Black Ambition awards $1 million-plus in prizes and receives key to the county

Four years ago, A.J. Addae was a scientist with a $5,000 research grant and some second-hand lab equipment. “I had nothing,” she recalled. She was driven by a problem she saw firsthand while working in the beauty industry: the research and development process itself was failing melanin-rich skin, long before any products ever hit a shelf. On Friday night at The Sacred Space Miami, the scientist-turned-entrepreneur stood on the Black Ambition stage as the new $100,000 top prize winner for her company, SULA LABS, a lab that provides the critical research and development that has been historically skipped for melanin-rich skin, ensuring inclusivity is built into a product’s formula from its start.

Addae’s win was a centerpiece of the fifth Annual Black Ambition Demo Day, but it came with a major twist. In a surprise announcement, the organization declared a tie, awarding a second $100,000 top prize to Alexander Zanders of UfarmX, an AI-powered fintech platform for smallholder farmers. The UfarmX co winner explained his pivot into food security was driven by finding “something more meaningful” after his daughter was born, shifting his focus from his prior export business. His work addresses a crisis framed by startling statistics: Africa has nearly 70% of the world’s remaining farmable land, yet its farmers produce about one-eleventh the per-acre yield of U.S. farmers due to a “lack of access to capital” for quality inputs. The UfarmX solution is proprietary software that weighs geospatial and socio-economic data to give farmers credit scores, unlocking the financing needed to maximize their productivity. This is crucial because “The onus is actually going to be on the continent of Africa to feed the world,” making UfarmX a vital tool to prevent a “global food crisis.”

Photos here and above are by Stephen Crosson.

Black Ambition distributed more than $1 million in prizes to 27 founders, an action that garnered the attention of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who presented founder Pharrell Williams and CEO Felicia Hatcher with a key to the county. The honor, as described by the mayor, was a recognition for their profound and growing footprint in Miami, not just for cultural and business ventures, but for deep investment in Black innovation and ownership. Mayor Levine Cava praised Williams and Hatcher for their commitment to the community and for a vision that has successfully attracted new talent and investment to the region.

The celebratory nigh was also packed with profound advice for founders. During a fireside chat, Williams and Mellody Hobson, co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments [pictured below], offered bracingly honest advice on how to navigate a complex economic climate.

Williams pushed founders to own their value and was blunt about focusing on economics over optics. “I hate politics. Like, despise them,” he said. “It’s a magic trick that it’s not real… Leave politics alone. Figure out how to monetize your situation and bank on being the best.”

Photo by Stephen Crosson.

Hobson advised founders to secure capital in “small bites,” meaning to raise just enough to prove their concept before attempting to scale dramatically. She emphasized the importance of recognizing your own power, emphasizing that entrepreneurs must realize that what they are building is so valuable that they change the status quo. “We have to say I don’t accept those rules,” she said, “I can rewrite the contract my way.”

The winners’ circle included other notable ventures, including the $25,000 People’s Choice Award that went to Green Book Global, a travel and review platform for Black travelers. Among the celebrated finalists who secured $50,000 awards was Miami’s own Brandon Okpalobi, founder of the STEM-ed platform Siyanse LLC.

The sense of community was palpable, with Zanders describing his shared mentorship pod experience with Addae as a “family affair.” “That is now my brother for life,” Addae said of Zanders, proving that the Black Ambition experience extends far beyond the final check.

The night concluded with an exhilarating, surprise concert by Chance the Rapper, adding a significant cultural exclamation point to the event’s economic focus. Taking the stage to close the evening’s festivities, the artist shared songs from his latest album Star Line. The themes of the new music included songs titled “The Negro Problem” and “Tree,” both of which referred to generational inequity and systemic disadvantages faced by Black Americans.

Black Ambition awards $1 million-plus in prizes and receives key to the county

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