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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...
Breakr continues to find new ways to improve the creator economy. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the platform was created by Historically Black College and University (HBCU) alums and brothers Anthony and Ameer Brown to ensure artists can connect with brands and agencies and establish creative campaigns they are compensated for. With an early focus on music, Breakr partnered with BMG and Sony Music and built a roster of clients that included Ye (formerly Kanye West), Young Thug, Megan Thee Stallion, Rick Ross, Future, and Gunna. Additionally, Nas is involved not only as an artist on the platform but also as an investor. He participated in a $4.2 million seed round led by Slow Ventures in 2021. Breakr has expanded its scope beyond the music industry, adding partners such as Hershey, Billboard, Celsius, Samsung, and UMG, information shared with AFROTECH™ notes. In 2022, 30,000 creators had onboarded onto its platform. In 2025, that number has more than doubled, reaching a community...
Something new is on the horizon when it comes to investing in companies that are often overlooked and underserved, and these Black founders are helping to lead the charge. According to Forbes , Westbound Equity Partners, a venture capitalist firm spearheaded by former nonprofit director Sean Mendy is on a mission to pour millions into companies led by Black, Latin, and diversity-driven founders. “We aren’t investing in underrepresented founders as this altruistic thing,” Mendy told the outlet. “This fund is about investing in the best companies and performance. Explicit impact is what we’re doing on the foundation side.” Since its inception in 2019, the firm formerly known as Concrete Rose Capital has managed to invest in over 40 startups as well as tap into what Mendy says is “the diversity opportunity,” which provides capital to underrepresented founders, especially Black and Latino companies. What’s more, there is a key focus on startups with goals of serving their communities....
Access to capital and resources has been one of the biggest hurdles for Black entrepreneurs. Thankfully, Amazon is looking to change that. According to a press release, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Inc. — the cloud-computing unit of the retail giant — has pledged over $30 million to roll out an accelerator program centered on assisting underrepresented founders. Additionally, it will be a three-year commitment to assist startups that have Black, Latinx, LGTQ+, and women leaders.
Circle and SeedInvest have launched a collaborative effort to support underrepresented founders. According to a press release, the Community Pitch Competition will be underway on June 1, 2022. The event will provide participants access to capital, networking, and business-building tools in hopes of propelling their business forward. What’s more, the competition will be free to enter. In the end, three founders will take home a prize pool of $5,000, $10,000, or $25,000 coupled with the option to secure funding on SeedInvest with $10,000 in fees waived. Plus, the winners may be in contention to secure bonus prizes from Ramp, Braze, and EY to bolster their business, with the stipulation that they meet additional outlined prize partner qualifications, according to the press release. “Underrepresented founders still do not have the same access to capital and economic opportunity, especially at the critical early stages of a startup,” said Rod McLeod, VP of Social Impact at Braze,...
Serena Williams and Kerry Washington are sharing their insight on equity and ownership for free.99. According to Essence, the two have partnered with Carta, an ownership and equity management platform, for its campaign — Equity 101. The launch includes ten fintech lessons focused on equity and investing, as well as videos from Williams, Washington, Alex Rodriguez, Ashley Graham, Tan France, and Steve Nash, in which they “help debunk major concepts that have stood in the way of achieving financial freedom. ” Each of the celebrities involved in the campaign own equity as investors or venture capitalists. As previously reported by AfroTech, Williams founded her VC firm Serena Ventures in 2014 to provide opportunities to women and underrepresented founders and it has since gone on to invest in 43 companies , 25 marked as “diversity investments.” AfroTech has also reported on Washington continuously having her hands in the startup world including her investments in brands such as Aurate,...
Say Cheese! Smile Savvy Cosmetic Dentistry has scored a partnership with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. According to Yahoo!News, the Black-owned practice — founded by Drs. Drew and Joya Lyons — became “the first and only Black-owned dental partner and one of the few Black-owned companies to have a partnership deal with the NBA.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Veneers By Dr. Drew & Dr. Joya (@drdrewlyons_drjoyalyons) “We are proud to enter this partnership with Drs. Drew and Joya Lyons and their Charlotte-based, Black-owned business, Smile Savvy Cosmetic Dentistry,” Fred Whitfield, Hornets President & Vice Chairman, said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing them into our Hornets family and teaming with them to help share healthy smiles.” Under the partnership, Smile Savvy will obtain the rights to the purple and teal Hornet logo and marks. The dental practice will also have an exclusive series titled, “Smile Savvy Smile Watch” which will present sincere photos of...
Cantu Beauty and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) are here to bless some nontraditional students with funding for programming and scholarships! According to PR Newswire, the award-winning multicultural hair care brand will invest $150,000 for nontraditional students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the nation. “Higher education is a catalyst that propels Black and brown communities forward,” said Dametria Mustin , global vice president of marketing, Cantu Beauty in an official statement. “Cantu continues to remain committed to paving the way for the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, and shapers of our community through financial support and seminars preparing nontraditional college students for success early on in their careers.” Nontraditional undergraduate students include those who may have delayed their enrollment into postsecondary education, attend college part-time while working full-time and also have dependents other than a spouse....
Imagine a world where you can experience the existence of Afrofantasy beings and vivid Diaspora elements. A place so strange and wild where powerful spirits, fickle ancestors, and angry beasts co-exist with fertile soils, powerful magic, and traditions that celebrate the African Diaspora far and wide. Welcome to the land of “Wagadu”, a world created by the game development company Twin Drums . Founded by Allan Cudicio, the company was “born out of the desire to place diversity, and especially blackness and queerness, at the center.” Through the “ Wagadu Chronicles ”, the company aims to tell the story of the land as a way to “change the perception of fantasy and roleplaying by giving visibility to black aesthetics and African ancient mythology as it has never been done before within our collective imagination.” Gamers will get the chance to interact and serve in different landscapes such as savannas, deserts, swamps, mountains, and rainforests. You will soon get to enter the world...
Lightship Capital has announced the completion of a $1.6 million equity round of financing into Undock, an AI-enabled productivity platform, according to a press release . A graduate of the Winter 2020 cohort of New York’s prestigious Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), Undock , is a patent-pending AI that connects people ranging from different organizations, calendar applications, and geographies to meetings that work. “A few times in life you use a product and know instantly that it’s transformationally better than what you have been using. That’s Undock,” General Partner at Lightship Capital, Brian Brackeen, said in a press release. “The company has it all—it solves a real problem, with beauty and elegance, and it’s got a visionary leader in Nash Ahmed. We loved him at hello and the more we dug into the company, the more confident we became that Undock is an absolute winner.” In today’s remote work landscape, Undock’s privacy centered approach to sharing availability is...
Cincinnati-based venture capital firm, Lightship Capital, is on a mission to raise $50 million to invest in underrepresented founders from the Midwest area. The Black-owned firm is headed by investing power couple, Candice Matthews Brackeen and Brian Brackeen, who both have one goal in mind — to invest in the next wave of innovative entrepreneurs that have been overlooked by other investors. The lack of startup funding for women and people of color has been highlighted in recent years via studies like digitalundivided’s ProjectDiane , which reports Black women-led startups raised only 0.0006 percent of the $424.7 billion in tech venture funding raised since 2009. In light of the known disproportional funding opportunities, Lightship’s General Partner, Candice, believes founders of color are worth investing in. “I’m a capitalist at heart. There’s market failure. You can really take advantage of it,” she said, according to The Wall Street Journal . In the midst of the Black Lives...
Tech entrepreneur Tanya Sam made quite an impression when she made her debut on “Real Housewives of Atlanta” season 11 as Nene Leakes’ friend. The Toronto native’s presence was instantly a sweet relief amid the hit show’s constant shade-throwing and alpha personalities. Thus, Sam is quickly becoming a favorite among viewers. Now, the savvy businesswoman is offering her faithful fans a little more face time with “It’s Tanya Time Cyber Book Club.” On Thursday (March 26), Sam announced the online reading group for “Book nerds and bored people,” via Instagram. The material, “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid, will be discussed weekly. If you’re behind, don’t trip. The TV personality advises you to “plan to catch up to us next week.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tanya Sam (@itstanyatime) Rules of book club engagement include “No Mean People” and “No Negative Comments.” Plus, she intends to go live with fans who join the discussion. While many wonder when Sam will get an...
The number of Black business owners in America is growing at an exponential pace. In fact, the number of African American-owned businesses in the U.S . grew by 60% in recent years. Yet, according to the Census Bureau, of the 949,318 minority-owned businesses in the U.S., Black companies account for only 11.4%. A major reason for the lack of Black-owned businesses is the struggle to obtain sufficient funding. In a world where the odds seem to be stacked against Black entrepreneurs, it’s highly imperative for Blacks to support each other. That’s where Black-owned venture capitalist firms come in. Here are just a few firms you can work with to get your startup off the ground. Related: Black-Owned VC Firm Closes On $22M Fund For Underrepresented Founders 1. BLACK ANGEL TECH FUND After a panel about the lack of Black startup founders during the 2015 Stanford Black Alumni Summit, a group of Black entrepreneurs and angel investors started the Black Angel Tech Fund . The firm uses funds...
Serena Williams just added another title to her long list of wins. She’s now making history as the first athlete to appear on Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women List in America. You may have heard about the list before — Kylie Jenner was named on the list last year, causing many to question Forbes’ definition of “self-made.” This year, Williams is on the list after securing multiple partnerships, investing in tech companies, starting her own venture capital firm and joining the board of some growing startup companies. Williams announced her VC firm Serena Ventures in April, quietly funding over 30 companies led by women and underrepresented groups since 2014. The companies range across the beauty, food, and retail industries. “I launched Serena Ventures with the mission of giving opportunities to founders across an array of industries,” Williams said in an Instagram post. “Serena Ventures invests in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and...