The transition to online programming is the least of Black tech accelerator operator’s concerns—it’s the challenges of ensuring investors and funders won’t undervalue diversity in the era of mass isolation.
The mental health movement is having a moment, and Black entrepreneurs are entering the space with wellness and mindfulness apps to help vulnerable populations get through these times.
Black businesses in Black communities aren’t benefiting financially from positive online reviews compared to their white counterparts. A new study from the Brookings Institution revealed that even the highest-rated Black businesses on Yelp located in Black neighborhoods earn less in revenue compared to poorly-rated non-minority-owned businesses in white communities.
The Knight recently awarded $1 million to 8 organizations to help boost local startup activity—but the greatest percentage of the grant dollars went to Black investor and ecosystem support groups.
As education technology expands in the classroom aimed to reduce the chasm between students who need additional instruction, and teachers who have too many pupils to warrant individual support, edtech to foster deeper relationships between parents and schools is on the rise. New tools now offer the ability for educators and administrators to directly connect with parents about everything from classroom grades and upcoming holidays to school emergencies and parent-teacher conferences.
Though pitch competitions offer access for all types of companies and founders, they are nowhere near an adequate response to what is a national crisis of inequality in funding for Black entrepreneurs.
In 2017, we began documenting the rise of Black-owned firms. Two years later, we’ve added a total of nine new investment firms established by single Black founders or a Black co-founder between 2018 and 2019, taking our scope of evaluated firms from 33 to 46.
