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Joanna Brooks has been creating a safe wellness studio for people of color for the past 10 years. She developed an interest in yoga as a teenager and, over time, explored different areas of fitness, she wrote in her LinkedIn bio. This exploration influenced her practices, which include Bikram Yoga, Hot Vinyasa Flow, Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga, and Yin Yoga, ultimately leading to the establishment of Embody YOGA studio in Milwaukee, WI. “These styles contribute significantly to my teaching style. I am experienced in leading both group and private classes and enjoy working with people of all ages. My intention is for my students to leave class with a quiet sense of strength and peace,” she wrote in her bio. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Embody Yoga (@embodyyogamke) In an Instagram post shared on Tuesday, Feb. 18, Brooks honored the instructors who came before her, giving them their flowers for paving the way — including ZenZen Yoga Arts Founder Therese Bailey. “I’ve said it...
Former PepsiCo President and entrepreneur Derek Lewis has added another franchise to his portfolio. Lewis secured a deal with Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, granting him ten locations in Central Florida, AFROTECH™ previously told you. He is also the restaurant’s first franchisee, which Derrick Hayes founded. According to information shared with AFROTECH™, Lewis celebrated the grand opening of two locations at Camping World Stadium in November 2024. “This expansion represents our commitment to bringing authentic Philly-style cheesesteaks to sports and entertainment venues across Florida,” said Derek Lewis in a news release. “We’re creating more than just restaurants; we’re building community gathering spots where food brings people together.” More recently, Lewis partnered with Philly Pretzel Factory and is spearheading its expansion throughout the Orlando area. “Soft pretzels are woven into Philadelphia’s cultural fabric, and I’ve craved their distinctive taste since childhood,” said...
Issa Rae refers to Sienna Naturals’ expansion with Sephora as a “dream come true.” Rae co-founded the award-winning hair care brand Sienna Naturals, which was first envisioned by Hannah Diop in 2012. Diop, reflecting on her own challenges in finding hair products that met her needs, recalls how clarifying shampoos fell short in restoring her hair’s health during her time on the swim team. This firsthand experience played a pivotal role in shaping Sienna Naturals, a brand founded on a proprietary clean chemistry approach that prioritizes scalp health , according t o the brand’s website. The haircare line is powered by hydrating, abiotic, pH-balanced ingredients (H.A.P.I.). “The first impression I want people to have when they use Sienna Naturals is how beautiful their hair is. So that wet-feel design is very intentional,” Diop told AFROTECH™. Photo Credit: Sienna Naturals When Rae discovered Sienna Naturals, she was in the process of learning how to best care for her natural hair...
The Black-owned water bottle brand SUPLMNT welcomes NBA player Gary Payton II as its latest investor. The brand was founded in 2020 by South Philadelphia, PA, native Jairus Morris, who aims to improve hydration in Black and brown communities. His journey as a founder was inspired by his mother, who took on multiple jobs to support the household of five children. “I grew up in a South Philly single-mother household with four siblings. My mother was my first inspiration and motivation to want to be an entrepreneur,” he said in an interview shared on Medium. “She always tried side hustles to bring in extra income for my family; whether it was selling Mary Kay or braiding hair, she did it. Moving us out of the ghetto in South Philly to a suburb in New Jersey was the best thing she could have done. It exposed me to see that there was so much more to life outside of the hood.” As an adult, he also mentioned recognizing disparities around health and wellness, which further inspired his...
Breakr continues to find new ways to improve the creator economy. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the platform was created by Historically Black College and University (HBCU) alums and brothers Anthony and Ameer Brown to ensure artists can connect with brands and agencies and establish creative campaigns they are compensated for. With an early focus on music, Breakr partnered with BMG and Sony Music and built a roster of clients that included Ye (formerly Kanye West), Young Thug, Megan Thee Stallion, Rick Ross, Future, and Gunna. Additionally, Nas is involved not only as an artist on the platform but also as an investor. He participated in a $4.2 million seed round led by Slow Ventures in 2021. Breakr has expanded its scope beyond the music industry, adding partners such as Hershey, Billboard, Celsius, Samsung, and UMG, information shared with AFROTECH™ notes. In 2022, 30,000 creators had onboarded onto its platform. In 2025, that number has more than doubled, reaching a community...
Christina Betancourt Johnson has made history in the cannabis sector. The Washington, DC, native with 15 years of experience as an executive — per Honeysuckle magazine — is the founder and CEO of Standard Wellness Maryland, which launched in 2019. The company had an interest in catering to consumers as well as patients looking for premium products for their medicine. Its offerings include flowers, topicals, tinctures, vapes, and concentrates, its website mentions. At the heart of S tandard Wellness Maryland’s lies a mission t o ensure there is greater representation in the cannabis industry, and this became part of Johnson’s call to action to drive equity in partnership with Rooted Therapeutics, her first company. Benzinga reports that Standard Wellness Maryland’s existence is historic as it is the first v ertically integrated cannabis company in the United States majority-owned by an African American and Latina, according to the social equity office in Maryland. It is licensed to...
Fintech platform Raenest has raised new funding to support African businesses. The company, founded in 2022 by Victor Alade, Sodruldeen Mustapha, and Richard Oyome, offers a range of services, including virtual and physical dollar cards, international transfers, invoicing for global payments, the ability to create USD, GBP, and EUR bank accounts, and currency conversion, among other features listed on its website. Raenest’s original platform was structured as an Employer of Record (EOR), helping foreign companies pay employees on the continent while remaining compliant, TechCrunch reports. The founders recognized a deeper-rooted issue, leading them to update Raenest to assist the continent’s gig economy and businesses directly. “A U.S. company might not care if a payment is delayed by five days, but for someone in Nigeria or Kenya, that’s a big deal — especially when converting to local currency becomes another hurdle,” Alade told TechCrunch. Looking ahead, Raenest intends to secure...
Educator Yaa Yaa Catherine Whaley-Williams has built an education hub in her community. Whaley-Williams, the director of student equity in the Monticello Central School District in Monticello, NY, is the founder of Sadie’s Books and Beverages. The business opened in 2022 and made history in the process. News-12 reports it is the first Black-owned bookstore in Orange County, NY. Sadie’s Books and Beverages offers a diverse selection of books, which includes hundreds of Black authors across 23 genres, according to the Times Herald-Record reports. Accessibility is also important to Whaley-Williams, so she launched a program that slashes the prices of new books for children to $3 and $7. “When I was a kid getting a free or discounted book, it was usually dog-eared or had writing in it, or some pages missing,” she explained to the outlet. “But getting a discounted book shouldn’t mean that it’s anything less than brand new.” Locals can also expect special activations from the local shop...
There were great sacrifices that Fawn and Keith Weaver made to ensure that the Uncle Nearest whiskey brand would not fail. Today, Uncle Nearest is recognized as a force within the spirits industry, reflecting the resilience of Fawn, whose story is one of overcoming adversity with triumph. She dropped out of school in 10th grade, bounced between homeless shelters, and attempted to take her life twice. She viewed her struggles as affirmation of a higher calling — one that has materialized into an award-winning whiskey brand that has topped a billion-dollar valuation and is the fastest-growing American whiskey in history, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. The inception of Uncle Nearest resulted from relentless research Fawn conducted in Lynchburg, TN, to uncover the story of Nathan “Nearest” Green. Enslaved at the time, Green was responsible for teaching Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel how to make whiskey using the technique known as “sugar maple charcoal filtering.” Some call this the...
As Kendrick Lamar prepares to take center stage at Super Bowl LIX, alongside SZA, keep a close eye on the production. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Apple Music (@applemusic) It will all be spearheaded by Lamar’s agency pgLang, which embraces creators from authors, film and television directors, producers, musicians , and more who are aligned in the vision to produce “quality” and “unconventional concepts,” its website mentions. Currently, 30 individuals and five executives are on board the pglang team, and they will have a hand in Super Bowl LIX — held Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans, LA — working on edits, production, stage design, sound tech, and more. During a press conference with Apple Music, the Super Bowl’s main sponsor since 2022, Lamar highlighted the importance of pgLang’s team, giving them their flowers and acknowledging that their collective efforts are what made it all possible for the show to reach its finish line. “Shout out to pgLang…That’s my...
The number of Black-owned businesses has increased. However, there is still much room for improvement. According to a research study released by the online loan marketplace LendingTree, the data reveals a 22.2% year-over-year increase since 2019. Looking back to 2022, just 3.3% of businesses were Black-owned , and 40% were women-owned. Other trends highlighted in the report show that Atlanta, GA, remains the primary hub for Black-owned businesses. The city has held this distinction for the past three years, with 11.3% of Black-owned businesses traced back to it. Other key cities identified in the report include Fayetteville, NC, Virginia Beach, VA, and Memphis, TN. Conversely, California cities such as San Jose, Oxnard, and San Diego ranked lowest in the number of Black-owned businesses. “When I initially started my entrepreneur journey, there weren’t very many Black founders,” Tiffany Ricks, chief executive of the cybersecurity platform HacWarhe, told Inc. “Now it’s exciting...
As the rollback and termination of diversity and inclusion initiatives continue, the fourth annual Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala successfully raised $3 million on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, to support black-owned businesses. According to Women’s Wear Daily, the event at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, CA, attracted many notable figures from culture and business, including Keke Palmer , Ciara, Kelly Rowland, Teyana Taylor, and Jesse Williams. Prominent artists such as Amy Sherald and Mickalene Thomas were also in attendance, along with CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year Rachel Scott from Diotima; Tatcha founder Vicky Tsai; model Amber Valletta; and celebrity stylists Law Roach, Wayman Bannerman, and Micah McDonald. “This is exactly the time we need to show up and continue to speak out,” Fifteen Percent Pledge Founder Aurora James said at the gala, per WWD. “Each and every one of us, our stories, our pasts, our cultures and identities, are part of the fabric that makes America great....
Alisa Bowens-Mercado is the proud owner of a beer company available across several states, FOX61 reports. Working as a salsa instructor for 16 years, Bowens-Mercado made the decision to venture into entrepreneurship. She was motivated by her grandmothers, Mary Pullen and Delores Bowens, “who were lager drinkers back in the 1970s, and because I would partake and enjoy some wonderful lagers,” she told the outlet. She also wanted to increase representation within the sector. “I knew that I needed to go into business so that I could amplify voices of color in this very male-dominated industry,” Bowens-Mercado explained. In November 2017, she launched Rhythm Brewing Co. in New Haven, CT, and made history as the state’s first Black woman-owned beer company. “I don’t take that lightly,” Bowens-Mercado told FOX61. “It’s because I have to continue to open up doors for the future. And so, if my journey and my mission can help anyone that wants to do something or go into an industry that you...
Jim Reynolds is leading a vegan beverage brand that generates millions and is backed by notable athletes. Reynolds’ journey as a founder began in 1997. He had already spent several years on Wall Street before deciding to launch Loop Capital, a full-service investment bank, brokerage, and advisory firm that assists corporate, governmental, and institutional clients, according to its LinkedIn page. Inc. magazine reports that it is the largest Black-owned investment bank globally. Various deals have landed on the bank’s table, including one surrounding Coco5, a hydration beverage company. Its products are made with balanced sugars and no artificial dyes or flavors. They are also vegan, gluten-free, caffeine-free, and non-GMO. Inc. reports that as a health-conscious person Reynolds had already developed a taste for coconut water by the ’90, and heard about the company in 2011. He would go on to invest in Coco5 in 2015 and join its board. Over the next decade, Reynolds attracted the...
Publisher Seko Varner is making connecting with Black-owned businesses in the Hampton Roads area easier than ever. Varner, a multifaceted leader who serves as president and financial consultant for the entertainment and consulting company Positive Vibes Inc., has introduced The Hampton Roads Greenbook, a directory that spotlights and supports Black-owned businesses in the region. The Hampton Roads Greenbook was inspired by Victor Hugo Green’s Negro Travelers’ Green Book. Green, a postal carrier in Harlem, originally created the guide to help Black travelers navigate safely during segregation. Green’s original guide served as a crucial resource for Black travelers during the Jim Crow era, listing businesses, restaurants , gas stations, and lodging where individuals could safely stop without facing discrimination, the National Park Service reports. It remained widely used until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed “discrimination on the basis of race, color,...