Ugly fruit delivery raises $72 million; Magic Johnson stimulus assist; Virtual jury duty; Congolese designer debuts 3D Digital Fashion Show
A weekly newsletter for Black and Brown women highlighting venture capital in the tech ecosystem.
Happy Memorial Day weekend (if you are in the USA)!
Thank you for being here and reading issue #6. Our list of email subscribers has grown exponentially in the past six weeks in large part due to your shares. We will continue to highlight the content that can help you do business and grow your business. If you have news of stories you would like to see shared with our network, please reach out.
The Joe Rogan Experience struck a $100 million exclusive licensing deal with Spotify. Masayoshi Son, CEO and Founder of SoftBank, compared himself to Jesus on an investor call on the same day his company reported a $17.7 billion loss. Rent the Runway is on the brink of losing its unicorn status, with new reports that the company is in talks to raise new funding at a $750 million valuation. TikTok brought in former Disney streaming executive Kevin Mayer as new CEO. Fresh Produce doesn't have to be pretty. Imperfect Foods raised $72 million.
USA
The new Fortune 500 list has a record number of female CEOs. There are 37 women, 34 are white, three are Asian, and zero are Black or Latina.
Magic Johnson is pledging $100 million to ensure minority-owned businesses don’t get left out of the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.
CapStone Holdings announced the launch of GameAbove Capital, a $50 million private venture fund focused on minority- and women-operated businesses engaged in sustainability-related products and services.
A court in Texas is trying a pandemic-era first: jurors are hearing a trial by Zoom.
Twitter is testing a feature that allows the tweet's author to limit who can reply.
Nearly half of Twitter accounts pushing to reopen America may be bots.
Uber is cutting 3k more jobs and closing 45 offices. In less than a month, the company has shed almost 25% of its workforce.
EUROPE
BBC Together is like Netflix Party but for BBC shows.
The Future Fund, the UK government's £500m co-investment fund to help startups weather the Covid-19 storm, has launched.
Spanish startup WOOM lands €2 million to boost its femtech health solutions.
London-based Fly Now Pay Later raises £35 million Series A to provide flexible financing to travelers.
Swedish startup Memmo, a celebrity video message booking platform, expands to Norway.
Lisbon-based Kitch seals €1 million to construct delivery-first digital kitchens.
AFRICA
Boa Estadia, a short-term rental platform was launched in Angola to cater to the country’s uptick in rental demand in direct competition with booking and Airbnb.
Tomato Jos, a Nigerian developer of tomato paste for the African market, raised $4.2 million in Series A funding.
Kenya's Apollo Agriculture has closed a $6 million Series A round led by Anthemis.
South African agri-tech startup Aerobotics has raised $5.5 million in funding from Naspers Foundry.
Silicon Valley-based VC firm Plug and Play to open an office in Johannesburg to support innovative African startups.
Peach Payments, a South African fintech, has raised a new investment in a round led by Umkhathi Wethu Ventures and Allan Gray.
INSIGHTS
I Built It. And Now I’m Moving On
-Kathryn Finney/ Digital Undivided
Focus on key capabilities to scale your African tech business
-Andreata Muforo/ TLcom Capital
The Challenges for Female Founders During COVID-19
-500 Startups
How to Figure Out If a Company Is Committed to Diversity and Inclusion
-Alyson Powell Key
Enabling Founder-Access to Investors + Capital Through Our Startup-Investor Matching Tool
-Lolita Taub/ Catalyte
Introducing: “Stats for Startups”
-Charge
The new Top Companies for Multicultural Women 2020 list.
-Working Mother
50 Questions to Explore with a Potential Co-Founder
-First Round
FUNDING & COMPETITIONS
Southern African Innovation Support Programme’s (SAIS) Boost Up 2020 initiative. Closes May 31, 2020.
IsDB group opened $500m for digital solutions to curb the spread of COVID-19. Apply by June 1, 2020.
Booz Allen Foundation Innovation Grant. Apply by June 5, 2020.
Launch a social startup over the course of a year with a Social Innovation Fellowship. Apply before June 7, 2020.
UPCOMING (VIRTUAL) EVENTS
Coding Black Females are hosting a ‘Tech X Motherhood’ virtual meetup, May 26, 2020.
Challenge Series: Building Sales and Pipeline in a Downturn, May 26, 2020.
WEBINAR - Investing in Sustainability & CleanTech, May 27, 2020.
Women in Tech 24hour Virtual World Tour, May 28, 2020.
#VCLeadLadies Workshop: Venture Debt 101, May 28, 2020.
How We Did It! - UK Global Talent Tech Visa Webinar, May 28, 2020.
Building in a downturn: A conversation with Aileen Lee and Ted Wang of Cowboy Ventures, May 28, 2020.
Virtual Jam Session with Stacey Abrams, May 28, 2020.
ON OUR RADAR
Black pregnant women face a mortality crisis—and now a pandemic. Can tech help?
Hotels, Travel: How Privacy Will Be The New Luxury This Summer
Few Minority-Owned Businesses Got Relief Loans They Asked For
Coronavirus shut down the ‘Experience Economy.’ Can it come back?
Thank you for reading and see you next week!
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