Tech Roundup

Global hiring startup wins pitch competition

Kemi Bolatito of fintech company Rolla gave the winning pitch at the Battle of Business Pitch competition on June 26 at the Citadel Theatre. It was part of the BTF Summit put on by The Nod, a national organization working to make it possible for Black-owned businesses to participate fully in Canada's economy. Rolla (formerly called Scooly) won up to $35,000 from the summit's ticket sales plus more than $125,000 worth of in-kind resources toward MVP builds, revenue pathways, and growth.

Bolatito launched Scooly in 2023 to help international students and immigrants avoid immigration fraud. She pivoted towards Rolla, a global payments and payroll company that helps startups hire, relocate, and pay international teams in more than 180 countries. The company "supercharges Scooly's mission to remove barriers for global talent," its LinkedIn page says. Bolatito pitched alongside Chuks Awunor of cybersecurity company GuardsArm, Ndidi Obinwanne of housing innovator Ballpark Development, Olaseni Cole of edtech company Steminai, and Joshua Arome of EV platform SmartHub Innovations.

The summit aimed to explore how to ensure that the AI revolution creates opportunity for founders who have historically been left out of technology's most transformative moments. Levar Sual, co-founder of The Nod, told CBC Edmonton's Radio Active that the organization wants to democratize access to funding and resources. "Not just get into different rooms and stay there by ourselves, but we're thinking about how we can bring other businesses into those rooms and help them to grow." The Nod wants to help recirculate $100 million through 600 Black-led businesses in the next four years.

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