Malcolm Jenkins is not slowing down in the fast-casual food space. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the former NFL player leads Disrupt Foods, a multi-unit franchise developer and operator of quick-service restaurants. According to his LinkedIn, the goal is to create franchising opportunities for Black and brown communities. “If there’s a mission for me and how I’m moving now, what I want to have an impact on is really educating people on the power of group economics. People when they have success, most of the time they do it as a collective family, as a community. Owning businesses in their own communities,” he said. “When you look at [Black communities] we don’t own the majority of the businesses in it. We don’t own homes most of the time. It just continues to push us into pockets of poverty that are harder and harder to climb out of as an individual,” he told WHYY News. Leading by example, he established Disrupt Foods in 2016 alongside his business partner, Joe Johnson. “In 2016...

The humble beginnings of Herman Moore were not going to stop him from achieving greatness, even beyond his playing days in the National Football League (NFL). According to Detroit Free Press, the former Detroit Lions player was taught by his mother the habit of looking at life from a broader perspective, a practice he maintained even in the face of financial difficulties. “She had me at 21 and worked so many jobs,” Moore told the outlet about growing up in Danville, VA. He continued, “We were a low-income family. We lived on less than $18,000 a year. But she made sure my sister and I always knew the endgame. We lived in government housing and were on food stamps, but that is not an excuse to not excel in life and to also help others.” Moore would lay his own foundation for generational wealth-building in 1991 after being drafted to the Detroit Lions and signing a three-year $2.4 million contract with the team, which included a $1.2 million signing bonus, according to Spotrac. Moore...

Women’s History Month is all about uplifting generations of hard-working women who are becoming pioneers in their own right every single day. This year, AfroTech is amplifying the famous firsts of Black women today who have defied the odds to open doors and break glass ceilings for us all. Here are all the Black women who have and continue to inspire the next generation of young Black women to be the leaders of tomorrow: Kamala Harris Photo Credit: Chris Carlson/ AP Kamala D. Harris made history as the first Black, first Asian-American, and first woman to ever be elected Vice President of the United States of America. She accomplished this historic feat after serving as the District Attorney of San Francisco, California Attorney General, and a U.S. Senator. Stacey Abrams Photo Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images Stacey Abrams — a political strategist and former minority leader of the Georgia state House — is the reason the state of Georgia turned blue for the first time in 30 years to...

It can’t be said enough: Black women are leading the charge in entrepreneurship. Access to capital is still extremely low, but Black female founders are maintaining successful startups through continuous hard work and innovation, especially in tech. From Silicon Valley to tech’s newest mecca, Atlanta , Black women are using a wide range of technology to shift the culture across all industries — beauty, health, food, agriculture, economy, you name it. In celebration of Women’s History Month, here are seven Black women founders spreading their magic to make a difference in and through tech. Jessica Matthews, Uncharted Power Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Moet & Chandon The self-proclaimed mashup of Bill Nye the Science Guy and Beyoncé, Jessica Matthews founded renewable energy startup Uncharted Power in 2011. The smart tech company addresses the generation, transmission and storage of power in underserved communities. In March 2020, Los Angeles Lakers legend and business magnate Magic...

It’s hard for Black entrepreneurs to launch startups, but these six companies are killing the game. Their amazing products are getting rave reviews from customers and impressive investments from industry leaders. 1. LISNR Founded by Rodney Williams, Chris Ostoich, and Josh Glick, LISNR is on a mission to completely disrupt the digital payments industry. According to their website, LISNR’s “proprietary ultrasonic data-over-sound technology enables modern checkout experiences globally across the customer journey for merchants, financial service providers and mobility enterprises.” If their recent investment from Visa is any indication, they are well on their way to achieving their goal. Learn more about Rodney Williams and LISNR here . 2. Calendly Calendly is a scheduling app that helps people organize their time better. Founded by Tope Awotona in 2013 and headquartered in Atlanta, Calendly helps its users increase their revenue and provide exceptional customer service by streamlining...

Over the past decade, scientists have warned that the effects of climate change are imminent. The world’s temperature has already increased by 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880 — according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) — with most of that taking place during the last 35 years. Some communities are already seeing increased drought or flooding, stronger and more frequent storms, and other signs of world climate change. With climate change standing as one of the world’s most pressing issues, people often put pressure on individuals, but there’s a lot that tech as an industry can do. Tech workers have called upon their employers to drastically reduce their carbon emissions, with a special focus on companies like Amazon, whose free one-day shipping has a huge carbon footprint . In April, 4,500 Amazon employees published an open letter to CEO Jeff Bezos on Medium, writing: “Amazon has the resources and scale to spark the world’s imagination and redefine what...