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.
AWS announced Amazon Honeycomb , a new development tool that allows users to build mobile and web applications without writing code. According to Tech Crunch , the web-based interface builder is backed by an AWS database and easy to use. In addition to customized apps, Amazon Honeycode offers templates for common uses, such as customer trackers, inventory management, and simple surveys. “Customers have told us that the need for custom applications far outstrips the capacity of developers to create them,” said AWS VP Larry Augustin in the announcement . “Now with Amazon Honeycode, almost anyone can create powerful custom mobile and web applications without the need to write code.” While Honeycode uses a spreadsheet view to help familiarize potential users, there’s no actual programming needed to create a powerful app. “Builders” can use formulas similar to a standard spreadsheet but virtually everything is plugged in via a drag-and-drop format. What’s more, “builders” can use the...