10 Black Startup Founders in Europe You Should Know

Europe’s startup ecosystem is thriving, and Black entrepreneurs are at the forefront of this innovation. Despite challenges and obstacles, these trailblazers are building successful startups, creating jobs, and driving economic growth. 

This article celebrates 10 exciting European Black startup founders who are making a significant impact in their respective industries. From tech to beauty, to govtech and sustainability, these entrepreneurs are pushing boundaries, challenging norms, and inspiring a new generation of founders. 

Kike Oniwinde Agoro: BYP Network 

Kike Oniwinde Agoro is the founder and CEO of BYP Network, an organization dedicated to advancing the careers of Black professionals worldwide. Its AI-powered platform ‘Javelin’ connects Black professionals to personalised career opportunities, including jobs, mentorship, events & content tailored to their career goals. 

Oniwinde launched the company in 2016, following the rise of the Black Lives Matter campaign. Currently, it has more than 20 chapters worldwide, including in Dubai, Lagos, and Nairobi, and reaches over 150,000 people.

Related Post: Meet 10 Black American C-Suite Leaders Spearheading Tech & Innovation

The ex-Great Britain javelin thrower is a BSc Economics Graduate of The University of Nottingham, and a University of Florida MSc Management Scholar. Oniwinde is the Vice-Chair of the London Chamber of Commerce Black Business Association. She’s on the board of ‘Getting on Board’, a charity dedicated to diversifying charity boards. She is an alumnus of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers.

Follow Kike Oniwinde Agoro here: 

Oliver Kent-Braham: Marshmallow

Oliver Kent-Braham started Marshmallow with his identical twin brother, Alexander Kent-Braham, to breathe new life into insurance and disrupt the way things are done. The British-Jamaican founders launched Marshmallow in 2017.

While working with a major insurer in the UK, he became aware of the inherent inefficiencies in traditional insurers and the lack of customer-centric options for UK consumers. In September 2021 the tech-driven car insurance company reached unicorn status – meaning it is valued at $1bn (£727m) – making it the UK’s second black-founded unicorn.

Marshmallow helps hundreds of thousands of UK newcomers get a fairer deal on their car insurance every year. The service specialises in offering coverage for those who struggle to find the right coverage from more traditional providers, including young male drivers and those on temporary visas.

The startup recently raised a staggering £62 million ($83M) from a Series B funding round with participation from tech investors like Passion Capital. The startup is now valued at $1.25 billion.

Follow Oliver Kent-Braham: here

Wendy Oke, PhD: TeachKloud

Wendy Oke, PhD, is the founder of Ireland’s leading cloud-based pre-school management system, TeachKloud. The platform is designed to reduce paperwork and streamline operations for childcare centers. 

It allows staff to create learning journals, manage staff and child attendance, send instant messages to parents, and view compliance documentation. The early childhood management software app enables quicker observations, comprehensive reporting, streamlined administration, and better parental communication.

Coming from a family that values education, it is no surprise that Dr. Oke has obtained an undergraduate degree, a master’s degree, and a PhD. So far, she has raised €750,000 ($877,000) for the startup.

Follow Wendy Oke, PhD: here

Matias Nso Roca: Kuorum

Matías Roca co-founded and leads Kuorum Social, a startup that specializes in online voting technologies for the private sector. His mission is to enhance democratic values and reduce the environmental impact of legally binding voting events, such as shareholders’ meetings and union elections. 

Related Post: Top London-based Investors Investing in Black Founders

Before founding Kuorum, Matías worked for multinational companies such as Siemens, Danone, and E.ON. Matías’s commitment to fostering democracy in the private sector is rooted in his personal experience: his father fled Equatorial Guinea to escape dictatorship, highlighting the disparities in opportunities between Africa and Europe. 

Matías believes that “democracy is the basis of development” and is driven to make private business more democratic. He was the recipient of the Obama Foundation Leaders Program 2025, Google Black Founders Fund 2022, and the Best Govtech awards issued by The Washington Academy of Political Arts and Sciences.

Follow Matías Roca: here

Deborah Choi: Founderland

Deborah Choi, co-founder of Founderland, is one of the prominent Black and mixed-race female founders reshaping Europe’s startup scene. She’s a serial entrepreneur who has founded five businesses throughout her career. 

The Berlin-based entrepreneur is best known for founding the plant care platform Horticure in 2018, for which she raised €1.3 million ($1.5M) in seed funding. The company later merged with Bosque, another Berlin-based plant delivery and plant care business. 

Choi is also part of the cofounding team of Founderland, an organisation supporting women of colour founders across Europe and the UK, which was launched in 2020. Last year, Founderland won a $25M grant from Google.org’s Impact Challenge for Women and Girls — and was one of five projects selected out of 8,000 applications.

Follow Deborah Choi: here

Related Post: Meet 15 Black British Entrepreneurs Making Waves

Josephine Philips: SOJO

Josephine Philips is the founder and CEO of SOJO, a UK-based B-Corp certified repairs and alterations platform. Philips launched the fashion-tech startup in January 2021 with a mission to make the fashion industry more circular by revolutionizing clothing repair and tailoring. 

After struggling to find convenient tailoring services for her own purchases, she created a solution. SOJO provides an integrated and scalable service for e-commerce and retail fashion brands, offering alterations and repairs as part of their after-sales experience. This helps reduce returns and increase circularity in their businesses. 

Since partnering with GANNI in 2021, SOJO has expanded its collaborations to include over 20 fashion brands and retailers, such as Marks & Spencer, Ralph Lauren, and Selfridges. As a prominent young tech entrepreneur, Josephine has been featured on Forbes Europe’s 30 Under 30, selected for the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund, and spotlighted in Vogue Business’ 100 Innovators.

Follow Josephine Philips: here

Nnamdi Emelifeonwu: Definely

Nnamdi Emelifeonwu is a co-founder and CEO of Definely, a legal tech company he started with Feargus MacDaeid after they both experienced challenges with complex legal documents as lawyers at Freshfields. 

Emelifeonwu’s entrepreneurial journey began with a desire to build a business and was reignited when he and MacDaeid identified the inefficiency of legal drafting tools, particularly for those with accessibility challenges. Definely provides a one-click tool to help lawyers draft, review, and understand legal documents, and it has been recognized for its rapid growth and product development.

Emelifeonwu was recently awarded the STEM Rising Star at the Black British Awards ceremony. Definely was beneficiary of Google for Startups Black Founders Fund in 2021. Earlier in 2025, the startup raised $30 million to transform legal workflows. 

Follow Josephine Philips: here

Related Post: 30 Startups Selected For Google’s $2M Black Founders Fund in Europe

Abeni Wickham: SciFree AB 

Abeni Wickham is a researcher-turned-founder of SciFree AB in Stockholm, Sweden. SciFree is a software company dedicated to providing tools that reduce the workload of researchers, university libraries, and publishers during the transition to open access. The platform currently serves 100 customers across 8 countries.

Wickham was born in Guyana, South America, and holds a BA from Tufts University, a PhD in Molecular Physics from Linköping University, Sweden, and two post-docs from the Max Planck Institute and Imperial College London. She also volunteers on the NASIG Digital Preservation committee and assists PhDs in transitioning into careers.
Follow Abeni Wickham here

Kave Bulambo: BlackinTech Berlin

BlackInTech Berlin is a social impact organization and community for Black technology professionals and entrepreneurs in Berlin and Europe. Founded in 2019 by Kave Bulambo, its mission is to foster inclusion, economic advancement, and mentorship. It achieves this by providing a platform for networking, sharing expertise, and addressing the underrepresentation of Black talent in the tech industry. 

As a TEDx Speaker and moderator, Bulambo has built an extraordinary career in Talent Acquisition, working with some of Europe’s most innovative organizations in the technology industry. 

She was named as one of the voices of a new era of leaders by the Female Factor in 2024. Bulambo was also a finalist in the category of Most Influential Women in the Diversity and Inclusion Space in Germany in 2021.

Follow Kave Bulambo here

Related Post: 7 Women Changemakers Making Waves in STEM and Tech

Yaw Okyere: Ava Estell

Yaw Okyere is a trailblazer in the beauty industry, standing out as a rare male founder of a beauty company. As the founder of Ava Estell, an all-natural skincare brand designed with melanin-rich skin in mind, Okyere leveraged his experience as a chemical formulator to create products for his wife, Esther, who struggled with hyperpigmentation. 

Born in Ghana, Okyere studied Chemical Engineering and Business Management at Warwick University in England. To develop Ava Estell, he furthered his expertise with a Cosmetic Science qualification. Since its launch, Ava Estell has become a go-to brand for treating skin conditions like hyperpigmentation, stretch marks, and eczema. The brand’s success was swift, earning £10,000 in sales within 36 months and garnering rave reviews upon launch. 

Okyere’s personal experience sparked the brand’s creation, but he soon realized there was a broader need for natural skincare solutions tailored to melanin-rich skin. With a current focus on direct-to-consumer sales, Okyere aims to soon expand Ava Estell’s reach to supply stores.

Follow Yaw Okyere here