Sacramento’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ invests in Black-owned businesses

LEAGUE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION. TY: HONORING BLACK HISTORY MONTH, TODAY WE ARE PROFILING THE FIRST-EVER SACRAMENTO METRO CHAMBER ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR RECIPIENT. AS KCRA 3’S ERIN HEFT SHOWS US, HE’S DEDICATING BOTH TIME AND ENERGY TO THE FUTURE OF BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES AND IN HIS OWN WORDS CREATING SYSTEMIC INCLUSIVITY. >> BLACK STAR FUND IS REALLY THE MOTOWN OF VENTURE CAPITAL. SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT MTOWN DID TO TRANSFORM THE MUSIC INDUSTRY WITH BLACK ARTISTS, WE ARE LITERALLY TRANSFORMING THE VENTURE CAPITAL AND ENTREPRENEUR SPACE WITH BLACK INNOVATORS. ERIN: THE MOTOWN OF VENTURE CAPITAL AND THE BRAINCHILD OF KWAME ANKU, FOUNDING PARTNER AND CEO OF BLACK STAR FUND. >> THE GENESIS OF THIS FOR ME, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WAS WORKING WITH THE LEGENDARY ROCK STAR PRINCE. I WAS WORKING WITH HIM WHEN HE ASKED THIS INCREDIBLE QUESTION THAT SHOOK ME TO MY CORE, WHICH WAS, WHERE ARE THE BLACK MARK ZUCKERBERGS? AND I THINK EXTENSIVELY WHAT HE WAS ASKING IS WHERE ARE THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN INNOVATORS AND FOUNDERS THAT ARE CREATING HUGE TECHNOLOGY AND GLOBAL BEHEMOTHS. ERIN: FAST-FORWARD TO 2023, BLACK STAR FUND HAS RAISED MORE THAN $180 MILLION SINCE THEIR FOUNDING, WHICH WAS FOUR YEARS AGO, ELEVATING BLACK-OWNED COMPANIES IN SACRAMENTO AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ONE OF WHICH YOU’VE LIKELY SEEN ON THE ROAD. >> IF WE CAN GET THIS RIGHT, THEN WE CAN DO SOMETHING SPECIAL. ERIN: AND GET IT RIGHT THEY DID. THAT’S NEVILLE BOSTON, FOUNDER AND CSO OF REVIVER, THE CREATORS OF THE WORLD’S FIRST DIGITAL LICENSE PLATE, A SACRAMENTO AREA CREATION. >> IT WAS JUST A COUPLE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. I THINK WE’VE GOT OVER 50,000 IN CALIFORNIA. WE HAVE THEM IN ARIZONA AND MICHIGAN AND GOING TO BE IN TEXAS SOON. ERIN: INNOVATING THE WAY CARS ARE REGISTERED WHILE CHANGING THE GAME ON LOCATING STOLE CARS, — STOLEN CARS, AMBER ALTERS, AND SO MUCH MORE. REVIVER ONE OF THE FUND’S 20 BACKED BUSINESSES AND THE EPITOME OF THEIR GOAL, CREATING INCOME AND ACCESS EQUALITY. >> THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK WE DO AT BLACK STAR FUND IS NOT JUST GIVING ENTREPRENEURS WHO HISTORICALLY HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS KIND OF GLOBAL GROWTH ECONOMY, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY WHEN WE THINK OF INCOME INEQUALITY, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT ACCESS INEQUALITY, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SYSTEMIC EXCLUSION, THE WAY THAT YOU RECTIFY THAT IS WITH SYSTEMIC INCLUSIVITY. ERIN: THIS YEAR ANKU WAS AWARDED ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR BY THE SACRAMENTO METRO CHAMBER, AN AWARD THEY’VE NEVER GIVEN OUT IN THEIR 128 YEARS OF OPERATION UNTIL NOW. >> IT WAS INCREDIBLE. IT WAS VERY HUMBLING, BUT IT’S INSPIRING TO GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL. WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO AND HOW CAN WE BUILD AND HOW CAN WE GROW TO CONTINUE THIS AMAZING JOURNE

‘Creating systemic inclusivity’: Sacramento’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ pouring millions into Black-owned businesses

In early 2023, the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce awarded Kwame Anku “Entrepreneur of the Year,” an award the chamber has never given out in their 128 years of operation.

Updated: 4:56 PM PST Feb 28, 2023

Described as the Motown of venture capital, a firm that’s the brainchild of a Sacramento- area man is changing the landscape of Black entrepreneurs across the United States.Black Star Fund, a Black-led venture capital firm based in Sacramento, has invested over $180 million in 20 businesses led by Black innovators. The firm is led by founding partner and CEO Kwame Anku.“The importance of the work we do at Black Star Fund, it’s not just giving entrepreneurs who historically have not had a chance to participate in this kind of global growth economy, but more importantly when we think of income inequality, when we think about access and inequality, when we think about systemic exclusion, the way that you rectify that is with systemic inclusivity,” Anku told KCRA 3.One of the 20 innovators the firm invested in is Reviver, the creators of the world’s first digital license plate, a Sacramento-based company.“Every year regardless of where you are whether you’re in California or in Timbuktu you have to renew your license plate,” said founder and CSO of Reviver, Neville Boston.Boston and Anku met at a pitch competition in downtown Sacramento.Black Star Fund has fostered a 50/50 gender parity within their portfolio, and according to the firm, over 60% of the capital has landed in the hands of Black women entrepreneurs.In early 2023, the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce awarded Anku “Entrepreneur of the Year,” an award the chamber has never given out in their 128 years of operation.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Described as the Motown of venture capital, a firm that’s the brainchild of a Sacramento- area man is changing the landscape of Black entrepreneurs across the United States.

Black Star Fund, a Black-led venture capital firm based in Sacramento, has invested over $180 million in 20 businesses led by Black innovators. The firm is led by founding partner and CEO Kwame Anku.

“The importance of the work we do at Black Star Fund, it’s not just giving entrepreneurs who historically have not had a chance to participate in this kind of global growth economy, but more importantly when we think of income inequality, when we think about access and inequality, when we think about systemic exclusion, the way that you rectify that is with systemic inclusivity,” Anku told KCRA 3.

One of the 20 innovators the firm invested in is Reviver, the creators of the world’s first digital license plate, a Sacramento-based company.

“Every year regardless of where you are whether you’re in California or in Timbuktu you have to renew your license plate,” said founder and CSO of Reviver, Neville Boston.

Boston and Anku met at a pitch competition in downtown Sacramento.

Black Star Fund has fostered a 50/50 gender parity within their portfolio, and according to the firm, over 60% of the capital has landed in the hands of Black women entrepreneurs.

In early 2023, the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce awarded Anku “Entrepreneur of the Year,” an award the chamber has never given out in their 128 years of operation.