Black Women Leading Industry Disruption through Entrepreneurship

As a part of our Beautiful Minds campaign, we are highlighting three brilliant, female entrepreneurs of color that are utilizing technology as a means to create change. These are the minds that are solving major issues in regards to cosmetic product waste, the lack of diversity in the tech industry, and food scarcity in the US. 

Asmau Ahmed

Asmau Ahmed is the founder of Plum Perfect, an app that scans users’ faces to identify the best makeup products/colors for their individual complexions. While working as a chemical engineer, Ahmed realized that she could make buying cosmetic products simpler for consumers. Often the process is one of trial and error, causing money to be wasted on unsuitable beauty products. Plum Perfect promises to identify the best products for lips, eyes, face, and hair all in under 60 seconds. Leveraging data and technology, Ahmed has been able to create an innovative solution that has transformed the cosmetic buying process for the better. “We can only move the needle of progress through courageous acts that disrupt, engage, and inspire us.” - Asmau Ahmed

Kimberly Bryant 

Kimberly Bryant formed the nonprofit Black Girls CODE to teach young, Black girls the basics of coding and programming. After learning that her 10-year-old daughter was the only person of color, and one of very few girls, attending a game development camp, Bryant took matters into her own hands. As an established electrical engineer in biotechnology, Bryant used her resources to form an organization specifically for Black girls interested in programming. This group is often underrepresented in technology careers, making Bryant’s work key in diversifying the future of the tech industry. Bryant’s mission is to train 1 million Black girls by 2040. With her ambition and background, there seems to be no question about whether or not this goal will be reached, if not exceeded. “But I also recall, as I pursued my studies, feeling culturally isolated: few of my classmates looked like me. While we shared similar aspirations and many good times, there’s much to be said for making any challenging journey with people of the same cultural background.” - Kimberly Bryant

Jasmine Crowe

In 2017, Jasmine Crowe utilized blockchain technology to create an app that is curbing food insecurity as a result of poverty. While looking at food waste statistics, Crowe realized that over half of all produce is thrown out each year. This is in stark contrast to the 42 million people who go hungry as a result of a lack of resources. Crowe founded Goodr to connect the millions of suffering individuals with food that would otherwise be wasted. By partnering with clients, ranging from small businesses to organizations as large as the NFL, Crowe’s company redirects the surplus food to those in need. Transparency and safety are stressed throughout the process to ensure that redirected food meets quality standards. Crowe has expanded Goodr into 7 markets and hopes to increase this to 20 markets by the end of 2020. “Hunger isn’t an issue of scarcity. It’s a logistics issue.”- Jasmine Crowe

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