Whether you are trying to organize your finances, market your small business or even find a date for Friday night—the answer seems to lie right on your phone. There’s literally an app for just about anything. In fact, according to Statista, the Apple App Store has 1.96 million apps available for download while the Google Play Store has 2.87 million. With a lack of a search function to find Black-owned apps as well as a plethora of choices, one needs to take the extra step to support African American–owned app companies.
Creating an app and getting it into the App store or Google Play store is just the first feat. The success of an app depends on users, which means downloads are necessary. As a community, we need to support our Black-owned apps. Having trouble discovering them? Don’t worry—they are out there. Support Black-owned businesses while making your life easier? Sounds like a win win to us!
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Keep reading to uncover the top 8 Black-owned apps you need to download now.
01
For The Culture
For The Culture makes learning more about Black history fun and exciting. This charade-like game will test your pop culture and Black history knowledge. Founded by Teddy ‘Stat’ Philips, he wanted to increase diversity in the gaming industry. This trivia game is broken up into various categories including Black history, TV shows, music and movies. Grab some friends and let the fun begin!
Courtesy: For The Culture
02
Calendly
Facilitate your meeting schedule and never double-book again with Calendly. Founded by Tope Awotona, this app facilitates scheduling meetings sans hassle. With automatic scheduling, you can create your available times for meetings and allow your guests to schedule a time, in various increments, to connect with you. The app offers both a free and paid version, giving access to all.
03
EatOakra
Are you in charge of making brunch reservations for your friends next weekend? It’s always good vibes with your girls, but add an extra layer and support a Black-owned business. We get it--you're busy and don’t have time to search for a Black-owned spot serving delicious food. It’s all good. Anthony and Janique Edwards created this directory app to help you find Black-owned restaurants and food. When they moved to Brooklyn in 2016, they wanted to support Black-owned businesses but couldn’t find a reliable resource with all the information in one place. Instead of lamenting the problem, they created EatOkra.
Courtesy: EatOakra
04
Shine
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s the importance of self-care and the Shine app will help you do just that--take care of yourself. Founded by Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayshi, the app provides over 800 meditations to help relieve anxiety and stress. Shine offers daily motivational messages as well as articles to help you be your best self.
05
Legal Equalizer
When getting pulled over or encountering law enforcement, do you know your rights? Motivated by the killing of Michael Brown at the hands of the police in Ferguson, Mo., Legal Equalizer founder Mbye Njie knew he had to create a resource to help the Black community. Legal Equalizer allows you to record your interactions with cops. You can also alert your loved ones of the occurrence as well as learn your rights with law enforcement. The app also provides education, teaching you via step-by-step guides how to handle various encounters including traffic stops, ICE and DUI checkpoints. If you need a lawyer, the app has an entire network of attorneys ready to work for you.
06
Squire
Founders Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon are helping barbers with their business. Squire is an all-in-one platform to assist barbers in their shop operations. Via this platform, barbershop owners can manage bookings, set pricing for specific barbers, serve as a point-of-sale machine, provide revenue analytics and more. This app is a great resource for barbershop owners interested in scaling and streamlining their business.
Courtesy: Squire
07
Goodr
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2017, 30 to 40 percent of the food supply went to waste. Goodr founder Jasmine Crowe is partnering with restaurants and businesses to do something about this. When using the Goodr app, companies can arrange deliveries of leftovers and donate the food to charities that need it. You can sign up as a business to donate food or a non-profit to receive the donations.
