Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ABLE)
Cohort 3
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We are delighted to express our joy and excitement to announce the third Cohort of the Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ABLE) program. Congratulations to the 11 entrepreneurs of impact-oriented enterprises. This year’s sectors include Connectivity, Data-Tech, Education, Health-Tech, Health & Wellness, FinTech, Legal-Tech, Logistics, and Renewable Energy.
The ABLE program is honored to have as part of the ADN family and ecosystem of impact. We look forward to supporting your entrepreneurial journey.
Serge Amouzou is the CEO and Founder of Datatrixs, which empowers accounting firms with continuous client advisory services.
Serge previously founded a FinTech company aimed at helping service workers earn more net income and was named BBJ CEO of the Year Award recipient in 2017.
Sam Baddoo
Founder and CEO of Fleri
Sam Baddoo
Sam Baddoo, founder and CEO of Fleri, grew up in Accra, Ghana, and left for Morocco at age 18 on a United Nations scholarship. His varied experiences with migration shaped his views on Pan-Africanism, immigration, and entrepreneurship, and ultimately inspired him to start Fleri, a membership-based platform for global migrants to support their loved ones back home, as an alternative to cash transfers.
Sam is a serial entrepreneur and an active reservist in the United States Army. He is a Harambean, a NASDAQ Milestone Maker, and a Techstars Toronto Alumni.
Sam’s vision is to create a world where immigrants everywhere can thrive, and not just survive. Fleri is working towards that mission by building products that enable immigrants to support their loved ones globally without sacrificing their financial well-being.
Christopher "Chris" Bennett
Founder / Attorney of T-I-L(R)
Christopher "Chris" Bennett
Christopher “Chris” Bennett, JD, MBA, CPM is the founder of T-I-L(R), a social impact law and legal technology startup, working to make intellectual property rights more accessible to the underrepresented.
His law and technology work includes startups, SMEs, and enterprise size organizations. Chris has graduate degrees from Georgetown (JD), Penn (MBA), a BA in education from Morehead State University / Johnson C. Smith University, and professional certifications in Blockchain, Data Science, Energy Innovation & Emerging Technologies, and Six-Sigma, and is a Certified Public Manager and Intellectual Property Law Attorney.
Chris lives in Washington DC with life partner Jan, enjoys family and friends time, community service activities, and running on trails.
Akinsola Jegede
CEO & Co-Founder of VitalSwap
Akinsola Jegede
Akinsola is the technical founder of VitalSwap, bringing over 7 years of experience in developing technical solutions for multinational US corporations such as Salesforce, AT&T, and StateFarm.
As an immigrant from Africa, Akinsola personally encountered the challenges of international payments, the very issue that VitalSwap is passionately committed to addressing. With expertise as a seasoned systems architect and entrepreneur, Akinsola’s journey fuels his dedication to creating innovative solutions for global financial accessibility.
Tyrell Junius
Co-Founder and COO of Tiami Networks
Tyrell Junius
Tyrell served as an Associate Director at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, and subsequently ventured into the entrepreneurial realm, co-founding Tiami Networks, where he is the Chief Operating Officer (COO). Under his stewardship, Tiami Networks is playing a vital role in connecting remote and underserved areas with reliable connectivity, fostering an environment of digital inclusion.
Tyrell is synonymous with social impact and community upliftment and is a seasoned professional with a strong dedication to humanitarian efforts. Tyrell is a passionate advocate for volunteerism, farming, fashion, technology, and local economic development. He has cultivated a career that spans multiple continents and sectors, embodying the spirit of giving back and helping others.
Rhode Malivert
Owner/CEO K12 Preparatory Academy LLC
Rhode Malivert
Hailing from Haiti, Rhode journeyed to the United States at the age of 12. Commencing her professional career as a Chemical Engineer, Rhode’s aspiration was to catalyze positive transformations in people’s lives. Following a span of 14 years in the corporate realm, her entrepreneurial spirit birthed the genesis of K-12 Preparatory Academy that focuses on the educational empowerment of learners.
K-12 Preparatory Academy has extended its reach to distressed corners of the globe, collaborating with organizations in Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Poland. Now, K-12 Preparatory Academy offers a multifaceted curriculum, programs spanning Career and Technical Education (CTE), Virtual Reality, Dual Enrollment, Honors/Advanced Placement (AP), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and Social and Emotional Learning Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), tailored to its global student body.
Rhode’s enduring commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and excellence remains a driving force propelling K-12’s Preparatory Academy towards its mission of illuminating the pathways of education for all.
Bobola Odebiyi
Founder & CEO of CrossKudi
Bobola Odebiyi
Bobola Odebiyi, is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and the founder & CEO of CrossKudi. Bobola began his career as a taxi driver in Chicago before working his way up to becoming a CPA. Bobola has provided tax consulting services to hedge fund and private equity clients at Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) and co-led the PwC global Blockchain Community of Interest that trained colleagues on implementing emerging technologies to serve clients better.
As an immigrant himself, Bobola fully understands the challenges that the 47 million US immigrant population experiences financially, which is the target audience of CrossKudi.
Dr. Lola Omishore
CEO/Founder of Theramotive
Dr. Lola Omishore
Lola Omishore, founder of TheraMotive, is a first-generation Nigerian-American Doctor of Physical Therapy based in NYC. With over 10 years of experience, she is an accomplished physical therapist, published research author, Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist, and Certified Athletic Trainer.
She began her career treating elite athletes across the globe, providing ‘healthcare on demand’ and has worked with a diverse range of patients including Professional Athletes, Weekend Warriors, stroke survivors, infants, toddlers, and individuals from all walks of life. Now, she’s bringing that same gold-medal-worthy care to everyone’s corner, because access to top-notch healthcare isn’t a privilege, it’s a civil right.
Sarah Odiavba
Chief Technology Officer of Craftmerce
Sarah Odiavba
Sarah Odiavbara is an experienced full-stack developer with experience in creating and building e-commerce web platforms. She is the CTO of Craftmerce, an online marketplace platform that connects African handmade brands with global buyers and international retail stores. She has worked and helped grow companies that have raised over $1M in revenues.
She is dedicated to building world-class modern web applications and crafting high-performance web experiences for customers. She has a bachelor’s in engineering from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and she was named one of the 1000 Black Voices 2022. In addition, she was selected as an Ondeck Accelerator Alum, as well as a Bees Soft landing program by Enrich in Africa, La French Tech Award.
Clement Owusu-Donkor
Founder/CEO of Aquanto
Clement Owusu-Donkor
Clement’s extensive background in IT and telecommunications engineering has seen him work for decades in the telecommunications, payment processing, public utility and IT industries, providing leadership and support for critical backend infrastructure for several private and fortune 100 companies.
Having been associated with logistics from infancy, Clement is currently the founder and Chief Servant at Aquanto, an ecommerce, shipping and third party logistics company where he partners with a dynamic team of 100 and counting across 9 countries and with strategic partnerships across the globe. He and the team at Aquantuo are on a mission to transform lives globally through efficient trade and logistics.
Shingai Samudzi
CEO of Asoba
Shingai Samudzi
I am a first generation American by way of Zimbabwe, obsessed with infrastructure. I have been in numerous strategy and data science roles within the energy, healthcare and tech industries, from companies like Kaiser Permanent to Google.
As CEO and Co-Founder of Asoba, we are leveraging virtual power plant software to aggregate excess clean energy at the utility scale and provide on-demand electricity to retail buyers. Our commitment is to clean energy is the passion behind our building Africa’s largest private clean energy marketplace.
