For the February installment of our 10 for 10 list, we are recognizing a few of the many extraordinary ventures founded by Black entrepreneurs at the Harvard Innovation Labs.
“Why is Black History Month important? It is our chance to remind each other that Black innovators have been making major contributions to society for centuries and indeed, Black history happens every day,” said Adrian Gill, brand experience and creative director at the Harvard Innovation Labs. “Taking time to put the Black experience front and center and celebrate Black leaders is critical. Black History Month (or any Diversity Awareness Month) is not just about recognizing a particular community of people one month of the year; it’s a source of momentum for doing meaningful equity work all year long. When we honor the Black experience, we create more space for honoring others from marginalized communities that have experienced violence, hate, and systemic inequities across the board.”
The February 10 for 10 honorees include:
- Anuel Energy for distributing and installing affordable, clean, solar energy products in Uganda that impact the people at the bottom of the economic pyramid while simultaneously spurring local entrepreneurship.
- Care Academy empowering caregivers to learn how to deliver the best care to older adults with the support, guidance, and compassion needed to improve their quality of life.
- Chaku Foods for building a consumer goods company based in Ghana that creates delicious and organic snack brands for global export using local agricultural products.
- Change The Tune for creating The Studio, an innovative summer program that cultivates skills within students and teachers to narrow the opportunity gap.
- Loo Works for building the first manufacturing facility in West Africa that uses waste materials to create toilet housing and digesters.
- Shamiri Institute for offering low-cost, low-stigma mental health care to youth in Kenya.
- Thrive! for building equity audit software that helps local governments combat poverty and budget for economic mobility in communities of color.
- Tuverl for making public transportation more accessible for commuters in African countries.
- Visible Hands for launching an investment firm with a 14-week, full-time fellowship program that supports underrepresented talent in building technology startups by providing company building services and investments of up to $200K.
- WordsLiive for developing a reading app that helps teachers improve classroom engagement through customizable lesson plans.
