based biotech startup, has completed a $3.3 million seed round to advance its technology, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to target “circular RNA.” Crystal Brown co-founded CircNova in May 2023 with scientist Joe Deangelo. Brown told TechCrunch that it has since developed a “proprietary AI engine that allows us to identify, design, and then produce novel, non-coding, circular RNAs.” RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is present in all cells and is a key molecule that carries the instructions to convert genetic information into proteins. F irst discovered in 1976, circular RNA — a class of structures that forms a circle rather than a strand — regulates critical biological processes, per TechCrunch. The aim is to “treat diseases we haven’t treated so far, things like ovarian cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, rare genetic diseases,” Brown said. CircNova’s website states that its AI NovaEngine is the first in the world capable of...
A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive orders eliminating DEI. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, soon after Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, he signed executive orders to halt diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at the federal level. This led to federal employees in DEI roles being placed on paid leave, a mandate banning DEI considerations in federal contracting, and more recently, a two-week deadline from the Department of Education requesting that schools and universities end their DEI policies. A memo stated, “…educational institutions may neither separate nor segregate students based on race, nor distribute benefits or burdens based on race,” per AP News. Changes in the DEI landscape have also impacted funding for minority businesses, with legal action being taken against those directing support to these businesses. This includes the venture capital firm Fearless Fund and fintech platform Hello Alice. Hello Alice was victorious in a...
African fintech platform Mansa has secured new funding. Mansa, founded in 2023 by Mouloukou Sanoh (CEO) and Nkiru Uwaje (COO), enables seamless cross-border payments and instant transactions for its customers. Its offerings include competitive exchange rates, virtual card processing to support cash flow management, and automated matching of financial transactions to bank statements. This is made possible by leveraging a stablecoin infrastructure, its website mentions. “We’re starting by being the primary liquidity provider to the biggest payment companies across emerging markets,” Sanoh explained to TechCrunch. “From there, we can handle payouts and also offer additional services like foreign exchange. The goal is to create a one-stop payment platform where they can finance their payments, settle transactions instantly, and access foreign currency seamlessly — all in one place.” The inception of Mansa, based in Dubai, UAE, originated from Sanoh experiencing issues receiving money...
The power of representation led Omar Johnson to recognize his potential as a marketer in the technology sector. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Johnson developed an interest in the field and discovered his passion for marketing. This motivated him to earn an MBA from Emory University in 2004, which paved the way for his career at Nike. He joined the company as an assistant brand manager in 2005 and, within two years, was promoted to content manager for advising and innovation. During his tenure at Nike, he was inspired by Trevor Edwards, who served as chief marketing officer before advancing to executive vice president of global brand and category management from 2003 to 2013. Edwards later became president of Nike Brand, a role he held until 2018. “One of my mentors, his name is Trevor Edwards, he was a president at Nike when I met him…Knew every part of the world that mattered when it came to culture and led this beautiful and big magnanimous way,” Johnson said on the “Black...
Paula Wright has built an empire of McDonald’s restaurants, having made history at the start of the franchise era. According to MetroWest Daily News, Wright and her late husband, Don, became New England’s first Black McDonald’s franchisees in 1984. Before venturing into the fast-food industry, she had a career in technology at IBM. “A co-worker of mine, her husband was in the business,” Wright told the outlet. “That’s how Don and I got involved.” Their first location was in a newly built mall in downtown Boston, MA. However, the business did not fare well due to low foot traffic, with capacity never more than 60%. “There just weren’t enough people there,” Wright recalled to the outlet. The couple then secured a second location, but once again, sales did not match their expectations, which they believe was due to construction for TD Garden, a multi-purpose arena that opened in 1995. However, success would come when they moved into the suburbs. “We lived in Sudbury (MA), so when we...
Kendrick Lamar received mixed reactions from the public over his Super Bowl LIX halftime performance — but it led to a nearly 175% increase in Spotify streams across the United States. According to an Instagram post shared by Spotify on Feb. 10, 2025, several songs from Lamar’s halftime setlist experienced significant boosts. “Not Like Us” — the popular Drake-aimed diss track released in May 2024 — saw a 430% increase, followed by “HUMBLE,” which rose 300%. “DNA,” which, along with “HUMBLE,” is from the 2017 album “DAMN,” experienced a 260% increase. “Luther,” performed with SZA, and “tv off,” featuring lefty gunplay, both experienced a 170% increase in streams. SZA also benefited from the performance, with an 80% increase in her Spotify streams. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Spotify News (@spotifynews) Exactly one week after winning five Grammy Awards — bringing his total to 22 — Lamar performed 10 songs at Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025, including five tracks...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Last week, DeepSeek , a Chinese artificial intelligence company, upended the tech industry by debuting its AI chatbot. Since its debut, the stock market has taken a dive for other tech companies, and American investors are left with their heads spinning. Just as powerful as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, DeepSeek is built at a fraction of the cost. Its technology is open-source, which means it’s available to the public. It even reportedly requires less memory and energy than ChatGPT, reducing the cost of performing tasks. DeepSeek quickly became the most downloaded free app in the U.S., overtaking ChatGPT and causing AI chip-making giant Nvidia to decrease $600 billion in market value in one day on Jan. 27. DeepSeek has been able to power the app with a measly $6 million in comparison to the billions of dollars OpenAI has raised to train its own AI. DeepSeek’s CEO, Liang Wenfeng, has been able to do this with...
If you’ve been keeping up with the news regarding emerging technology such as generative artificial intelligence , you’re likely already aware of popular services such as ChatGPT and Meta AI. While these models have been disrupting the tech space for the last few years, one relative newcomer, DeepSeek, has recently made major waves and completely shifted the cultural perspective on the financial and computational requirements of artificial intelligence. Per reports, DeepSeek showcases a nearly identical generative capability when compared to GPT-4o, despite costing a fraction of the price to develop. Within days of hitting the American market, DeepSeek has decimated multiple major stock prices for companies including Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta. The headline-grabbing service has left investors and general consumers alike scrambling to catch up, asking questions about how this is all possible. Since DeepSeek is receiving such massive attention, now seems like as good a time as any to...
Serena Williams is supporting innovation in women’s health. Teal Health The tennis star has aligned herself with Teal Health, a women’s health startup founded by Kara Egan (CEO) and Dr. Avnesh Thakor in 2020. According to the company website, Teal Health’s inception trickles back to Thakor’s medical experiences over the years. He observed insufficient innovation around cervical cancer screenings and created a self-collect prototype. With Egan’s two decades of experience in finance, health, and technology, the company was formed with the vision to develop an at-home self-collect cervical cancer screening kit, currently under FDA review. A user can start by requesting a kit, which initiates a vetting process to confirm eligibility. Once approved, the kit will be delivered to your home for sample collection. The sample is then mailed to a lab, and results are shared through Teal Health’s application. Users also have the option to speak with a provider for additional support. Teal...
HBCU graduates Terry Comer and Khalil Thompson have secured new funding for their work in the NIL space. In 2021, the pair, who had an interest in college sports, united to launch NIL FanBox, marketed as the only “university-approved, player-endorsed recurring collectibles platform.” It works by sending sports fans 100% authenticated collectibles from their favorite college athletes. Its website mentions that the curated box includes three to five signed collectibles, a “Golden Ticket,” exclusive player merchandise, and digital authentication. One of its partnerships, with The University of Texas at Austin, resulted in the Longhorn FanBox, which is valued at $199 each football season and energizes fans by including “ultra-rare” collectibles and “behind the moment” interviews. Photo Credit: NIL FanBox While NIL FanBox certainly benefits fans, it also supports athletes by allocating a portion of its revenue back to them. NIL FanBox returns more than 30% of its revenue to participating...
The days of TikTok in the United States may be numbered. CNN reported on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, that after more than two hours of oral arguments from TikTok lawyers, users, and representatives of the Biden administration, a majority of the conservative-majority Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold the ban . The court’s reasoning focused less on First Amendment implications and more on addressing the potential foreign control of an app used by 170 million Americans. On April 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed a law mandating that ByteDance sell TikTok to a U.S. company within a year or face a ban due to concerns about the app’s ties to China. Currently, the app is slated to be unavailable in the U.S. starting Jan. 19, 2025. Friday’s Supreme Court hearing came a day after Kevin O’Leary and Frank McCourt entered the race to acquire TikTok, as reported by Fortune. On Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, a group of investors, including “Shark Tank” star O’Leary, McCourt, and his nonprofit...
Entrepreneur Keon Williams is making history as a franchisee. QCity Metro reports that Williams’ interest in the food business dates back to his time working in his family’s businesses in the Charlotte, NC, area. His father ran the sub shop, Chat and Chew, while his grandfather owned a hoagie shop. “I watched them, the growing pains, the goods and the bads,” Williams told the outlet. He is following in their footsteps today as the latest franchisee of Tacos 4 Life Dilworth, which has 19 locations across five states. Williams’ storefront is located in Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood. By opening the location, he is making history as the youngest and first Black franchisee of the restaurant brand. “I wanted to come here. I know that there aren’t any Black businesses or food businesses in this area,” Williams said, according to QCity Metro. “I wanted to be that beacon of change and that beacon of light.” Customers supporting Williams’ 3,000-square-foot restaurant can try a variety of...