Business
Ben Jealous, former NAACP president, becomes venture capitalist to help minorities in tech industry
Kapor said he looks for companies that are “closing gaps of access and opportunity for underserved communities or involve a disruptive democratization of a sector.”
These include Pigeon.ly, a start-up that offers low-cost phone and photo sharing for prisoners and their families outside, and Regalii, an international remittance platform that helps immigrants send money to their families in Latin America.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation President Emmett Carson said the region attracts great talent, and Jealous “will blend human rights and entrepreneurship in an effective way.”
Jealous grew up in Pacific Grove, about 100 miles from the Silicon Valley, during the pivotal years when personal computing was just starting to gain traction. He was captivated and chose a long commute, on foot and by bus, to attend a magnet school for computer science.
For this new role, Jealous said he’s going to be getting a crash course in technology, investing and even software coding.
“I’m going to have a computer coding tutor for the first time since I was in fifth grade,” he said.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press
