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Jackie Aina has inked the first co-branded collaboration for her lifestyle company, Forvr Mood. Aina’s Forvr Mood and Canadian whisky brand Crown Royal have created a limited-edition Crown Royal Blackberry x Forvr Mood candle, which will be available for purchase online and at the Crown Royal Blackberry Stand (a lemonade stand, but make it adult ), per a press release. Throughout her career as an influencer, Aina has amassed more than 3.5 million YouTube subscribers. She has also worked with major beauty brands, from Anastasia Beverly Hills and Sephora to Fenty Beauty. Aina’s made a name for herself as a Black woman within an extremely competitive industry. However, she will rarely turn down the opportunity to use her platform to amplify and support other Black women, and this recent partnership is no different. While attendees sip Crown Royal Blackberry and shop the Forvr Mood candle, Crown Royal is also collaborating the nonprofit Black Girl Ventures Foundation by providing a...
Editorial Note: Opinions are the writer’s own and not those of AfroTech. There is a persistent myth that investing in Black businesses is a charitable endeavor rather than a profitable one. In fact, almost twice as much money is donated to BIPOC focused nonprofits vs. invested in BIPOC founded startups. This myth assumes that Black entrepreneurs are not capable of producing the same level of returns as their white counterparts. However, research has shown that investing in Black-owned businesses can be extremely lucrative. A report by McKinsey & Company found that companies with diverse executive teams are 33% more likely to have above-average profitability than those without diversity. Furthermore, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that companies with Black CEOs receive higher valuations than those with white CEOs. Despite these findings, Black founders continue to face significant obstacles when it comes to securing funding. In 2022, only 1% of all venture...
BLCK VC, a nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the presence of Black investors in the venture capital (VC) industry, has recently released its annual edition of the State of Black Venture Report in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank. The report, released on Feb. 22, sheds light on the current state of the Black venture ecosystem, analyzing various trends in leadership and representation within the industry.
Black Thought is prepared to take his talents into venture capital (VC). In 1987, the rapper — whose real name is Tariq Trotter — formed The Roots band alongside Questlove in their hometown of Philadelphia, PA. According to HipHopDX, Black Thought has announced his role as a general partner at Impellent Ventures, a new fund that is centered around equity. He and the team aim to recruit and encourage other entrepreneurs as they begin their journeys to scaling and growing their new businesses. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the industry and looking for new ways to invest and diversify my portfolio,” said the 50-year-old emcee in an official statement. “I also get to see a lot of investment opportunities before anyone else does because of what my brand means to founders.” Excited to officially announce our newest partner here at Impellent… welcome @blackthought ! https://t.co/FZ0wVdzmvj — Impellent Ventures (@ImpellentVC) July 15, 2022
The Black dollar has consistently proved its power. From the impact of the historic community in Tulsa, OK, to the current cultural impact on the economy – there is no doubt that the Black dollar is a powerful and influential tool. This power is leveraged even more with the uptick in Black and minority entrepreneurship. Kwame Egerton II, the co-founder of Black Currency, understands this concept and partnered with venture capital company, Neotribe to create a pitch competition that would ultimately support minority-owned businesses. The Black Currency x Neotribe Virtual Pitch Competition will award participants a total of $6,000 in prize money. The aim is to create a space that cultivates growth in an environment where it’s difficult to raise funding due to macroeconomic conditions. “The Black Currency is happy to partner with Neotribe Venture Capital to help bring our virtual pitch competition for small minority-owned businesses to life. As a small business owner myself, I...
Safe spaces for people to be vulnerable and transparent are not just for adults. Children also need these type of spaces to cultivate their growth and maturity. In 2020, Zak and Leah Ringelstein created one of those spaces for children by founding Zigazoo, a Serena Williams-backed startup.
A leading Black firm in venture capital is working with one of today’s top Black founders. According to a press release, Base10 Partners and Robert F. Smith’s Student Freedom Initiative have joined to provide Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with more access to venture capital.
College Park native and trap music aficionado, 2 Chainz, is putting the world on notice that he is more than trap beats and creative bars. In collaboration with Memphis rapper and producer Juicy J, 2 Chainz invested $2 billion in a solar energy merger Summer of 2021. In addition to this investment in sustainability, the Grammy-nominated artist has a restaurant and tapas bar in Atlanta, GA. Plus, he has a nail salon, a cannabis line, and several other thriving businesses. As if his hands were not packed with all of this, 2 Chainz posted that the time to level up has come via his Instagram page.
There’s more to diversity than meets the eye and vegan hair extension company, Rebundle is proof of that. However, what is just as important is the team that is willing to invest in the vision of Black founders, providing them with the tools needed to not only survive but also to thrive. M25 is the early-stage venture firm dedicated to supporting startups located in the Midwest, providing them with the tools needed to not only survive but thrive within an industry that was not built with them in mind. “Supporting women founders is important everywhere, regardless of the region, but I do think we have an amazing opportunity in regions like the Midwest,” said M25 VC Partner Mike Asem in an email interview with AfroTech. “As many point out that ecosystems like the Bay Area have matured whereas ecosystems like the Midwest are still emerging, maturing, etc. We have a unique opportunity to write diversity into our ecosystem’s entrepreneurial DNA better, and earlier, than more mature ones...
Some of the world’s greatest women athletes are embarking on the investment arena. On a mission to inspire non-traditional investors, early-stage venture capital firm Debut Capital is launching its first-ever Investor-in-Residence Program for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous founders. The first cohort will include some notable names such as four-time Olympic Track & Field Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, three-time Track & Field Olympian Medalist Lauryn Williams, four-time All-Star, and WNBA Champion Chelsea Gray, and 2021 WNBA Champion Lexie Brown. The inaugural class will partake in a six-week program to learn from individuals in venture capital. According to the press release, topic points will include generating deal flow, portfolio construction, and post-investment support. The cohort will have access to an investment total of $100,000. Debut Capital’s class of professional women athletes is “a way to begin closing the gap between them and their male athlete counterparts.” “The...
Equity Alliance, led by former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons, has announced that it has closed a $28.6 million fund, which they say they will use to invest in other woman-led and minority-led funds. According to The Wall Street Journal, the “fund of funds” is aiming to provide both a professional network and a mentoring program for the funds it intends to back. “It’s easier to open doors,” Parsons said to the outlet. “What we have to figure out is how to take this favorable mentality that is existing and create mechanisms that enable us to deploy capital in a successful way, so we make a lasting change in the economic spectrum.” Equity Alliance notably invested in Esusu, a Black-owned fintech company. As AfroTech previously reported, Esusu reached a $1B valuation in January 2022, and they said they wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support of Equity Alliance. “It’s like chatting with people you know have your best interest at heart,” said Abbey Wemimo, Esusu’s...
The African startup economy is growing faster than the global economy. Last year, various African startups celebrated wins displayed in dollar signs. There was a slew of high-performing investment rounds which included uLesson ($15M), Metro Africa Xpress Inc. ($31M), and MFS Africa ($100M). We could certainly go on but those numbers are proof that African startups are growing at a rate we have not seen before. According to a LinkedIn posting by Founders Factory Africa’s Accelerator Lead Nicole Dunn, it was said that African startups raised $1 million every two hours in 2021 with a total of $4.9 billion invested in African startups. Now more than ever, investments are soaring in Africa. Here is why.