Kevin Hart’s Gran Coramino Tequila has officially reached a new milestone. According to a press release shared with AFROTECH™, since its inception in 2022, the ultra-premium tequila company has provided more than $1 million in grant funding to over 100 Black and Latinx small-business owners and entrepreneurs through its Coramino Fund. The fund, powered by the company founded by Hart and 11th-generation tequila maker Juan Domingo Beckmann, has made giving back to the community its main priority from the very beginning, honoring its “vision to celebrate life’s hard-earned moments” by donating $1 from every bottle sold to support underrepresented entrepreneurs in the United States and Mexico. “As an entrepreneur myself, I’ve seen how early financial support can impact the long-term success of the business,” Hart said in a statement. “The Coramino Fund was created to provide support to some of the hardest working people out there — entrepreneurs and small business owners.”   View this...

Carmelo Anthony has launched a cannabis brand that will allocate a portion of its profits towards a good cause. Forbes reports the 10-time NBA All-Star player is launching StayMe7o Cannabis under Grand National, a cannabis-focused agency created in partnership with Lowd Cannabis’ CEO and Founder Jesce Horton and Chief Creative Director Brandon Drew Jordan Pierce. Anthony had connected with Horton when he first moved to Portland, OR, through a mutual friend. “We understand what the value proposition is,” Anthony told Forbes . “I grew up on the Grand National car, we just wanted to tap into something that was very timeless, combining the businesses of all three of us and what we bring to the table.” As for his motivation to enter into the cannabis sector, it was a culmination of remaining a student within the industry over several years and firsthand experience for sports recovery purposes. Among his chosen products were tinctures, CBD formulations, and topicals — all tailored to...

Black woman-owned beauty brand Mented Cosmetics has been acquired by West Lane Capital Partners, Beauty Independent reports. The company, co-founded in 2017 by KJ Miller and Amanda E/J Morrison, offers products that cater to women of all complexions, its website mentions. According to Beauty Independent, Mented Cosmetics’ inaugural product was nude lipsticks created for women of color, which is still one of its best sellers. Mented Cosmetics’ products have since expanded to include mascara, blush, eyeshadow, foundation, and more, which can be seen on its website. Prices range from $16.50 to $30, the outlet says. The brand first relied on direct to consumer (DTC) distribution before landing in retail stores. As of this writing, its products are being sold in Ulta Beauty, Target, CVS and Walgreens but will shift its focus to DTC, the outlet notes. Over the years, the company has raised $9 million in venture capital funding, Crunchbase lists. However, there have been some growing...

Blavity Inc. has assembled a coalition of leaders to drive equity in technology. In a news release, the technology and news media company has shared it has formed the AFROTECH™ Advisory Board. The board will dedicate its focus to workplace equity and ensuring underrepresented employees, founders, and startups can obtain access to capital and economic mobility.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by AFROTECH (@afro.tech) “Mobilizing this consortium is a crucial move towards amplifying our impact and reach in creating a more equitable tech industry,” Morgan DeBaun, founder and CEO of Blavity Inc., said in a press statement. “Our concerted effort will focus on practical initiatives that not only enhance workplace equity but also promote significant access to capital and opportunities for our community’s members.” The AFROTECH™ Advisory Board includes representatives of Amazon, American Express, Black Economic Alliance, Chewy, GAP, Google, Infoblox, Jordan Brand, Lam Research,...

He made his mark in rap, now Xzibit is looking to do the same in a new industry. The “Get Your Walk On” artist, born Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, will be scaling his interest in the cannabis industry. In 2023, he launched the “Lasagna Ganja” podcast in collaboration with co-host Tammy “The Cannabis Cutie” Pettigrew, CNN reports. The purpose of the podcast was to remove the stigma associated with cannabis use and to educate listeners. When speaking on the overarching goal of stewarding these conversations, he said in an interview on “Beyond the Red Carpet with Ny MaGee,” “I’ve seen the music industry go from millions to a billion-dollar industry. And I’ve also seen cannabis, you know, take on the same journey that maybe alcohol did after prohibition. And the misinformation that can lead us to continue to be left out of things is something that I want to combat. So when I say us, I mean people of color, people who have been incarcerated for cannabis, and now as it turns into this...

A young Black entrepreneur’s tireless work to combat food insecurity is paying off. At age seven, Te’Lario Watkins II launched his business, Tiger Mushroom Farms in central Ohio, according to its website. “The idea of Tiger Mushroom Farms began after I planted cat grass and basil seeds at my 1st Cub Scout meeting,” Watkins wrote. “I enjoyed watering MY plants and was eager to see their growth each day.” He continued, “I began to wonder what else could I grow in Ohio in the wintertime. I remember reading a book about mushrooms. I told my parents and asked them about growing mushrooms. My parents bought me a mushroom kit…and the rest is history.” Nearly nine years after launching Tiger Mushroom Farms and selling his mushrooms at local farmers markets in Columbus, OH, the 16-year-old also has his own nonprofit, according to ABC News. The Garden Club Project’s mission is to eliminate food deserts and motivate children to make healthier food choices. ABC News reports that Watkins has...

Knowledge is power, but being able to access it can be an uphill battle for disadvantaged communities. PBS NewsHour reports on Instagram that St. Louis, MO, is a “book desert,” and the likelihood of retaining a significant number of books in a community is low. However, a determined Black woman business owner has stepped in to enact the change she wants to see. According to the outlet, Ymani Wince launched Onyx, a free book vending machine, at the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club, located on the north side of St. Louis. Wince also owns The Noir Bookshop, which provides Black and people of color (POC) literature.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by PBS NewsHour (@newshour) “I started thinking about what were ways that I could get books in the community, and I instantly thought of vending machines,” Wince told PBS NewsHour. “The concept of reading is good, having literacy is good, and I think access to information is a human right, no matter what you look like.” This...

Dwayne Johnson is working toward another win for his tequila brand. Dwayne Johnson, better known by his professional wrestler name, “The Rock,” is an actor and the proud owner of Teremana Tequila, a spirits venture he co-founded in 2020. Within its first year in business, it found immediate success. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, it was on track to sell over 300,000 nine-liter cases. Forbes notes that this accomplishment set a new record in the spirits industry. “I am so grateful and humbled to receive this mind blowing news – but I’m in this for the long term, and my goal is to build a MANA fueled legacy for generations of Johnson’s,” Johnson said, at the time, on an Instagram post. Since then, the American oak barrel-aged tequila brand has continued to reach new heights. In June 2023, detailed by AFROTECH™, the company had sold one million cases in one year, an achievement shared by just 10 other tequila brands. “The launch of Teremana Tequila has been an unprecedented and...