Whenever you hear about African-Americans in technology the news it is not always good. Not enough of us, unequal pay, lack of capital, etc. But we are in tech and we are making our presence known. As with all challenges, black people overcome.
African-Americans are creating technology products. Here we briefly explore useful, innovative mobile apps that were invented and owned by black people.
As you know the ride sharing market is dominated by Uber and Lyft. Full disclosure dictates that I admit I am a Uber customer. Ride sharing is a huge market that is growing. According to eMarketer by 2020, 20.4 million Americans will use a ride sharing service. Let me translate those numbers into money for you. The ride sharing industry is expected to reach a whopping $218 billion by 2025!
Moovn
Godwin Gabriel, a Tanzanian-American wants a piece of that billion dollar pie. Moovn is his product muscling into that space. Moovn sets itself apart with a competitive service that offers the ability to schedule rides up to a month in advance. Using Moovn the customer can request different modes of transportation, even motorcycles. Moovn can also send products from a company to a consumer and track the logistics of the movement. Moovn operates in seven U.S. cities, Vancouver, CA, three African nations and Dubai.
The Moovn app is available for Apple and Google Android.
Capway
In America we have a segment of the population that is sometimes referred to as the great un-banked. This means that these people have little or no access to financial services or credit. Unfortunately many of these people are black.
A 2017 report from the FDIC revealed that approximately 8.4 million U.S. households, made up of 14.1 million adults and 6.4 million children, were unbanked in 2017. One in five African-American households are unbanked. CapWay is trying to fix that.
For these black people not having a bank account makes it impossible to build credit, buy a home or save money for college. Sheena Allen of Terry, Miss., witnessed this among elder family members. She created the Capway app as an online banking and financial literacy app that aims to help people with their financial needs and goals. The app has educational functions that teach financial literacy. Something desperately needed in the African-American community. In addition CapWay will launch Qast, a financial forecast app this year. Capway is available for Apple and Google Android.
Aquagenuity
Clean water used to be something we never had to think about, That was before Flint, Michighan happened.
Of course reading and understanding the aqua-babble of EPA water purity reports is task best left to scientist unless you want to know if your water is safe to drink.
That’s where Aquagenuity can help. Developed by Doll Avant, a black women and data scientist, this app helps make sense of water purity reports for personal and business needs. It is available for personal use, AquaBlue IQ, AquaScoreIQ for corporations and AquaCivicQ for small cities and towns. The entire suite of data based tools can be used to simplify the EPA data for improved understanding of exactly what is in your drinking water. Aquagenuity is available as web and mobile app.
Ujama
“It takes a village to raise a child.” You’ve heard that I’m sure. The Ujama app takes that concept into the technology age. Ujama means “extended family” or “brotherhood.” This app is all about communication and community.
Former Intuit executive Hugh Molotsi, created the Ujama app to help parents connect with other parents. When it comes to getting children involved in activities or just getting from place to place or finding a baby sitter while parents handle their business this app is the communication channel. Ujama is available for Apple and Google Android.
ShearShare
ShearShare was named App of theWeek in January 2017. Why? Because it was just a darn good idea! The concept is genius for the independent barber, hair stylist or cosmetician. No matter where you are you can find a booth to ply your trade. And for salon owners they can make a buck by filling that empty station. Just got to the app and see where there is space available or offer that space and you’re in business. ShearShare is available for both Apple and Google Android.
Scholly
Tuition is a bitch! Finding money for college can be especially difficult for black students and families. Scholly is the answer. Schooly is founded by Christopher Gray and was featured on ABC’s “The Shark Tank.
Scholly helps tuition aspiring students to find and secure the money they need to get a college education. The app is a scholarship matching platform made by students for students. It has helped students find over $100 million in scholarship funds. Using Scholly helps students find scholarships meant for the user and allows the applicant to track the application and keep track of deadlines. The app is a National Parenting Products Award Winner for 2017.
Now you know.
