It’s amazing what can happen in 3 minutes. That’s the length of time each of the pitchers were given to sell their vision at our recent virtual pitch day for Black female founders, in partnership with Twice As Good Women’s network...
Depending how you look at it, the numbers speak volumes when it comes to Black women raising capital. In 2020, the proportion of Black female founders who raised venture capital funding increased from 40% to 57%. That’s a decided win. However, that’s still only 0.64% of the total venture capital deployed. It’s not good enough - and that’s where AllBright and Twice As Good come in. The Twice As Good women’s network is a space for Black professionals, entrepreneurs and creatives to connect, inspire and learn, and it’s powered by the AllBright digital platform. There isn’t one type of Black woman, TAG says - everyone has faced different challenges and comes from different walks of life. Their aim is to bring Black women together, to unify that walk, and support ambitious women in progressing their careers and self-development. TAG’s founder, Christina Okorocha, puts it into perspective: “Finding funding opportunities is hard enough, but imagine being a Black woman and finding out only 0.0006% gain access to VC funding? It can be a very disheartening process. I have so many founder friends (including myself) who have bootstrapped their businesses because of the lack of funding opportunities.” So at our recent pitch day, stakes were high. But with high stakes, come big opportunities - and our pitchers did not disappoint. In her introduction, AllBright co-founder Debbie Wosskow reminded us of the value of support: “as our audience”, she said, “I ask you to think about what you can do to support these founders. Whether it’s capital or connections, everybody has something to offer. And that’s the real value of the day, Christina Okorocha says. “Focused pitch days such as this are extremely important, as they give Black female founders access to investors and specialists who may not be in their network. It also offers investors a platform to discover founders who they may not usually get to hear from. We plan to host more of these days, and support in making a change in the VC space.” Let’s meet the four inspirational female founders looking for support in the next stage of their journey, as they pitch for the investment they need to grow:
Taiwo Adegbulu, Co-Founder of Omolola Jewellery Black women don’t see themselves reflected in jewellery brands, Taiwo explains. But Omolola is here to change that, creating authentic and sustainable West African inspired jewellery. They’ve already been featured in British Vogue, Cosmo UK, Glam Africa and Buzzfeed - and with their Black Friday TikTok ad campaign a runaway success, things are looking bright for the future of this jewellery startup. omololajewellery.com
Dana Endundo Ferreira, Founder & CEO of Pavillon54 African Art is the hottest area in the art world today, Dana says, yet it’s still very hard to access, and poorly explained. A lack of infrastructure and visibility makes African art hard to acquire, learn about, or invest in. The solution is Pavillon54, a one-stop digital platform bringing art from Africa and the diaspora to a strong ecosystem, that makes it easy to connect the dots. Less than a year from launch they’ve represented 31 artists across 16 countries and sales are skyrocketing. pavillon54.com
Samantha Newell, Co-Founder & COO of Yard + Parish Samantha and her co-founder Alesha Bailey founded Yard + Parish in 2019, on a mission to elevate the retail experience for women of colour. Their curated offering represents over 40 independent, sustainable Black-owned brands, featuring eco-luxury products across fashion, beauty, homewares and wellness categories. With a strong customer retention rate, press coverage in Elle and Who What Wear, and a growth strategy set to propel them forward, their star is well and truly on the rise. yardandparish.com
Mariam Jimoh, Founder & CEO of Oja Oja is making global groceries local to you. If you’ve ever had to make a special trip to the little ethnic food store for that one particular ingredient, or asked relatives to bring you your favourites from abroad when they travel, then Oja is for you. They’re disrupting the cultural grocery shopping experience with a full-stack system for under-served cultural communities. And their advantage, they say, is unique as a form of social e-commerce; an intersection of grocery, culture & community. With an investment banking background and a feature on Forbes 30 under 30 list, no less, founder Mariam is set to make waves with this new approach to the food economy. my-oja.com
Join AllBright+
It’s all about who you know, and with AllBright+, we’ll help you find the right connection. Our premium membership takes your career to the next level. With exclusive events, unlimited access to courses, and our personalised networking tool, Sisterhood Matching (think Tinder for work!), AllBright+ gives you the keys to the digital club. Find out more here .