New app aims to help spread the word about local Black-owned businesses
With its new app 'The Business Reference,' Desta Black Community Network's executive director Kassandra Kernisan says they hope to help showcase and support businesses owned by local Black entrepreneurs.
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Charlotte Launches ‘First-Of-Its-Kind' Black Innovation Hub To Empower Entrepreneurs
Charlotte, North Carolina is one of the country's premier cities when it comes to Black-owned businesses and a new effort from Cauthy Dawkins and other members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Chamber of Commerce is set to create a hub designed specifically for those businesses. According to The Charlotte Observer, the chamber acquired an unused property and has poured resources into transforming the building into what Dawkins calls a 'one-stop shop for professionals and small businesses,' in hopes of helping entrepreneurs, improving Charlotte's economic growth, and fighting food insecurity. The Innovation Center, as the property is now known, will feature an agri-tech program for farmers, event spaces for business meetings, co-working spaces for startups, entrepreneurs and nonprofits; as well as a retail store and a distribution center for small businesses. To figure out how the space could be best utilized, Dawkins visited other cities with similar hubs, cities like Atlanta, Washington D.C., and nearby Durham, North Carolina, and what he came away with from those tours ultimately led him to create a first-of-its-kind hub for Black-owned businesses and professionals in Charlotte. 'As things in the community get taken away, like federal funding and grants, we want to be a safe space,' Dawkins told the Observer. 'I wanted to create a safe space for business owners and professionals to come get elevated.' The chamber spent approximately $30,000 to acquire the building, and is in the process of launching a $3.7 million fundraising campaign to attract funding for the necessary renovations in order to accommodate the chamber's vision for the space. According to two of the chamber's advisors Kneshia Gabriel and Jeremy Johnson, the space has been needed in the city and the Charlotte metro area in general for quite some time. 'We just want to bring more locals here to help expand their experience and help them figure out what they want to do,' Gabriel told the Observer. 'It's definitely needed and I can see it being a great resource and support system for those looking to thrive in the business community,' Johnson added. According to the fundraiser for the Black Innovation Center, which is listed on the fundraising platform Give Butter, 'Charlotte is evolving. Yet too often, Black entrepreneurs are excluded from the opportunities shaping its future. The Innovation Center–CLT is a bold response—designed to close the gap, elevate ideas, and drive inclusive innovation. We're creating a dynamic space where: Black-owned businesses scale with real support, creatives build brands and media that move culture, communities grow wealth and networks—together. And your investment makes it possible.' RELATED CONTENT: 'We Needed This Forever': Black Business Hub Launches In Wisconsin
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MassLive wants your nominations for leaders under 30 who are forging our future
Do you know someone 30 or younger who is driving change, inspiring others and making a significant impact in their community or industry? Whether they are entrepreneurs, activists, artists, scientists or innovators, we want to hear their stories. MassLive seeks nominations for Massachusetts residents who represent the brightest young minds and are making waves and shaping the future in their respective fields. MassLive began its Leading Massachusetts series in 2023 to showcase individuals making a difference across the state. Leaders who have been highlighted this year include Black leaders, Politicians to watch in 2025 and Innovators to watch in 2025. Please submit your nomination for leaders under 30 by filling out the form at this link or in the embedded form below. Please be sure to include contact information for your nominee. Read the original article on MassLive.
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4 hours ago
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South Africa's push to amend BEE laws for Musk's Starlink triggers public backlash
The South African government is facing intense political backlash after changes to its Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws, potentially allowing Elon Musk's Starlink to operate in the country with exemptions from existing Black ownership requirements. The South African government is facing criticism for proposed changes to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws. The new laws may allow foreign companies, such as Starlink, to bypass Black ownership requirements through alternative contributions. Critics claim this move undermines South Africa's existing empowerment policies aiming to correct historical injustices. As reported by the Financial Times, South Africa's Minister of Communications, Solly Malatsi revealed plans to allow telecom companies like Starlink to sidestep the 30% Black ownership law through ' equity equivalence ' initiatives, such as local partnerships, job creation, or supporting small businesses, in lieu of equity stakes The proposal follows public remarks by Musk that he has been locked out of South Africa's telecom market because he is " not Black." However, the timing and framing of the legislation has sparked intense criticism from opposition parties and civil society, who accuse the government of tailoring laws to benefit a powerful foreign billionaire. Criticism spreads over SA's BEE amendment Build One South Africa (BOSA), a prominent opposition party, has criticized the government's decision as a " backdoor deal" with Musk, arguing it unfairly favors the billionaire's interests over those of local businesses bound by BEE laws. According to BOSA deputy leader Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster " The message being sent is that if you are a powerful foreign billionaire, you can sidestep South Africa's laws, while our local businesses are forced to jump through hoops," BOSA spokesperson Roger Solomons also warned that the proposed exemption would allow Starlink to enter the market" under conditions favourable to them, not the country," He called the move " impulsive and reckless." Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema echoed this sentiment, promising to oppose Starlink's entry in Parliament. ' We will not be dictated to by business,' Malema said, accusing the government of prioritizing corporate interests over national policy. Defense grows amid criticism Meanwhile, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has defended BEE as essential to reversing the effects of apartheid, while the Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-largest party and a key coalition partner, is suing the government over existing BEE laws. DA MP James Lorimer called the proposed rules ' a death knell for foreign investment' "These ownership demands will crush what little appetite remains for investment in South African mining," He said. " The bill doubles down on failed transformation policies at a time when our economy needs growth." He added. The country's President Cyril Ramaphosa has stood firm against dismantling BEE, attributing South Africa's economic stagnation to concentrated ownership rather than empowerment policies. He said: "It is the partial and exclusive ownership of the means of production in our country that is holding this economy from growing," The controversy is consequent of a major political shift: the ANC, weakened by poor 2024 election results driven by public frustration over crime, unemployment, and inflation, has entered into a 10-party coalition, the first time since the end of apartheid that it has lost its wide majority. As Parliament debates the bill in the coming week, the government faces a balancing act; modernize economic policy to attract foreign innovation and investment or risk undermining the very affirmative action framework that has defined its post-apartheid vision.
