39 Black Women Investors Inspiring a New Generation of Investors

To say that diversity in venture capital (VC) is bad is an understatement.

Just 3% of VCs are black and 1% are Latine – 18% of all VCs are women – according to research by Richard Kerby.

Needless to say, there’s a lot of work to do within the VC industry to make it more diverse and inclusive.

Despite the dismal diversity numbers, there are black women in VC who are inspiring a new wave of investors that you should know about. In fact, here’s a list of 39 of them (based in the U.S.).

View investors by location


Boston

Boston – Black Women in Venture Capital

Jacqueline Grant

Principal
Abingworth
💰 Notable investments: Attenua, Gynesonics, Avedro

Chicago

Chicago – Black Women in Venture Capital

Back to the top ↑

Karen Kerr

Executive Managing Director
GE Ventures
💰 Notable investments: Virgin Hyperloop One, The Hive, Alchemist Accelerator

Nicole Walker

Partner, Venture Capital – Healthcare
Baird Capital
💰 Notable investments: Hireology, FullContact, SnagAJob

Cincinnati

Cincinnati – Black Women in Venture Capital

Back to the top ↑

Candice Matthews

Co-Founder and Executive Director
Hillman Accelerator
📈 Recent cohort: Excited, The Home Team, Viaggi

Connecticut

Connecticut - Black Women in Venture Capital

Back to the top ↑

JoAnn Price

Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Fairview Capital

Greater Los Angeles

Los Angeles - Black Women in Venture Capital

Back to the top ↑

Arlan Hamilton

Founder and Managing Partner
Backstage Capital
💰 Notable investments: CapWay, Healthy Roots, Tinsel

Tracy Gray

Founder and Managing Partner
The 22 Fund

Richelle Parham

Partner
Camden Partners
💰 Notable investments: Network for Good, Cage Pharma, eNeura

Abyah Wynn

Co-founder and Managing Director
Twenty65 Fund

Miami

Miami - Black Women in Venture Capital

Back to the top ↑

Monique Idlett-Mosley

Managing Partner
Reign Ventures
💰 Notable investments: Zeel, Appy Couple, Villageluxe

New York

New York – Black Women in Venture Capital

Back to the top ↑

Erica Duignan Minnihan

Founding Partner
1000 Angels and Reign Ventures
💰 Notable investments: Bespoke Post, Snowball, Solo Funds

Nicole Sanchez

Investment Partner at XFactor Ventures
💰 Notable investments: Athena, Apostrophe Health, The Beans

Diane Henry

Technology Angel Investor
Rogue Capital Collective
💰 Notable investments: Mogul, Financial Gym, Rent Logic

Lorine Pendleton

New York Chair
TIGER 21
Investment Partner
Portfolia

Ita Ekpoudom

Partner
GingerBread Capital
💰 Notable investments: Brandless, GoldieBlox, Platejoy

Jillian Williams

Investment Principal
Anthemis Group
💰 Notable investments: Betterment, Flux, Carta

Sacramento

Sacramento - Black Women in Venture Capital

Back to the top ↑

Mariah Lichtenstern

Founding Partner and Managing Director
DiverseCity Ventures
💰 Notable investments: ProPlanr, MultiCultural Press, Fanalyze

San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco - Black Women in Venture Capital

Back to the top ↑

Monique Woodard

Early Stage Investor
💰 Notable investments: Blavity, Mented Cosmetics

Hadiyah Mujhid

CEO and Founder
HBCUvc

Shauntel (Poulson) Garvey

General Partner
Reach Capital
💰 Notable investments: Atlas, ClassDojo, Handshake

Sydney Sykes

Co-Founder, Co-Chair
BLCK VC

Adina Tecklu

Venture Investor
Canaan Partners
💰 Notable investments: Kabam, LendingClub, Match.com

Uriridiakoghene (Ulili) Onovakpuri

Partner
Kapor Capital
💰 Notable investments: AngelList, Asana, Bitly

Kimberly Marshall

Senior Program Officer, Tech Investments
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Sydney Thomas

Senior Associate
Precursor Ventures
💰 Notable investments: Fuse, Envested, Special Guest App

Sian Morson

Entrepreneur in Residence
Cross Culture VC
💰 Notable investments: Wonderschool, Gimlet, Blavity

Megan Maloney

Associate
General Catalyst
💰 Notable investments: Airbnb, ClassPass, Gusto

Ronke Oyekunle

Associate
NextEquity Partners
💰 Notable investments: Airbnb, Facebook, Lyft

Kesha Cash

General Partner
Impact America Fund
💰 Notable investments: HandUp, Schoolzilla, Mayvenn

Jessica Ball

Associate Partner
NewSchools Venture Fund

Terri Burns

Principal
GV
💰 Notable investments: Uber, Medium, Blue Bottle

Lisa Coca

Venture Partner and Investor
Portfolia
Managing Director, Enterprise Software
GE Ventures

Saydeah Howard

Senior Vice President Talent and Services
IVP
💰 Notable investments: Adroll, AddThis, App Dynamics

Lisa Lambert

Chief Technology and Innovation Officer
National Grid
Founder and President
National Grid Partners
💰 Notable investments: Aporeto, Pixeom, Leap

Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. - Black Women in Venture Capital

Back to the top ↑

Linda Oramasionwu-Leverette

Partner and Founder
Kupanda Capital
💰 Notable investments: Mavin, Nithio, Fraym

Ebony Pope

Principal
Rethink Education Management

Stefanie Thomas

Impact Venture Investor
Impact America Fund

Daphne Dufresne

Managing Partner
GenNx 360 Capital Partners
💰 Notable investments: CRS Temporary Housing, GenServe, Salford Group

Patience Marime-Ball

Managing Director
Golden Seeds
💰 Notable investments: BentoBox, BriteHub, CabinetM

Did we miss anyone that should be included in this list? Let us know on Twitter @Crunchbase!

  • Originally published April 8, 2019, updated May 5, 2023