This is history in the making!

Minority Equality Opportunities Acquisition Inc.(MEOA) is now the first minority-led special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market (NASDAQ). The company is currently trading under the “MEOAU” ticker symbol.

As of Aug. 30, MEOA closed a $126.5 million upsized IPO of units including one share of Class A common stock and one redeemable warrant. The warrant allows the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share.

“In the last five years, we’ve seen exponential growth among minority women business owners. Black and Hispanic women business owners, alone, account for more than 50% of the growth,” Robin D. Watkins, CFO, MEOA exclusively shared with AfroTech. “What we have not witnessed, however, is an increase in the investment capital needed for minority businesses to scale. The IPO process gives MEOA the financial leverage to identify minority companies with stellar products and services and management teams and give those companies the pathway to grow and compete at a much higher level. In addition, minority companies, with the help of MEOA, will continue to provide jobs and even greater economic opportunities for all people in communities across the country.”

The efforts are currently being led by MEOA Chairman and CEO Shawn Rochester and the company’s Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, Robin Watkins. The blank check company has plans to focus its business combination search and transactions on minority-owned businesses in various industries across the nation, specifically those in underserved communities.

“The mission and purpose of MEOA will help to catapult minority enterprises in this country,” said Rochester in an official statement shared with AfroTech. “As a SPAC, we have the opportunity to not only help drive significant change and unleash superior performance but to also signal to the broader marketplace that there is a tremendous value in companies and teams that have long been ignored.”

Toronto-based virtualization and data solutions company, Sphere 3D Corp sponsored MEOA’s SPAC and has been vital in the entire IPO process.

“I have long been a believer in MBEs and their untapped potential,” said Sphere 3D CEO Peter Tassiopoulos. “MBEs not only fortify economic diversity across various industries but, given the opportunity, will strengthen the social fabric of America. Sphere 3D is proud to have played a role in MEOA’s initial public offering. MEOA’s management team and directors are uniquely qualified to position acquisition targets for exponential growth.”

As it continues its mission toward racial equity and economic inclusion, MEOA also brought in one of the country’s first Black-owned institutions, the Industrial Bank of Washington, “for its working capital banking needs during the SPAC and IPO process,” according to a press release.

Click here to learn more about MEOA.

Sphere 3D

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