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People don’t refer to her as Mother Africa for nothing. The home of some of the world’s greatest natural resources is getting an economic boost with 24 African startups chosen to receive funding for startups. As released by Tech Crunch, Y Combinator released its most recent batch of awardees – W22 – that will receive seed funding for new businesses. Of the 414 startups representing over 80 sectors that are a part of this batch, the continent of Africa has received notable funding with Nigeria ranking third, having delivered 18 startups. Per the company’s norm, the United States has the most representation and India ranks second with 32 startups a part of this most recent batch. Although the United States has the largest amount of representation from a single country each year, about 50 percent of Y Combinator’s awardees come from countries outside of the country. Based on previous award batches, this is the first time an African nation has appeared this high on the list. With 24...
Nonprofit firm BLCK VC teamed up with Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners to launch a network that supports the next generation of Black investors. There has been an emergence of scout programs in the venture capital sector, which have helped better connect founders, operators, and angel investors (If you’re unsure of what venture capital scouts are, think of them as the bridge between venture funds and promising companies looking for support). Through the BLCK VC Scout Network, Black investors will be able to tap into training, mentoring and networking opportunities. BLCK VC launched this initiative after recently discovering that only three percent of venture capital investors are Black. The firm is working to increase diversity in venture capital, so this new network is a step in the right direction. The BLCK VC Scout Network program will take place over six months, across three phases focused on education, community , and deal flow. Twice a year, BLCK VC will welcome...
Arlan Hamilton has been shaking things up in the venture capital space and wants to help others build and do the same. As the founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, Hamilton has been on a mission to invest in women, people of color, and LGBT founders. Much like other industries, the venture capital space gets it wrong when it comes to investing in Black founders, but Hamilton wants to use her platform to be an additive to what creators have already built. For Hamilton, it’s about what a founder has done before they’ve gotten into the room to invest in the team. “People have incredible stories and feats that they’ve overcome to get where they are,” said Hamilton on the latest episode of Black Tech Green Money. While they rarely invest financially at the idea stage, Hamilton says this is where they invest emotionally. “There’s a lot of data to look at but ultimately, that early, I’m looking at it like this, ‘Is this person going to wake up every day and breathe life into...
Diversity and inclusivity have been trending since protests against systemic racism reached fever pitch this summer. As many companies scrambled to prove their support of Black lives, other entities have continued to shutout Black creativity, ideas, and wealth. Ahead of the new year, The Startup Pill reported on Silicon Valley’s top 25 venture capital firms least likely to invest in founders of color. The information is compiled of data from The Black Founders List, which serves as a running historical record of Black founders and the investors who invested in them. The list names well-known firms that have less than five Black-led investments while boasting thousands of investments and billions in revenue. The Startup Pill says that only one percent of venture-backed companies are led by Black founders. “On a macro level, the lack of diversity in the industry is a problem because it means most of the money flows to types of founders VCs understand — businesses with white men of a...
The highly anticipated Forbes 30 Under 30 list just hit the net and we’ve got our eyes on the Black professionals making waves — specifically in the world of venture capital. Check out the Black powerhouses who made the list below: Frederik Groce, Principal, Storm Ventures and Co-founder of BLCK VC LinkedIn Maya Horgan Famodu, Founder of Ingressive Capital LinkedIn Nnamdi Iregbulem,Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners LinkedIn Solomon Hailu, Vice President of March Capital LinkedIn Jackson Cummings, Investor at Salesforce Ventures LinkedIn Terri Burns,Partner at GV LinkedIn Eric Campbell, Partner at Value Investment Group LinkedIn Congratulations to all of the changemakers who made the list — continue to pave the way and shake things up! — Disclaimer: GV is an investor in Blavity Inc., owner of AfroTech.
Alpaca VC just revealed the six emerging GPs (General Partners) selected for their $2.5 million diversity commitment! Back in July, the company vowed to write three to five checks ranging from $500,000 to $1,000,000 each, according to a blog post . However, they ultimately ended up writing six thanks to their initiative to commit $2.5 million of independent GP capital to Black and Latino/Latina investing partners. “We are thrilled to partner with these managers to create an impact in the ecosystem while driving impact to our fund,” the company wrote in an article on Medium . “Our chosen, diverse GPs can provide us access to underserved founder networks far better than we can ourselves today. In turn, we can help these select GPs beyond just providing them money. We can follow on to their investments; we can introduce them to LPs and other funding sources, and we can help them institutionalize their fund and processes. A truly synergistic relationship.” The process wasn’t easy, with...
Nonprofit firm BLCK VC was designed to increase diversity in venture capital. Staying true to their goal, co-founders Sydney Sykes and Frederik Groce have launched the Black Venture Institute , an educational initiative dedicated to helping Black operators become angel investors. In a formal announcement , BLCK VC says that the institute is the brainchild of a partnership with Operator Collective , Salesforce Ventures , and Berkeley Haas School of Business. “These partners joined us on a journey that has been three years in the making, a journey built on the premise that if we want to make venture capital (and by extension the tech industry) a more diverse and equitable ecosystem, then we need to be the catalysts for this change,” said Groce. Today, we are excited to be announcing the Black Venture Institute! We are building structural solutions to structural problems. This is about education & access. Shout-out to our partners @SalesforceVC , @OperatorCollect and @BerkeleyHaas...