An update on black women raising startup funding

Black women are faring a tiny bit better in the tech industry than they (we) were a couple of years ago. While the number of black women who have received more than $1 million in investment is growing, the number is still small. In 2015, there were 12 black women who had raised more than $1 million in funding, according to digitalundivided’s new ProjectDiane report. In 2017, there were 34.

Still, the median amount of funding raised by black women is $0. That’s because the majority of startups founded by black women receive no money. Of the black women who raised less than $1 million in funding, the average raised amount is $42,000. In total, according to digitalundivided, black women have raised just .0006 percent of all tech venture funding since 2009.

Source: ProjectDiane/digitalundivided

Meanwhile, there are more than double the amount of black female-led startups than there were in 2016. in 2016, ProjectDiane found just 84 startups led by black women. Today, there are 227 in its database.

“We are proud to be continuing the push toward a world where all women own their work through entrepreneurship, because that’s the path to real power and economic stability for Black and Latinx communities,” digitalundivided CEO Kathryn Finney said in a press release. “digitalundivided understands the impact of data on policy and startup ecosystems which is why we’re committed to using ProjectDiane to further develop data-driven programs for Black and Latinx women founders and shape the narrative about women of color in startups.”

JPMorgan Chase has also invested $500,000 in digitalundivided to support the organization’s nine-month incubator for 40 startups founded by women of color. In 2016, digitalundivided opened an innovation center for black and Latinx women founders in Atlanta, GA. The accelerator offers training around how to build a startup, office space and mentors.

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