• Negash: Their ventures are exemplars of innovation, their resilience an inspiration

The African Diaspora Network (ADN) has unveiled its 11 Black entrepreneurs selected for the third cohort of its Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ABLE) program, a Silicon Valley accelerator program for Black-owned businesses developed and designed to create new economic opportunities and advance the entrepreneurial aspirations of Black individuals through training, mentorship, and network throughout the United States.

According to the organizers, the program was in response to a stark and concerning disparity, where Black startups receive a mere one per cent of venture capital funding – with Black women-led startups facing even greater hurdles.

In recent years, ADN has been working behind the scenes to raise awareness and drive tangible change. Through the ABLE program, ADN is delivering training, mentorship, and access to funding opportunities for Black entrepreneurs.

The third in the series of ABLE cohort represents a diverse spectrum of sectors, including education, healthcare, finance, renewable energy, and connectivity. Each of these sectors plays a pivotal role in addressing critical needs within the Black community while simultaneously fostering sustainable global progress.

They are Akinsola Jegede, CEO of Vital Swap Technologies – Akinsola is the technical founder of VitalSwap, bringing over seven years of experience in developing technical solutions for multinational U.S. corporations such as Salesforce, AT&T, and StateFarm. As an immigrant from Africa, Akinsola personally encountered the challenges of international payments, the very issue that VitalSwap is passionately committed to addressing. With expertise as a seasoned systems architect and entrepreneur, Akinsola’s journey fuels his dedication to creating innovative solutions for global financial accessibility.

Bobola Odebiyi, Founder & CEO, CrossKudi – Odebiyi is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who began his career as a taxi driver in Chicago before working his way up to becoming a CPA. Bobola has provided tax consulting services to hedge fund and private equity clients at Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) and co-led the PwC global Blockchain Community of Interest that trained colleagues on implementing emerging technologies to serve clients better. As an immigrant himself, Bobola fully understands the challenges that the 47 million U.S. immigrant population experiences financially, which is the target audience of CrossKudi.

Omolola Omishore, CEO, TheraMotive – Omishore is a first-generation Nigerian-American Doctor of Physical Therapy based in NYC. With over 10 years of experience, she is an accomplished physical therapist, published research author, Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist, and Certified Athletic Trainer. She began her career treating elite athletes across the globe, providing ‘healthcare on demand’ and has worked with a diverse range of patients including Professional Athletes, Weekend Warriors, stroke survivors, infants, toddlers, and individuals from all walks of life. Now, she’s bringing that same gold-medal-worthy care to everyone’s corner, because access to top-notch healthcare isn’t a privilege, it’s a civil right.

Serge Amouzou, CEO & Founder, Datatrixs – Amouzou start-up empowers accounting firms with continuous client advisory services. He previously founded a FinTech company aimed at helping service workers earn more net income and was named BBJ CEO of the Year Award recipient in 2017.

Samuel Baddoo, CEO, Fleri – Baddoo grew up in Accra, Ghana, and left for Morocco at age 18 on a United Nations scholarship. His varied experiences with migration shaped his views on Pan-Africanism, immigration, and entrepreneurship, and ultimately inspired him to start Fleri, a membership-based platform for global migrants to support their loved ones back home, as an alternative to cash transfers. Sam is a serial entrepreneur and an active reservist in the United States Army.

Christopher Benneth, Founder/Attorney, T-I-L(R) – Chris is the founder of a social impact law and legal technology startup, working to make intellectual property rights more accessible to the underrepresented. His law and technology work includes startups, SMEs, and enterprise size organizations.

Tyrell Junius, C0-founder & COO, Tiami Networks – Tyrell served as an Associate Director at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, and subsequently ventured into the entrepreneurial realm, co-founding Tiami Networks. Under his stewardship, Tiami Networks is playing a vital role in connecting remote and underserved areas with reliable connectivity, fostering an environment of digital inclusion. Tyrell is synonymous with social impact and community upliftment and is a seasoned professional with a strong dedication to humanitarian efforts.

Rhode Malivert, CEO, K-12 Preparatory Academy – Hailing from Haiti, Rhode journeyed to the United States at the age of 12. Commencing her professional career as a Chemical Engineer, Rhode’s aspiration was to catalyze positive transformations in people’s lives. Following a span of 14 years in the corporate realm, her entrepreneurial spirit birthed the genesis of K-12 Preparatory Academy that focuses on the educational empowerment of learners. K-12 Preparatory Academy has extended its reach to distressed corners of the globe, collaborating with organizations in Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Poland.

Sarah Odiavbara, Chief Technology Officer, Craftmerse Inc. – Odiavbara is an experienced full-stack developer with experience in creating and building e-commerce web platforms. She is the CTO of Craftmerce, an online marketplace platform that connects African handmade brands with global buyers and international retail stores. She has worked and helped grow companies that have raised over $1M in revenues. She is dedicated to building world-class modern web applications and crafting high-performance web experiences for customers.

Clement Owusu-Donkor, Founder & CEO, Aquanto – Clement’s extensive background in IT and telecommunications engineering has seen him work for decades in the telecommunications, payment processing, public utility and IT industries, providing leadership and support for critical backend infrastructure for several private and fortune 100 companies. Having been associated with logistics from infancy, Clement is currently the founder and Chief Servant at Aquanto, an ecommerce, shipping and third party logistics company where he partners with a dynamic team of 100 and counting across nine countries and with strategic partnerships across the globe.

Shingi Samudzi, Founder & CEO, Asoba – the Zimbabwean is obsessed with infrastructure after been in numerous strategy and data science roles within the energy, healthcare and tech industries, now as CEO of Asoba, leveraging virtual power plant software to aggregate excess clean energy at the utility scale and provide on-demand electricity to retail buyers. His commitment is to clean energy and is the passion behind building Africa’s largest private clean energy marketplace.

There was a virtual Kickoff Celebration to honour the cohort on Thursday, September 7, and the program will culminate with a Pitch Day for potential investors on October 26, at Santa Clara University’s Lucas Hall and on Zoom.

Almaz Negash, Founder and Executive Director of African Diaspora Network, said this cohort represent the vanguard of future leadership. “We take immense pride in their role as the third cohort of entrepreneurs in the ABLE program. Their ventures stand as exemplars of innovation and a steadfast commitment to effecting positive change. We celebrate them as they embark on their journey to make a meaningful impact in their respective fields and communities.

“At ADN, we remain steadfast and committed to positive change in Africa and the communities where we live. The unwavering tenacity, unyielding determination, and remarkable resilience exhibited by our ABLE cohort never fail to inspire me. These entrepreneurs hold dreams, aspirations, and a strong desire to achieve success, and I wholeheartedly urge those in positions of influence to extend a helping hand, unlocking doors and fostering pathways to invaluable opportunities.”

ABLE is made possible through a unique partnership between ADN and the Silicon Valley Executive Center at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, with lead funding from Bill.com and the Makahakama Foundation, and additional funding from KLA Foundation, Black Freedom Fund, Black Rock Foundation, and the County of Santa Clara.