While there was lots of talk about diversity and inclusion and hiring more people of color in tech companies this year, others put their heads down and got busy creating their own. We took a look at many apps and startups this year that were launched by people from the African diaspora.
Here are some of our favorites from 2016:
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Paystack
Paystack offers a centralized way for African online merchants to accept online payments from a variety of methods. Created by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, the company recently closed $1.3 million in seed investment.
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Rate My Media
Rate My Media is an app that was developed by University of Southern California associate professor, Dr. Brendesha Tynes. With it, you can rate books, movies, articles, video games, social media sites, TV shows, and more on their platform designed to help improve the state of “equity and inclusion, learning, and general content quality.â€
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Help Bond Me
Helpbond.me lets you crowdfund for bail money and provides other services. Founder and CEO Ben McFarlin refers to Help Bond Me as “the crowdfunding platform for pre-trial detainees.â€
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LOVR
LOVR is a curated digital store for organic, all-natural, beauty and wellness products. Founder and CEO Jessica Pritchett says she launched the platform as a way to help people detox their beauty regimens. “Most women put over 500 synthetic chemicals on their skin, nails, and hair every day. Studies have shown that these chemicals have led to cancer, reproductive harm, and neurotoxicity.â€
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State Safe Stop
Developed by tech innovator and entrepreneur Dez White, State Safe Stop
is an app that assists people when they have police stops. White explains how it works as follows, “Download the app when you register and make a safe list from three people on your phone. As soon as you have police contact, press your safe list. That sends notifications to your safe list that you have been stopped and lets them know your location.”Continued on page 2
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Legal Equalizer
Legal Equalizer is an app that can help in the event you or a loved one is pulled over or confronted by law enforcement. “Let’s say you get pulled over. Instead of having to text, you hit one button–an ‘S.O.S.’ button–and it will let those people [that you designate in the app during the initial set up] know you were pulled over.â€
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Geniemates
Users can send a text via the Geniemates app describing the type of cleaning service they need. A “Geniemate,” a vetted, professional cleaner, will arrive at your home or office in the time frame you specify.
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Hey A.J.
Hey A.J. is an interactive children’s picture book app that functions as a companion to a series of children’s books created by pro football player Martellus Bennett. Kids help the main character A.J. along, as she tries to make breakfast for herself on a Saturday morning. The kitchen is filled with whimsical characters, including bacon-frying pandas, monkeys, and horses that are also trying to cook breakfast.
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Mixtroz
Mixtroz is an events app that is “the
only tool that solves the current ineffectiveness of building and sustaining strong and meaningful networks formed exclusively by a ‘click’ online or by brief, often awkward, personal introduction,†says co-founder Ashley Ammons.
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Mixle
Mixle is an app an app that lets people connect with others, who share similar thoughts, interests, or goals for instant in-person meet ups. It provides businesses, conference organizers, and event planners with a unique way of servicing customers, enhancing event experiences, and increasing revenue.