Techstars tapped Detroit entrepreneurial leader Monica Wheat to lead its Equitech Accelerator as managing director (MD). Wheat is the co-founder and executive director of Venture Catalysts, a nonprofit ecosystem development group focusing on programming, funding, strategy and business development for entrepreneurs. Since its inception in 2016, the nonprofit has been putting on large-scale events and strategic programs. Most notably, Venture Catalysts helped Backstage Capital launch their global accelerator program in Detroit, Los Angeles, and London. Wheat told AfroTech it’s been a challenge running an events nonprofit during the pandemic. While she was grateful for all the new business rolling in, Wheat said her team did get overwhelmed. “We doubled and tripled down on our deal flow and connections and did strategy sessions and programming throughout 2020 and 2021,” Wheat said. “We are mostly a volunteer organization and I must hype the praises for my team who did so much to help...

The tech industry is increasingly supporting more and more innovative Africa-based startups. Techstars Seattle — a local accelerator a part of Techstars’ worldwide network — is now among the bunch giving these companies a push in the right direction. Back in January, Techstars Seatlle announced its 2021 class of companies joining its programming — including for the first time ever a Zimbabwean startup called AfriBlocks, TechCrunch reports. AfriBlocks is a global pan-african freelance collaboration platform that helps vet African freelance professionals. The startup was founded by entrepreneurs Tongayi Choto and Roger Roman in July of last year in an effort to address the high unemployment rate that plagues many African countries today. “It can be very hard to find African freelancers,” CEO Choto told TechCrunch. “If a customer is lucky enough to get past those hurdles and find a freelancer to work with, they often don’t have the proper collaboration tools to complete the project in...