While established corporations spend millions on consultants to identify "market gaps," some entrepreneurs are quietly building billion-dollar solutions to problems hiding in plain sight. These founders didn't wait for permission; they saw inefficiencies others ignored and built the infrastructure to fix them.

From AI ethics to community finance, from personalized learning to creative scaling, here are the black leaders of 2025 rewriting industry rules.

Adaora Oramah is our very own founder and CEO of AMAKA Studio. Through AMAKA, Adaora is building an infrastructure to make hiring creatives easy and flexible, and to ensure creative projects deliver the ROI needed. 

The Problem: SMEs waste millions on overpriced agencies or unreliable freelancers 

The Solution: Fractional creative teams that deliver agency-quality work without agency overhead 

Why It Matters: Recognized that the $200B creative industry fundamentally doesn't work for growing businesses. Built global talent infrastructure that scales with client needs.

Why We Love Her: Apart from the fact that Adaora is our founder, she is a force for positive change in her creation of the AMAKA Creative-as-a-service platform.

▶️ Adaora shares creative and marketing tips on LinkedIn for small business and startup owners to innovate and scale. 

Ethan King is a global keynote speaker, bestselling author, and award-winning entrepreneur who transforms how organizations approach leadership and innovation in the age of AI. 

As a former president of EO Atlanta and recipient of FIVE global awards from Entrepreneurs' Organization for creating exceptional member experiences, Ethan has established himself as a trusted authority in business leadership, innovation, and transformation.

Long before the AI revolution, Ethan championed the power of automation in his #1 international bestseller Wealth Beyond Money. This groundbreaking work revealed strategies for automating success across health, wealth, business, and relationships, showcasing Ethan's talent for creating simple systems that transform complex challenges.

When the AI boom arrived, Ethan was uniquely positioned to lead. His follow-up bestseller, ChatGPT To Double Your Business In 90 Days, has since helped thousands of businesses scale through AI and automation while preserving the creative human elements that drive true innovation.

▶️ Follow Ethan here

Tope Awotona is the Nigerian-American founder and CEO of Calendly, the popular scheduling platform used by millions globally. A former software sales executive, Tope bootstrapped the company before securing major funding, making him one of the few Black tech founders to lead a unicorn startup.

The Problem: Scheduling meetings shouldn't require 17 emails back and forth 

The Solution: Calendly processes 50+ million meetings annually, valued at $3B 

Why It Matters: Turned the most basic business friction into a unicorn company. Sometimes the biggest opportunities are the smallest annoyances everyone accepts as "just how things work."

Why We Love Him: He didn't accept the small business annoyances as the norm. He found a way to help businesses sort out scheduling so they can focus on more essential aspects of their business.

▶️ Follow Tope on LinkedIn to stay updated on what's new and what's improved on Calendly. 

Adekunle Ayodele is a Senior Technical Program Lead at Meta and the founder of Fostr, a global community empowering Africans and allies in Big Tech and Startups. 

He’s also the founder of Podway, a guided platform helping people gain clarity and momentum in career and life through structured pods and community support.

With 25+ years of experience driving program and product execution across complex, high-impact initiatives, Adekunle is passionate about building spaces where Black professionals and underrepresented talent can thrive, lead, and co-create. His work bridges strategy, execution, and community—fueling both innovation and inclusion.

Why We Love Him: Adekunle is authentic in his approach to leadership and building community, 

▶️ Adekunle shares authentic leadership insights on LinkedIn for those looking to build and scale their businesses and personal brands.

Jasmine Crowe-Houston is the founder and CEO of Goodr, a sustainable food waste management company that uses technology to combat hunger and food insecurity. She's a passionate social entrepreneur turning surplus into food solutions for underserved communities.

The Problem: 40% of food is wasted while millions go hungry 

The Solution: Technology platform connecting surplus food to those who need it 

Why It Matters: Built a sustainable business model around social impact, proving that profit and purpose aren't mutually exclusive. Her TED talks and media coverage show how to scale social innovation.

Why We Love Her: She built a business structure around impact. Through her business, she ensures less food wastage and fewer hungry people. 

Jasmine shows the progress of Goodr on LinkedIn and relatable posts as a wife and mother in business. 

Helen Adeosun is the co-founder and CEO of CareAcademy, a platform transforming the future of caregiving through online education. A Harvard grad and advocate for workforce equity, she’s helping thousands of direct care workers gain skills and credentials to thrive in healthcare.

The Problem: Healthcare workers lack standardized, accessible training 

The Solution: Digital platform training over 500,000 healthcare professionals 

Why It Matters: Fortune 40 Under 40 recognition for solving workforce challenges in America's fastest-growing industry. Built essential infrastructure others overlooked.

Why We Love Her: She found a solution to a major problem. She contributes to societal development by ensuring healthcare workers can provide excellent service. 

Follow her journey on LinkedIn, where she gives updates on CareAcademy as well as other information about the healthcare industry. 

Angel Rich is the founder of CreditStacking, a financial education platform helping individuals and entrepreneurs master credit and funding strategies. Called the “Next Steve Jobs” by Forbes, she’s also the author of History of the Black Dollar and a trailblazer in fintech.

The Problem: Financial literacy education is broken and inaccessible 

The Solution: Gamified financial education platform serving underserved communities 

Why It Matters: Created engaging financial education when traditional institutions failed entire demographics. Turned financial empowerment into scalable technology.

Why We Love Her: She is making sure the unbanked are banked and that overlooked communities have access to financial literacy. 

▶️ Angel is passionate about diversity and inclusion in spaces not friendly to certain demographics, and she shares a lot about that on LinkedIn. 

Feyi Ayodele is the co-founder and CEO of CancerIQ, a digital health company that helps doctors and healthh providers detect and prevent cancer using genomics. Her work is transforming oncology care by making AI-powered precision medicine accessible, especially in underserved communities.

The Problem: Cancer risk assessment is manual, inconsistent, and inefficient 

The Solution: AI-powered platform helping doctors identify high-risk patients earlier 

Why It Matters: Built precision health technology that saves lives while reducing healthcare costs. Turned complex medical data into actionable insights.

Why We Love Her: She is making sure more lives are saved from cancer by ensuring earlier detection. 

▶️ Feyi shares her story and the good work they are doing at CancerIQ on LinkedIn. 

Morgan DeBaun is the founder and CEO of Blavity Inc., a media and tech company that empowers Black voices through platforms like Afrotech and Travel Noire. A powerhouse entrepreneur, Morgan is redefining what it means to build for the culture.

The Problem: Mainstream media completely missed Black millennial culture and perspectives 

The Solution: Digital media empire reaching 100M+ people monthly through Blavity, AfroTech, Travel Noire 

Why It Matters: Raised $12M+ in VC funding, acquired multiple companies, and created the largest Black tech conference. Built authentic cultural media when traditional outlets failed entire demographics.

Why We Love Her: She created a more diverse media empire such that what was once exclusive is more inclusive. 

▶️ Follow her on LinkedIn to learn when the team is coming near you for a chance to get funded. 

Rodney Williams is the co-founder and president of SoLo Funds, a community-based lending platform designed to provide quick, affordable access to capital. With a background in consumer tech, he’s helping disrupt exploitative lending and build financial equity for underserved communities.

The Problem: Traditional banks ignore millions who need small loans while predatory lenders exploit them 

The Solution: Community-driven lending platform connecting borrowers with individual lenders 

Why It Matters: Created financial inclusion without exploitation. Processed over $100M in loans while building actual community wealth, not extracting it.

Why We Love Him: He made sure more people have access to funds when they need them without being exploited by large enterprises. 

▶️ Rodney shows the work SoLo Funds is doing on LinkedIn. 

Kimberly Bryant is the founder of Black Girls CODE, a nonprofit empowering girls of color to become innovators in STEM. A former biotech engineer, she launched the organization to close the tech gap and ensure young Black girls see themselves as future coders and leaders.

The Problem: Tech industry talks about diversity while systematically excluding entire demographics from the pipeline 

The Solution: Coding education for young girls of color, reaching 30,000+ students globally 

Why It Matters: Didn't wait for Silicon Valley to fix itself. Built the talent pipeline the industry claimed didn't exist, proving the problem was access, not ability.

Why We Love Her: Young girls of color are inspired to tap into their coding potential because she made them see the possibility. 

▶️ Kimberly talks about business, family and plants on LinkedIn, making her a relatable entrepreneur to follow. 

Brian Brackeen is the founder of Kairos, a facial recognition and emotion analysis company focused on ethical AI. As a leading voice on AI bias, he’s committed to building AI tools that are inclusive, responsible, and rooted in fairness.

The Problem: AI bias was treated as an "unavoidable technical limitation" rather than a design choice 

The Solution: Ethical AI framework and facial recognition technology built for fairness 

Why It Matters: Called out Amazon and IBM for biased AI when everyone else stayed silent. Proved that ethical AI isn't just possible—it's profitable.

Why We Love Him: He put a spotlight on AI bias as a problem to be acknowledged and solved while others looked the other way. 

▶️ Brian is one of the prominent AI and tech voices on LinkedIn. He combines that with sharing the work done at Lightship Foundation to elevate minority innovators. 

Alex Tsado is the co-founder of Ahura AI, a company creating intelligent tools to personalize learning and workforce development. Alex is passionate about Africa’s role in the AI revolution, so he’s also a vocal advocate for responsible innovation and inclusive tech education.

The Problem: Education still uses 19th-century methods while neuroscience unlocks how humans actually learn 

The Solution: AI-powered learning platform combining neuroscience and personalization 

Why It Matters: San Francisco-based startup proving that personalized learning scales. Built technology that adapts to individual brain patterns, not standardized testing.

Why We Love Him: He used AI to create an infrastructure that is not just personal but inclusive, as it encourages learning based on individual brain patterns. 

▶️ Alex is passionate about leveraging AI to create innovative solutions for minorities. Follow him on LinkedIn to learn his story. 

Steven Bartlett is the founder of Social Chain, a marketing agency turned media empire, and the creator of the hit podcast Diary of a CEO. Born to Nigerian and British parents, Steven is one of the UK’s most influential entrepreneurs and storytellers, redefining business transparency and personal branding.

The Problem: Marketing agencies couldn't understand social media, and business education was stuck in MBA classrooms 

The Solution: Built Social Chain into a £300M+ company, then created the world's most-listened-to business podcast "The Diary of a CEO". 

Why It Matters: Sold Social Chain at 27, then built a media empire teaching real entrepreneurship. Manchester-based founder proving British innovation leads global conversations.

Why We Love Him: He is making entrepreneurship classes more mainstream, less formal and more affordable. 

▶️ Follow Stephen and Diary of a CEO on LinkedIn as an entrepreneur or an aspiring one. 

Stephen Durham is the CEO and founder of Bardot Vegan Beauty, a cruelty-free haircare brand inspired by the French actress and singer Brigitte Bardot’s iconic style and ethical values. Combining luxury with clean, vegan ingredients, he’s redefining beauty standards with a conscience.

The Problem: Most haircare brands use harsh chemicals, animal byproducts, and outdated beauty standards that don’t align with modern values.

The Solution: Cruelty-free, vegan haircare inspired by timeless French glamour, formulated with clean, plant-based ingredients that actually perform.

Why It Matters: Today’s consumers want beauty without compromise. Bridges the gap between ethical beauty and high-performance styling, empowering a new generation to look iconic and feel good about it.

Why We Love Him: He is making sustainable beauty more accessible for consumers to get beauty without compromising their values. 

▶️ Stephen shares the different products and the good work done at Bardot on LinkedIn.

Ryan Wilson is the co-founder and CEO of The Gathering Spot, a private membership club and community hub designed to empower Black professionals. The club is known for fostering culture, collaboration, and social impact, and Ryan has become a leading voice in reimagining how and where Black excellence gathers.

The Problem: Professional networking events are transactional and forgettable 

The Solution: Private membership communities that create lasting business relationships 

Why It Matters: At 24, raised capital, built, sold, then reacquired his company. Proved that authentic community beats surface-level networking every time. Now serves on major Atlanta boards and shapes the city's business ecosystem.

Why We Love Him: He created a space for business networking with a focus on building authentic communities that embrace diversity and encourage lasting relationships. 

▶️ He shows his work and the impact of The Gathering Spot on LinkedIn. 

It's not their background (nor the color of their skin), it's their ability to see systems that don't work and build better ones. While traditional companies optimize existing processes, these CEOs questioned why those processes existed in the first place.

They didn't wait for market research. They lived the problems they solved.

The biggest opportunities aren't always the flashiest ones. Sometimes they're hiding in the daily frustrations everyone else accepts as "just business."

These 16 Black CEOs are not just leading companies, they’re reshaping industries, breaking barriers, and creating space for more inclusive leadership at the top. 

Following them on LinkedIn will keep you inspired, and you will also get to learn from their journeys, tap into their insights, and watch in real time how excellence, resilience, and innovation look when led with purpose. 

If you're serious about growth, leadership, or championing diversity in business, these are the voices you need on your feed in 2025.