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...

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) hopes to inspire people to look into the skies and to their communities. Recently, Black individuals in NASA’s workforce took social media by storm after sharing their headshots from the independent agency. The heartwarming posts reminded everyone of the importance of representation and fostering inclusivity, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Joining #BlackAtNASA . After 15 years this is my headshot. pic.twitter.com/qDTMbGprZ2 — K Renee Horton,PhD (@Reneehortonphd) March 17, 2024 Despite the fleeting nature of viral moments, NASA’s efforts for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are far more than just a snapshot. In 2023, the agency released an equity action plan supporting a presidential executive order focused on dismantling “inequitable barriers and challenges facing underserved communities.” “We at NASA, as an administrator, never tell our story,” Shahra Lambert, NASA’s...

Those seeking funding for their small business have the debt-free option of applying for startup business grants or small business grants. These grants are typically awarded by government entities, private organizations or corporations and, unlike loans , are not expected to be paid back. There are incentives for these companies and organizations to award these grants, as the new businesses could create economic growth or support a certain cause/research topic (like social or environmental) that one of these entities is interested in. These grants are highly competitive and have very specific requirements that must be met before they are awarded. Most likely, applicants will need to prepare by verifying the eligibility criteria, funding amount, application deadlines and any restrictions of a grant that their business aligns with. Also, ensuring the applicant’s business is specific enough to the grant’s requirements is very important . Doing so ensures the applicant has a better...

It may be possible to grow and navigate an industry with greater ease by maintaining a full-time job. This decision has proved favorable for some Black entrepreneurs who often don’t see the same investment dollars as their counterparts. And sometimes, keeping the vision afloat means carrying forward with your financial resources. Ultimately, you can lean on what route will be most beneficial for the longevity of your business. However, we have compiled some tips from Black women small business owners who have scaled their brands and attribute their growth to their 9-5.

Sometimes small businesses face the challenge of learning how to develop effective bookkeeping practices. This obstacle could lead to disrupted cash flow and a failure to meet the financial obligations of one’s business. Looking to resolve this issue in Nigeria is the startup Kippa, which markets itself as the country’s simplest accounting software. Founded by Kennedy Ekezie alongside Duke Ekezie and Jephthah Uche in February 2021, the application is designed to help small business owners create a bookkeeping system that will help them “recover debts 3x faster,” TechCrunch reports. According to Kippa, a stand-out feature on its application is customers who have not made payments can not only be tracked, but they will receive an automated reminder message for the business owner to recover debts. In addition, businesses can manage inventory, track daily cash flow and expenses, create invoices and generate receipts. “For us, what we do is we have such a unique opportunity to provide...

Visa is piloting its Tap to Phone technology in Washington, D.C., with hopes of aiding in the close of the digital divide for small Black-owned businesses and communities. This is the first time the multinational financial services corporation is bringing its new tech to the U.S. after piloting it in 30 other countries, Visa shared in a press release. Visa is also looking to provide resources and education through Visa Street Teams , an initiative it created to digitally-enable 50 million small businesses. Following this launch in D.C., Visa will be taking its tech to Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Miami as part of its small business revitalization initiative. “The way we shop and pay has forever changed. During the pandemic, tapping to pay and contactless checkout became more commonplace – and are now expected,“ Mary Kay Bowman, Visa’s global head of buyer, seller, core and platform products, said in a press release. “With our technology, networking and community...

Vanessa Jean-Baptiste opened the first Black woman-owned dispensary on the East Coast this past weekend, WPRI reported. Baptiste welcomed customers to Legal Greens for the first time on Sunday, March 28. The new dispensary is located in Brockton, Massachusetts, and WPRI reported that the historic cannabis store has been in the works for three years. “It means a lot to me because we worked really hard to get to where we are at,” Jean-Baptiste told WPRI. There was a line of people waiting to support Jean-Baptiste and Brockton’s newest local Black-owned business on Sunday before the doors opened at 8 a.m. Jean-Baptiste was born and raised in Brockton and she opened this new dispensary with the hopes of bringing a positive impact to the community.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Legal Greens (@legal_greens) “This is the first woman Black-owned business in the legal market on the East Coast which is as exciting as the first stores that opened in November of 2018,” Davide...

At Drexell & Honeybee’s in Brewton, Alabama, restaurant owners Freddie and Lisa Thomas-McMillan display classic Southern hospitality. With their business philosophy, “Feed the Need,” they operate on a donation-based system without turning anyone away reports Good News Network . Guests from all walks of life can come in and enjoy southern cuisine served family style. After their meal, tucked in the corner of the mom and pop soul food establishment, is a donation box where guests can leave a donation that fits their needs. These donations go right back into running the restaurant meaning the owners get virtually no profit, says Black Business . In a video by It’s a Southern Thing , Lisa explains that she learned the lesson of giving back to others as a young girl which has carried on into her adult life. “We don’t have any suggested prices, everybody gets treated the same,” she said in the video . “If you go to the box and don’t have one red cent— no one will ever know. And we won’t...