Resource Roundup: Black Girl Ventures and Coding Dojo have new opportunities for students

Black Girl Ventures (BGV), the DC-based funding vehicle for Black and brown women entrepreneurs, is teaming up with the NBA to help student entrepreneurs.

The NextGen program, which just launched applications for its first group, is an opportunity for student entrepreneurs to learn about the industry and seek capital. The program is open to graduate and undergraduate students of HBCUs who have an idea-stage business or minimum viable product.

Twenty-five students will be selected to participate in an eight-week curriculum on entrepreneurship. In weekly three-hour sessions, completed virtually, they’ll be learning about business strategy, identifying customer segments and how to build relationships. They’ll also take part in a mentor program with industry professionals and pitch practices, and receive a $5,000 stipend for their business. Following a demo day, the top seven students will be invited to participate in a pitch competition for additional capital.

BGV said that it’s looking for early-stage entrepreneurs aged 18 to 24 who have a passion for innovation, empowering fellow students and building community. Applications are open until Feb. 4 and students will be notified of acceptance status on Feb. 16.

Isabella Irausquin, program manager of NextGen, said BGV created the program because it wants to make sure that the next generation of Black and brown students see entrepreneurship as a viable and attractive option. The org calls its students “visionaries” to emphasize the potential success of its students and their ideas.

“Facing an unsteady job market, continuing inequity in traditional workplaces, and mounting student loans, training and mentoring young Black and Brown women and men in the business of entrepreneurship is important now more than ever,” Irausquin told Technical.ly. “Our main objective is to help student visionaries create a framework for themselves that will support them in being able to effectively solve problems in business or in their career.”

Apply here by Feb. 4

BGV isn’t the only one looking to boost students in 2022. Coding Dojo — the coding bootcamp that formerly had an IRL campus in Northern Virginia, but has since moved all operations online since the pandemic — is sponsoring two students in data science with the help of consumer co-op REI.

Together, the pair will select two students from underrepresented groups to participate in Coding Dojo’s Data Science Online Part-Time Bootcamp. The 12 week, newly expanded program offers students an overview of data science fundamentals, as well as machine learning in Python. A new Data Enrichment track gives student an additional four weeks of study into data pipelines to help prepare for a career in data science. The program was originally designed for working professionals seeking a career change.

In the final four weeks, the REI/Dojo students will take part in a mentorship program, and they’ll be offered an interview with REI upon course completion. A Coding Dojo representative confirmed to Technical.ly that the program is open to students nationwide.

Apply here