Entrepreneurship
Photo credit: UNCF.
Dealflow | September 14, 2021
Black Venture Capital Consortium and Ford Foundation closes $7.5 million for student-led fund
ImpactAlpha, September 14 — The Student Venture Fund is part of BVCC’s two-year venture capital training for students from historically Black colleges and …
Photo credit: IFAD.
Dealflow | August 30, 2021
Khatabook and Bazaar raise financing to digitize small businesses in India and Pakistan
ImpactAlpha, August 30 — Investors continue to swarm enterprise technology providers helping small businesses go online. Last week, Nuvemshop raised $500 million to …
Entrepreneurship | August 24, 2021
Building an ecosystem for workforce development and opportunity for all in Alabama
If you are an impact investor seeking ways to make a difference, come to Alabama. A year ago, Gov. Kay Ivey created the …
Photo credit: Apple.
Climate and Clean Tech | August 18, 2021
Apple’s inaugural Impact Accelerator includes 15 Black and Brown climate startup founders
ImpactAlpha, August 18 — The accelerator is part of Apple’s $100 million Racial Equity Equity Initiative launched in June 2020. The three-month training …
Photo credit: WEPOWER.
Community Finance | August 10, 2021
WEPOWER fund will back diverse founders to build community wealth in St. Louis
ImpactAlpha, August 10 — The Black woman-led Elevate/Elevar Capital fund is nearing its $1.5 million target after a $500,000 commitment from Living Cities (see ImpactAlpha’s series …
Squire's co-founders, Songe LaRon and Dave Salvant. Photo credit: Squire.
Dealflow | July 29, 2021
Squire scores $80 million to help barbershops manage their businesses
ImpactAlpha, July 29 — The New York-based company’s software helps over 2,000 barbershop owners in North America and the U.K. with online scheduling …
Yoco's founders | Photo credit: Yoco.
Africa | July 28, 2021
South African fintech Yoco raises $83 million for small-business lending
ImpactAlpha, July 28 — The Cape Town-based platform provides digital payments and other financial services to more than 150,000 small business owners in …
Photo credit: Change Labs
Capitalism Reimagined | July 21, 2021
Native-led organizations join forces to accelerate entrepreneurship in Indian Country
ImpactAlpha, July 21 – U.S. tribal lands are among the hardest places in the world to do business, with entrepreneurs struggling to access …
Photo credit: Afritech.
Africa | July 21, 2021
Vantage Capital raises $207 million in mezzanine debt for African businesses
ImpactAlpha, July 21 — The Johannesburg-based firm will provide non-dilutive financing for mid-sized African businesses “that would otherwise struggle to access capital through …
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
Dealflow | July 14, 2021
Zeal Capital Partners and Female Founders Fund raise funds to advance inclusion
ImpactAlpha, July 14 — Washington, D.C.-based Zeal Capital raised $62.1 million for its inaugural fund from Truist Ventures, Paypal, Synchrony, Skoll Foundation, Bank …
Photo credit: MarketForce
Africa | July 12, 2021
Kenya’s MarketForce raises $2 million to digitize small businesses and streamline supply chains
ImpactAlpha, July 12 – The pandemic inspired a wave of enterprise technology providers to help businesses go online (see, “Helping small businesses in …
Photo credit: MaxAB
Africa | July 6, 2021
MaxAB raises $40 million to digitize Egypt’s mom-and-pop stores
ImpactAlpha, July 6 – Most of Egypt’s 100 million consumers buy staples from small grocery stores and mom-and-pop retailers. MaxAB launched three years …
Photo credit: PolicyLink
Capitalism Reimagined | June 24, 2021
Turning pledges into policies to invest in Black Americans and multi-racial prosperity
ImpactAlpha, June 24 – Investors and executives can lead in many ways as they seek to fulfill their often heartfelt pledges to do …
Photo credit: Arlan Hamilton.
Dealflow | June 23, 2021
Backstage Capital portfolio companies raise follow-on investments
ImpactAlpha, June 23 — Arlan Hamilton created Backstage Capital in 2015 to back “underestimated” founders and unlock value (see, “Arlan Hamilton, Backstage Capital”). …
Entrepreneurship | June 22, 2021
A brief guide to the why, what and how of structured exits
ImpactAlpha, June 22 – Traditional investment structures like debt and equity can present challenges for impact entrepreneurs. Debt is often inaccessible, unaffordable and too …