HBCU's as LPs; Lab produced chicken nuggets; Venture Capital jargon; RIP John Lewis; The most loved VCs.
A weekly newsletter for Black and Brown women highlighting entrepreneurship and venture capital in the tech ecosystem.
Happy Sunday Folks,
Twitter gets hacked. The Michelle Obama Podcast. Ted Sarandos named Netflix Co-CEO alongside Reed Hastings. Get well soon, RBG. The 'fwd: fwd: lucky pitch deck'. Celebrities Gwyneth Paltrow, Oprah, Run DMC, and Natalie Portman made venture capital investments. The VCs who founders love the most.
USA
Lex, a new social app for queer women, offering the ability to post personal ads, has closed a $1.5 million seed funding round.
Coursera, the eight-year-old, online learning platform, has raised $130 million in Series F funding at a post-money valuation of $2.5 billion.
Therapy startup Real raised a $6 million seed round from investors including Kirsten Green at Forerunner Ventures and Gwyneth Paltrow.
KFC is working with a Russian 3D bioprinting firm to try to make lab-produced chicken nuggets.
Facebook Messenger now lets you share your screen on iPhone and Android devices.
*Last week we incorrectly stated that Intel Capital pledged to commit $125 Million to Black Founders. That pledge is from 2015 and those goals were met in 2018. Today, Intel Capital committed to doubling its investments in Black founders over the next 5 years, actively recruiting under-represented minorities through programs like HBCUvc, and will continue to support diversity in Intel’s Incubation Program.
EUROPE
Meditopia, a meditation app, secures $15M Series A co-led by Creandum and Highland.
Oatly Oat Milk is now worth billions with a Blackstone-led, star-studded investment group that included Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman, Jay-Z's entertainment agency, and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.
Drover, a flexible car subscription startup for private users (a.k.a Netflix for cars) has raised $26 million.
Karma Kitchen, a London-based startup raised $318 million for a Series A.
TransferWise has hit a $5 billion valuation following a secondary share sale.
Element, a European rival to workplace messaging app Slack, has won the world's largest-ever single contract for a collaborative software service.
Please remember to contribute to our survey of Diverse VCs in Europe list.
AFRICA
TradeDepot, the B2B eCommerce platform for consumer goods in Africa, raised a $10 million pre-Series B equity round.
Kenyan company Komaza, a tech-enabled, sustainable forestry company, has secured $28 million in Series B funding.
ProfitShare Partners, a South African fintech company secured $5.87 million in debt and quasi-equity funding from the SA SME Fund.
Sea Monster, an entertainment startup based in Cape Town has raised $1 million from FirstRand’s Vumela Fund.
Zambian microfinance startup Lupiya raised $1 million from Enygma Ventures.
Ugandan digital finance startup Eversend raised over $1 million in an oversubscribed Seedrs crowdfunding campaign.
INSIGHTS
Venture Capital Firms Pushed to Take Historically Black Colleges as LPs.
-The Information
How can we really make European startups more diverse?
-Sifted
StartOut tallies the unrealized potential of LGBTQ entrepreneurs.
-StartOut
Can diversity in fashion be systemic?
-Laure Guilbault
The Gallup Center on Black Voices — an unprecedented study and information hub on Black life in America.
-Gallup
Investors Can Fight Structural Racism by Supporting Black VCs.
-Gayle Jennings-O'Byrne / Bloomberg
Venture Capital Jargon Buster.
- MJ Hudson, in association with Founders Intelligence
The Techcrunch List, a founder-friendly directory of first check and lead VCs.
-Techcrunch
FUNDING & COMPETITIONS
START is a 3-week, 100% virtual program that provides Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs with a structured process to take their game-changing idea to reality. Apply by July 24, 2020 for Cohort 2.
Black Venture Capital Consortium Pitch Competition application is now live! Tech-enabled startups with at least one Black or Latinx entrepreneur should apply by July 27, 2020.
Grow F is a three-month online accelerator program for female-led ventures. Apply before July 31, 2020.
The International Publishing Association has made $200,000 in grants available to fund African remote learning projects. Apply by July 31, 2020.
Sifted is seeking startup and tech 'pioneers' — people, products, and initiatives that will have a big and important role to play in the 'new world'. Nominate a pioneer from Europe’s startup ecosystem.
UPCOMING (VIRTUAL) EVENTS
TC Early Stage 2020, "Think like a PM for VC Pitch Success" with Lo Toney, July 21, 2020.
Code for All presents: Women to the Front (& Backend) [Women + Non Binary Only], July 22, 2020.
Startups looking to raise €200k-€1million, join EYnovation for a day of pitching and matchmaking with investors. Apply by July 26, 2020.
ON OUR RADAR
A guide to Black-Owned Businesses to support in Scandinavia.
Why these Black designers are the future of fashion.
11 Books To Read If You Want To Be A More Inclusive Leader.
Silicon Valley has deep pockets for African startups – if you’re not African.
PEOPLE
DICK'S Sporting Goods Names Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. to its Board of Directors.
BBC Global News has named Yewande Adewusi as the new Regional Director for Africa.
Civil Rights Icons Rep. John Lewis and Rev. C. T. Vivian pass away.
Fahim Saleh, Founder, and CEO of Nigerian startup Gokada was found dismembered in his Manhattan condo, and his ex-personal assistant was charged with his murder.
Dario Calmese is the first Black photographer to shoot the cover of Vanity Fair.
Harry Stebbings, the host of The Twenty Minute VC, is launching 20VC, a micro VC fund of $8.3 million to invest in US startups.
Run-DMC's Darryl McDaniels walks into healthtech investing.
A heartfelt thank you for reading and see you next week!
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